The date
Both churches actually agree on the day of Christmas. The disagreement stems from the type of calendar being used. The Eastern Orthodox Church marks holidays using the Julian Calendar, introduced by Julius Caesar, while western Christians rely on the Gregorian Calendar, introduced in the 16th century. The difference between the two calendars is 13 days, which is why the date of the Orthodox Christmas shifted to Jan. 7.
The Gregorian Calendar, also referred to in Ukraine as “old style,” was used during the Russian Empire. It left a trace in the modern tradition of the New Year celebrations. On Jan. 13, Ukrainians, like some other nations, celebrate “an old New Year.”
Read in the Kyiv Post: “Five things you must know about the Ukrainian Christmas”
Christmas dinner
Baking Christmas cookies dazzled with red and green sprinkles and constructing colorful gingerbread houses are common practices in Western households during the Christmas period.
The Orthodox Christmas feast is more strict. There must be exactly 12 dishes on the table. The essential one is kutia, a sweet grain pudding with ingredients like poppy seeds and honey. When wishing each other a Merry Christmas, people say “Let your kutia be rich” (“Khai kutia bude bahata”) – as a way to wish well-being to the family.
The dinner begins when the first star shows up in the sky. After the dinner children take baskets of festive food to their godparents’ houses. The tradition is called “bringing vecherya” (dinner).
Traditionally, the Ukrainian Christmas dinner includes some tribute to the dead. In some regions it is made in a form of a toast or a prayer, while in other places families leave the Christmas dinner on the table after they are done with it, for the spirits of the dead to come and feast on it.
Gifts
Forget them. Whereas in the US it is customary for everyone to open their gifts during the morning of Christmas Day, the Orthodox tradition doesn’t presume giving gifts, although children often receive some. The main present-giving holiday is New Year’s Day.
Carols singing
While Catholics and Protestants sing carols in the streets and in front of the houses, the Eastern Orthodox and Ukrainian traditions are different. In Ukraine, carol singing resembles a trick-or-treat activity. Starting on Christmas Eve, children ring the doors of both relatives and strangers, singing carols in hope to be rewarded with candies and money. The carols lyrics are dominated by various wishes of well-being for the hosts. The most famous Ukrainian “Carol of the Bells” is very well known outside of the country’s borders.
Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko’s Christmas speech was a video of the president’s family welcoming carol singers in their home.
No Santa or other characters
Many know that Ukraine and Russia have an alternative to Santa Claus, an old wizard called Father Frost. However, Father Frost and his sidekick grandchild Snow Maiden have nothing to do with Christmas. Both are related only to the New Year’s Day celebrations. Orthodox Christmas doesn’t have any fictional characters that are implemented during the celebrations.
Read Kyiv Post feature on differences between Santa Claus and Father Frost.
