Sochelnik – Cristmas Eve

In Russia, the Christmas Eve is called Sochelnik, or Kolyada (You should explain the difference between "Sochelnik" and "Kolyada"). It is the last day of the Christmas fast. On Christmas Eve it was a custom not to eat anything before the appearance of the first star in the sky as a symbol of the Bethlehem star, which once showed the Magi to the cradle of the child Jesus. Festive divine service takes place on these hours during this time in churches. Until the evening service the church enjoins mandates strict fasting, whereas people at war (at war like the military?  Or fighting with each other as families?)  ought to be reconciled to each other.

Sochelnik is considered to be celebrated with a family dinner. The word Sochelnik comes from sochivo, a sacral lenten dish that was a must tradition for this night. It was made of from almond or poppy milk mixed with honey and cereals (wheat, rye, barley, buckwheat, pea, and later even rice). Nuts and poppy seeds were added to the festive porridge.

The other main dishes were kutya made of boiled grains of wheat or barley, and uzvar, of apples, pears, plums, raisins, cherries and other fruits boiled in water. Kutya and uzvar have symbolical meaning: the first Kutya is eaten at a funeral repast to commemorate the dead, whereas the second one uzvar is cooked to celebrate the birth of a child. These two dishes together stood for two remembrances – of the birth of Christ and of his death.

In the days of old the Christmas table was strewed with hey and then only covered with a tablecloth. Twelve dishes (according to the number of the Apostles) were put in the centre of the table. Apart from sochivo the feast would offer include pancakes, fish, fish and meat jelly, young pork with porridge, roast, honey cakes, uzvars, etc., depending on what the family could afford.

Thanks Olya, I learned a lot!

Sochelnik – Cristmas Eve

In Russia, the Christmas Eve is called Sochelnik, or Kolyada. It is the last day of Christmas fast. On Christmas Eve it was a custom not to eat anything before the appearance of the first star in the sky, as a symbol of the Bethlehem star, which once showed the Magi to the cradle of the child Jesus. A festive divine service takes place on these hours in churches. Until the evening service the church enjoins strict fasting, whereas people at war ought to be reconciled to each other.

Sochelnik is considered to be a family dinner. The word Sochelnik comes from sochivo, a sacral lenten dish that was a must for this night. It was made from almond or poppy milk mixed with honey and cereals (wheat, rye, barley, buckwheat, pea, and later even rice). Nuts and poppy seeds were added to the festive porridge.

The other main dishes were kutya made from boiled grains of wheat or barley, and uzvar, made from apples, pears, plums, raisins, cherries and other fruits boiled in water. Kutya and uzvar have symbolical meaning: the first is eaten at funeral repasts to commemorate the dead, whereas the second one is cooked to celebrate the birth of a child. These two dishes together stand for two remembrances – of the birth of Christ and of his death.

In the days of old, the Christmas table was strewed with hay and then only covered with a tablecloth. Twelve dishes (corresponding to the number of the Apostles) were put in the centre of the table. Apart from sochivo, the feast would offer pancakes, fish, fish and meat jelly, young pork with porridge, roast, honey cakes, uzvars, etc., depending on what the family could afford.

[Good work, and very interesting.  When we describe dishes and how they are made, we almost always say 'made from', rather than 'made of', even though it is technically correct.]