Stahlke Adoption

Christmas Eve, Part III

Ukraine came to Christianity in 988 AD. For details on the people's mass baptism, see my blog entry on 7/17/05 (paragraph 3).

Due to the late date of Ukraine's conversion, many pre-Christian customs are still strongly rooted in the culture. Like the early church in Roman days, the Ukrainian orthodox church incorporated many of these customs into the new Christmas celebration. For example, the Feast of the Winter Solstice, and Feast of Fertility were rolled into Christmas, as were other agrarian customs and even the veneration of deceased ancestors.

The food for the Christmas Eve dinner reflects this dichotomy. The twelve dishes that are served can symbolize the twelve months of the year (agrarian) or the twelve apostles (Christian).

posted by Stahlkes @ 12:31 PM