And Then Suddenly It's (Orthodox) Christmas

Just when you think the holidays are over, along comes Orthodox Christmas. On 8 January, the Orthodox faithful head to church to profess their faith. Unlike in the West, Orthodox Christmas dispenses with shopping, presents, and Santa Claus. The Santa equivalent, Дідь Мороз (Grandfather Frost) comes on New Year's Eve to deliver gifts to all the good children. Orthodox Christmas seems to be directly about, believe it or not, the birth of Christ. Much like Western Christmas celebrations, Ukrainians go to church either at midnight or sometime during the morning. The service can last as much as three hours and there are no pews: everyone is standing. After services, families go home to celebrate with their families and to enjoy the day. For dinner families traditionally prepare twelve dishes that represent the twelve days of Christmas. Meat is not eaten, instead families will prepare fish. But the most traditional food seems to be a dessert called Kutya (кутя), a mix of berries, wheat, raisins, nuts, poppy seeds, honey, etc. This dish may go back to pre-Christian times and each ingredient symbolizes some aspect of life.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kutia) This is not the only connection to days of Ukraine past. You will also see the Didukh (Дідух) in many town squares. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didukh) This symbol, which often looks like a person, is made from wheat taken from the year's harvest. It is supposed to stay in a Ukrainian household throughout the winter as a sign of hope for a successful harvest in the new year. When the spring arrives, the didukh is burnt for good luck.  

Дідух and Дідь Мороз

Approaching Church 

This Christmas was freezing, reaching minus twenty-one degrees Celsius the night before Christmas. All hopes of going to midnight mass were thwarted by the cold, the blowing snow, and my midnight curfew at the dorm. When I awoke the next morning all was still expect for the blowing snow. During the night a storm had rolled in and filled the streets with snow drifts. Fortunately, the temperature had dropped to a balmy minus sixteen degrees Celsius. Determined to not miss the holiday I dressed warmly and ventured out into the cold. As I walked through the streets at nine thirty, I was struck by the stillness, the beauty, and the cold. I soldiered on, passing very few people, intent on seeing a Christmas mass. As I approached the church I could hear the prayers and the heavenly singing. I walked in the door, walked towards the main chapel...just in time for the mass to end and to see everyone head home. Rats!  Alas, all was not lost! Although it took another trip, I was able to get to the main cathedral to watch children sign Christmas Carols. Much like in America, these carols mix the religious with the seasonal. It was truly moving to hear children sing these songs even if my understanding is still far from perfect.

Children's Choir 

Cathedral Choir 

New New Year (Beware the Горілка)

When it comes to winter holiday, it is still important to distinguish between the "New" holidays (Gregorian Calendar) and the "Old" holidays (Julian Calendar). So, most Ukrainians do not celebrate Christmas on 25 December  (unless they are Catholic), instead they celebrate Orthodox Christmas on 7 January. But they celebrate the New Year holiday on 31 December/1 January not 13/14 January. Why the discrepancy, I have no idea. But there are some things I do know; no matter what day Ukrainians celebrate, it is always a freezing cold good time. And despite the amount of Горілка (vodka) I mistakenly drank, it was worth the night of celebrating.

Beware This Stuff! Горілка/Самагон

Most Ukrainian towns put up a (real or fake) New Year's Tree around 19 December and don't take it down until 19 January which is the Epiphany (Old Epiphany not New Epiphany). In larger cities like Zhytomyr, local businesses set up little huts in which they sell their wares. Usually you will find typical Ukrainian crafts such as woolen items, candles, honey, candies, and the wonderful медовука (a mead-like alcoholic beverage, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medovukha). Медовука, like any hard alcohol, is actually very smooth you just have to be careful how much you drink. But it is not as bad as the горілка or самагон, the homemade liquor that can blind you if you drink the wrong batch. In my case, I had the correct batch I just had too much of it.

 

         Lovin' Zhytomyr             

                                                                                    Where is Santa?

This year I found things a bit different than last year. First, there did not appear to be as much energy and excitement around midnight. Last year there were tons of people crowded around the tree and there was a big countdown with some fireworks and lots of noice and celebration. This year, I don't quite remember seeing as many people as last year and, for some reason, the countdown was scrapped. I didn't even notice it was midnight until people began hugging and toasting. But there were some positives. I found some really great food stalls that were not around last year. My favorite was Fat Papa by a young guy named Dima. He lived in Denmark for some years and wanted to set up a food truck in Zhytomyr. He's off to a good start as he had some of the best hamburgers I have had in Ukraine. And, though I never eat them in America, he made a great corn dog. But it was also at his stall that I had the dreaded самагон or whatever hooch he was selling. It was graded at 40% pure alcohol and apparently four small cups of that berry-flavored goodness was a bit too much for me. After meeting my friends they apparently watched me stumble home to take my punishment of too much celebrating this New Year.

       

              Band Plays On and On               

      

Seeking Warmth

                                                               

Fat Papa

Burger Time

So I survived another New Year celebration in Ukraine. Next up was a much calmer, Orthodox Christmas. But that will have to wait until next blog entry.....

  Happy New Year!

  

                                               Good Times, Good Friends