1. At Christmas time they sang carols and schedrovkas. In the evening around Christmas, the children carried kutya around the yards: “Having sent dad and mats, here you are in the evening.” The hosts should try kutia and give money or sweets for it. Adults went dressed up at Christmas time: they dressed up in turned-out fur coats, women - in men, men - in women. They sang: "Shchedrik-padrik, give me a dumpling."
On New Year's Eve early in the morning only peasants went to sow. They took with them seeds from pockets, and wheat from pockets. They went into the house and threw wheat, seeds or millet into the holy corner, saying: “This, viyu, I sing.” The girls were guessing at Christmas time.
X. Indychiy (Kosyachenko P.T. 1929) VSU AKTLF 2003.
2. People dressed up as gypsies, in turned-out fur coats, went to Christmas time to carol. The children walk around the yards with kutya at Christmas, for which they were given money. The children said: "Sending dad and mats, on-te you in the evening." The hosts should try three spoonfuls of porridge and commemorate their dead parents.
At Christmas they went to be generous: “Aunt, sho cooked, sho pekla ...”
Both married women and unmarried girls went to Melanka (January 13), they sang: “Melanya the preboga-ta gave a cross, gold for the church.” They were given something - bacon or something else.
In the morning on New Year's Eve, only the guys went to sprinkle. They came very early, sat on the threshold. At the same time, the owners said: “Schaub the chickens were fruitful and the roosters were Schaub.” The guys then sprinkled with wheat and sentenced sowing. The guys were given money for sowing.
At Christmas time they gathered for games, played balalaikas and harmonicas there. They played “rings”: the leader quietly gives someone a ring, and the second player must guess who has it. If he guessed it, he kisses the one who had it.
The girls wondered: on New Year's Eve they made a well out of matches and put it near the pillow at night. Which guy comes in a dream to drink water - that is the future groom; threw a boot through the gate; they wrote different male names on pieces of paper, interfered with them and pulled, which name you pull out - that’s what the groom will be called.
At Christmas time, guys remove the gate or gate in the house where some girl lives and hide it. It was such fun.
It was impossible to spin hemp at Christmas time, only wool.
X. Indychiy (Ivanovskaya A.T., born in 1915) VSU AKTLF 2003.
3. One boy came early in the morning to sprinkle on the New Year. He scattered wheat, various grains: “Ilya walked to Vasylya.” They gave money for sowing.
X. Indychiy (Mantulina V.M.) VSU AKTLF 2003.
4. At Christmas, small children carried kutya around the yards: “Would you like to be generous? - Be generous. And then they start different choruses there.
Not only married, but also unmarried girls went to Melanka to be generous. For this they were given pies, eggs, apples.
With. Krasnoselovka (Ocheretyanaya M.G., born in 1929, Solodovnikova O.G., born in 1918, Zatsepilova M.S., born in 1930)
VSU AKTLF 2003.
5. At Christmas time they rode horses with bells. It was supposed to woo before Christmas. And on Christmas, the betrothed girl was rolled separately. Ride from the mountains.
On Epiphany, a hole was cut in the shape of a square or a circle. Ride the young on horseback. With. Krasnoselovka (Provotorova O.A., born in 1914, Maleva V.N., born in 1927) VSU AKTLF 2003.
6. On New Year's Eve, they dressed up, put on white flowery scarves, shouted avseni: “Good evening, good afternoon, we will shout avseni to you. Our pan has the whole yard on the platform, rejoice God, rejoice, God.
Guys and girls went to sing avseni. They rode horses, the horses were tied with white ribbons, they embroidered capes on horses, they beat out the edges (teeth) on capes. On the first horses they carried a young woman, there were bells. They rode around the village on horseback with an accordion.
With. Krasnoflotskoe (Maslova R.A., born in 1939) VSU AKTLF 2003.
7. On the night before Epiphany, crosses were placed on windows and doors. Even before Baptism, they were guessing. Young people used mirrors to tell fortunes about the bride or groom. Fortune telling on bulbs: on 12 bulbs they predicted the weather in each month of the new year.
With. Krasnoflotskoye (Mukhorkina M.S., born in 1936) VSU AKTLF 2003.
8. An ice-hole in the form of a cross was cut down on Epiphany. Pigeons were released and guns fired.
9. In the evening around Christmas, both boys and girls of 10-13 years old wore kutya around the yards. The hosts had to try the kutya, and for this they gave the children gifts. When they brought kutia, they said: “They brought you an evening meal.”
Only boys of 16 years old went to sprinkle, the girls did not go. They went into the yard and asked: “Can I graze?” And tell them, "Please." Then they go into the house, approach the icons and say: “Give birth, God, wheat and all sorts of pastures ...” For sprinkling, the owners gave gifts.
X. Mironovka (P.F. Bogomolova, born in 1923) VSU AKTLF 2003.
10. At Christmas, children wore kutya: “Having sent dad and mats, Nata vecheryu for you.” Hosts should try one or two tablespoons of porridge. Children were given money and candy for this.
Some guys of 15-16 years old went to sprinkle on New Year's Eve. They came early in the morning, sprinkled with peas. The guys were given money and gingerbread for this - ladies and horses.
They went from house to house to Melanka, they sang: “Milania is rich, she gave the church a rod, gold ...”
Only married women went to Melanka from house to house. The owners gave them for melanki a polyanytsi (bread), a piece of bacon, sausages. The women carried sleds with them, on which they piled what they were given.
Only the girls went to be generous: “Shchedrovunka was generous, she stood as a pid, sho, aunt, you baked - nesi mine to vikna.”
With. Sands (Kurochkina P.D. born in 1936, Krakhmaleva P.A. born in 1913, Grebennikova E.N. born in 1919) VSU AKTLF 2003.
11. At Christmas, children wore kutya around the yards. The hosts should try the porridge and give the children sweets, cookies - horses, gingerbread. Konikov was baked only at Christmas. They went generously to Christmas time, they were mummers.
Unmarried lads went to sow. Come in and sprinkle wheat on the image, while they say: “For happiness, for health, for the New Year.” They came early in the morning. With. Sands (Polyashchenko E.Ya., born in 1917) VSU AKTLF 2003.
12. For Christmas, the table was prepared “as someone lived” (if rich, a rich table, if poor, poor). We went generously, it was called Generous Evening or Good Evening. Mostly children walked around the yards and carried kutya (kutya was prepared by old people). The owner of the house had to eat three spoons, "in honor of giving some alms to the yak." Mostly asked for lard. At the same time, they sang such a generous song: “Rich Milania, give this house shine, give a piece of bacon so that your daughter dances.” If they didn’t give anything, then they said something nasty to the owner.
The New Year was celebrated on January 14th. There was a custom - Sprinklers. Early in the morning, with the dawn, they went into the house and sprinkled the floor with various seeds with the words: “For happiness, for health, for the New Year, give birth, God, zhito, pashanytsu and all kinds of porridge, a bull and a calf.”
There were guesses. They brought a chicken into the house, put a cup of water in front of it, poured grain and put a mirror. If the chicken drank water, then the husband would be a drunkard, if she pecked at the grain - a hard worker, looked in the mirror - a dandy. They also took a loaf and at night, at 12 o’clock, they went out the gate and asked: “Dolya, in which direction should I get married?” From where the first sound was heard, from there the husband will be. They approached the gates at night and threw a shoe through them. In which direction he lay down with his nose, from there the husband will be.
With. Old Kriusha (Bozhkova A.P., born in 1929) VSU AKTLF 2003.
13. At Christmas time they went to be generous: “Generous evening, good evening.” Those who went generously were given bread and bacon for the generous. There were older women and men.
They baked cookies - konykov, young ladies.
With. Staromelovaya (Fedenko A.M., born in 1921) VSU AKTLF 2003.
14. The girls wore kutya. Single guys went to sprinkle.
On the morning of the Old New Year, the children went to Virshov: “Virshov, Virshov, I’m up to tebe. Open the chest, take out the piglet.
With. Staromelovaya (Poor T.I., born in 1938, Usikova N.N., born in 1940) VSU AKTLF 2003.
15. Children of 6-7 years old wore kutya around the yards around Christmas: “Do you need kutya?” The owners will try the porridge and give a gingerbread or candy for it.
They went generously on New Year's Eve: "I'll get up early, I'll look to the east."
Both children and adults went to church in the evening on New Year's Eve. On New Year's morning they sprinkled with wheat: "I sow, I wind, I sing."
Married women walked around the yards to Melanka.
With. Staromelovaya (Semenenko M.N., born in 1918) VSU AKTLF 2003.
16. At Christmas, both children and adults wear kutya. The hosts gave sweets and gingerbread to children for kutya, and adults were given pours or money. Kutya was made with barley.
On New Year's morning, only guys went to sprinkle. They scattered the grain - wheat. On New Year's morning both children and adults went to sing. For this they were given gingerbread, sweets, money.
Women were generous. Under Melanka, only women walked around the yards. With. Staromelovaya (Malyovanny V.A., born in 1925) VSU AKTLF 2003.
17. Sprinkle early in the morning on New Year's Eve, only boys of ten years old went. Come, seem: "Happy New Year, with new happiness" - pour. They throw wheat for a bite.
We went to sing at Christmas time.
With. Staromelovaya (Shevtsova A.S., born in 1917) VSU AKTLF 2003.
18. At Christmas, children carried kutya home. Kutya was cooked from rice and crushed barley.
Only boys went to sprinkle early in the morning on New Year's Eve.
With. Staromelovaya (Kosyachenko E.S., born in 1926) VSU AKTLF 2003.
19. At Christmas, people boiled jellied meat, chopped and smoked chickens. On Holy Evening (January 6) they wore kutya. They went into the house and said: “Can I come to you? Mother with a folder was sent. Have a bite!” For kutya they gave ists: pies, sweets, gut (homemade sausage). Both adults and children walked, glorified Christ: “Your Christmas, Christ God.”
Near the village there were ponds and a river. At Epiphany, Jordan was made on them and the consecrated water from it was used all year round as healing. On this holiday, they rode on ice (a sieve smeared with cow dung froze, covered with water, froze again and served as a sleigh) and played games.
For games, they gathered in an orphan's house or rented a room from a widow. They played Christmas games, sang and danced, guessed with a ring (they collected rings from everyone and pulled them out to the song, which was said in the song, it should have happened to the owner of the ring). One of the games was called "buckles". All the girls sat in one circle, the guys in the next circle. One of them took the girl by the hand - “Are you selling?” If the answer was positive, then he took him away, if it was negative, then he was beaten with a buckle from his belt three times.
On New Year's Eve generous. The guys scattered wheat grains, shouted: “I sow, I sow, I sow, I congratulate you on the New Year. God bless you."
On Epiphany, they drew a cross on the doors with chalk and signed: "For God is with you."
With. Fomenkovo (Kobtseva N.D., born in 1930) VSU AKTLF 2003.
20. Generous people entered the house or courtyard and said: “Generous evening, good evening! Shall you be gracious? Shchedrovochka was generous, she started beating the window, give us trishka, what God sent! or: "Give me a pie without legs, so as not to run away", "Give me a gut (homemade sausage), otherwise I'll take off the lid."
If people refused, then they were told something like: "Oh, greedy cattle." With. Fomenkovo (Kobtseva N.D., born in 1930) VSU AKTLF 2003.
For many of us, Christmas is associated with a rich festive table, at which the whole family gathers to celebrate the birth of Christ. Ideally, all prepared meals should be lean, but today, not everyone adheres to these traditions. But there is one lean dish, which even now few people can refuse. As you already understood, we are talking about the famous kutya, which we diligently prepare for every Christmas. Before starting a meal, you need to taste a spoonful of kutya prepared by the hostess of the house. After such an important ritual, you can already taste the rest of the dishes.
Traditional kutya is made from wheat grains, but today many people prefer to use rice for cooking. Thus, the cooking process takes much less time than in the case of wheat.
Although many of us today try to adhere to long-standing traditions formed by our ancestors. Everyone cooks kutya in their own way, but few people know the correct recipe for this unusual dish. How to cook kutya for Christmas - from rice, from wheat?
Well, in order to cook the “same” kutya, you will have to plunge a little into the history of the formation of this tradition.
Why do they wear kutya for Christmas - where did the tradition come from. As we all know, according to tradition, godchildren are supposed to wear a "supper" to their godfathers and mothers. Parents introduced us to this tradition from childhood, giving us a jar of kutya and sending it to our godparents. Since childhood, we know that it is customary to do this, but few people know where this tradition came from.
This custom originated at the time of the Baptism of Russia. Godparents and godchildren carried each other's supper in order to celebrate this bright holiday together. Some time ago, only blood relatives could baptize children, and therefore only relatives wore the supper.
It is the children who should wear kutya to their godparents, as if in gratitude for the fact that they were present at their baptism. After all, the godparents took on the responsibility of helping the child in everything throughout their lives.
Over the years, traditions began to fade into the background, and therefore, now even family friends can become godparents for a child.
There is another reason for the formation of this most interesting tradition. Some time ago, well-to-do peasants would bring dinner to poorer families who were in need of such a show of mercy.
In fact, it was the church that dictated its own rules about helping one's neighbor. Helping the poor, rich people tried to atone for their sins.
But over the years, such a ceremony quickly turned into an established tradition that many people followed.
Later, kutya was prepared from the best grain, which was supplemented with other delicious ingredients, turning into a delicious dish.
The grain used as the basis for kutia symbolizes fertility. Honey symbolizes prosperity, and walnuts will speak of power.
Therefore, now bringing such a dish to your home will indicate that you and your family wish well-being and prosperity.
The very process of preparing a traditional dish (based on wheat) cannot be called simple, and this suggests that the achievement of any benefits will not be possible without effort.
Kutya is prepared before Christmas, and carried by children on the evening of January 6th. Children personify purity and innocence, so the most sincere wishes can be heard from them.
Today, the tradition of wearing the supper still exists, but in a somewhat distorted form. Indeed, today kutya can be worn not only by blood relatives, but also by family friends. In addition, few people already wear kutya on Christmas Eve, as before.
Traditional kutya recipe for Christmas. This lean dish may include various ingredients that give it a completely unusual taste. Someone even manages to add sweets to kutya, but here it all depends on your tastes and imagination.
We will consider the traditional recipe, according to which kutya was prepared for Christmas. Since this dish is festive, it will consist of only the most delicious ingredients. 
On these holidays, it was impossible to skimp on kutia, so people cooked it only from the best products.
To prepare a "real" kutya, we need certain products in such proportions.
Ingredients: A glass of wheat. 100 g raisins. Half a glass of poppy seeds. 100 g walnuts. Two spoons of honey.
Preparation: Wheat must be sorted out by hand, as it may contain garbage, the presence of which in the dish is unlikely to be to your liking. Pour the sorted wheat grains with cold water for about three hours so that they swell properly. If this time was not enough, then you can leave the grains in the water all night. If you opted for polished wheat (and you did it right), then you don’t have to soak it at all.
As soon as the structure of wheat has noticeably changed, then you can safely put it to boil. For this amount of wheat, we need about three glasses of purified water. Cook the grains until they are soft.
The process of cooking poppy will take no more than ten minutes, after which it should be sure to strain through a fine colander. In this case, you should wait until all the water has drained.
We thoroughly wash the raisins and pour boiling water so that it acquires a more elastic shape. In fact, it must, having gained moisture, turn into the same grapes. The swelling process will take no more than 20 minutes.
Roast the peeled nuts in a pan, then peel and cut into smaller pieces.
Actually, the cooking process ends with the combination of all the ingredients that we season with honey. So the festive kutya is ready, which is distinguished by its unique taste.
What to fill with kutya or what to fill. Almost every recipe for preparing a festive kutia involves the addition of some kind of liquid base. Someone adds plain water, and someone prepares a syrup based on water and sugar. We offer the traditional version of dressing kutya with uzvar cooked on dried fruits.
In fact, this is the same compote, then it is prepared not from fresh fruits and berries, but from dried ones. In winter, we are unlikely to be able to find fresh fruits, so we will cook the uzvar from the available blanks.
In general, a dried fruit drink will taste much brighter than a simple compote, so try to prepare in advance as much drying as possible from a variety of berries and fruits.
To prepare the uzvar, we need several types of dried fruits (to your taste). We wash the drying and fall asleep them in a pan with cold water. We put the dish on the fire, and from the moment of boiling we detect 20 minutes. We filter the finished drink and add it to the mixture for kutya, which already includes honey.
By the way, if you are not indifferent to dried fruits, then you can supplement kutya with chopped dried apricots, for example. The taste will turn out quite unusual, so it's worth a try. 
Many are interested in the question “What exactly should be added to kutya, honey or uzvar?” Well, it all depends on your taste. Of course, kutya without honey is not kutya. Therefore, this ingredient will be mandatory in any case, but adding a knot or not is up to everyone.
How beautiful to decorate kutya. Due to the variety of the main ingredients of the dish, it looks quite interesting in itself, which means that it does not require additional decorations.
Randomly placed accents in it will be dried fruits, which are distinguished by rather bright colors, as well as honey, which will give the kutya a golden hue.
In general, the color scheme will turn out to be quite warm, so you should not disturb it with any additional ingredients. Honey can be added just before serving the dish so that neither its appearance nor taste is spoiled.
If you want to present such a dish in an original way, then you can decorate it on top with pieces of nuts and dried fruits, creating a rhythmic composition from them. The usual kutia will take on an unusual look that will attract the attention of guests.
Christmas kutya. Recipes TOP - 3 from rice, wheat, barley. If earlier kutya was prepared strictly according to the rules, today there are a lot of alternative options that differ in completely different components. 
In fact, some of them may even surprise you. We will look at the most interesting recipes that you may not have heard of yet.
1. Wheat kutia with candied fruits. This cooking option is close to the traditional recipe, but there are still some differences.
We prepare the following ingredients: Two glasses of wheat. Candied fruits (any). 100 g walnuts. Honey.
Cooking process: Wheat must first be soaked, but if you are lucky enough to get polished grains, you can immediately start cooking them.
The amount of honey that will be added to kutya, everyone determines for himself. We dissolve a certain amount of honey in warm water, after which we fill it with ready-made cereals.
Roast the peeled nuts, then grind them into smaller pieces. Add chopped nuts and candied fruits to the wheat. Stir kutia, decorate to your liking, and serve.
2. Almond kutya with rice. Such a kutya will bear little resemblance to the traditional version, because it contains completely different ingredients. 
Rice kutya is increasingly found on the festive table on Christmas Day, but few people cooked it in this form. Such an interesting version of kutya involves the use of the following ingredients.
Ingredients: 300 g rice. 100 g raisins and almonds. Sugar. Cinnamon.
Preparation: First of all, we need to rinse the rice groats several times so that at the end of cooking the porridge does not stick together into one layer.
So, fill the rice with water and cook until fully cooked, while stirring it during the cooking process. It is necessary to cook porridge over low heat, as rice can stick to the bottom of the pan and simply burn. Rinse boiled rice under cold water.
It is advisable to scald raisins and almonds with boiling water, after which we cut the almonds into smaller pieces. We add sugar to water and put on a slow fire until it completely dissolves in the liquid, turning into syrup. You can decorate the finished dish with whole almonds.
Mix all prepared ingredients and pour sweet syrup. Here, in fact, almond kutya is ready.
3. Barley kutia. If the option with rice is quite common, then barley kutya will become something completely new for you. 
The main feature of this recipe is that before serving, kutya is poured with cream. Really unusual, right?
We need the following ingredients: 200 g of pearl barley. 150 g poppy. 10 shelled walnuts. 50 g raisins. 50 ml of medium fat cream. Honey.
Cooking: Boil the groats over low heat for about an hour. Pour poppy seeds with boiling water and boil for about 20 minutes. Soft poppy rub manually with a mortar. And we also steam the raisins in boiling water for about 15 minutes.
Add poppy seeds and nuts with raisins to the cooled groats. We fill the finished mixture with honey and mix. And just before serving, add cream. You definitely have not tried such a kutya yet.
How to cook kutya for Christmas from wheat. Wheat has a fairly dense structure, so it must be soaked in advance, otherwise it will cook for an indefinite amount of time.
Therefore, fill the grains with water and leave overnight. The next morning, you will notice that the grains have increased in size, and there is much less water in the pan.
Add the missing amount of water and put on fire. It is necessary to monitor the cooking process so that the wheat does not completely boil, since we need whole grains. This is a matter of aesthetic presentation.
There are a lot of cooking options for kutya, so there is plenty to choose from. Although in different recipes their components may change, but the proportions will remain approximately the same.
You can even develop your own version of the kutya recipe from the products that you love the most.
Kutya is considered a traditional Christmas dish, so do not deny yourself the pleasure of preparing such a delicious meal yourself.
Now we know some cooking secrets that will help answer the question "How to cook kutya for Christmas - from rice, from wheat?"
How to cook kutya for Christmas from rice. In general, this variant of cooking kutya is much simpler than a recipe using wheat. The fact is that rice is cooked much faster, and it also does not require pre-soaking. 
As a rule, two glasses of water are necessary for a glass of rice. After several washings, rice is immediately filled with water and put on fire.
In order for the water to boil faster, set the fire to maximum, and only after the moment of boiling, reduce it to medium.
On average, rice takes about 20 minutes to cook, so try to keep track of the time. After all, it may also happen that the rice is completely boiled, turning into mashed potatoes. And for cooking kutya, we need whole rice grains.
Be happy!
Traditionally, on Christmas Eve in the evening (January 6), the godchildren bring their godparents a supper - kutya, and the godparents present gifts to the godchildren and sit them at the festive table.
This custom is very ancient - from time immemorial people have carried each other's supper on Christmas Eve. This custom is associated not only with baptism, but also with the Christian virtue of mercy, mutual assistance.
How to properly wear a godmother's supper on Christmas Eve:
Arrange in advance with your godparents about your visit on January 6, when it is customary to wear the supper. Take them kutya and congratulate them on the feast of the Nativity of Christ. In keeping with this tradition, it is customary to exchange gifts. It doesn’t matter if you can’t visit everyone who is accepted. You can just congratulate them on the holiday or call on another day.
Children are also included in this tradition. Previously, children in the villages wore a supper to grandparents, aunts and uncles, godparents and even a midwife. They sang special songs praising Christmas and Christ, and received sweets and coins as a token of gratitude. With the modern way of life, it is hardly possible to do it the way it was done before. Just try to get the idea of this custom and help your child take the supper to the godfather, for example, the next day or during the Christmas holidays. Learn with him the words that are customary to say to godparents when presenting kutia: “Good evening, Holy Evening! Father and mother betrayed you the supper.
Poem for children for kutia, for the supper
Merry Christmas
And of course we want:
Blizzard let for a whole year,
Health will give you
The wind will blow away all the ailments
To a cold backyard.
Let the snow swirl with sparks
To brighten up your faces
And the wicked moon
On the night of love will deprive you of sleep.
May one of the brightest stars
Give your talents growth
Your thought will lift up!
Let friends decorate life!
*************
The sparrow is flying
Tail twirls.
And you people know
Cover the tables
Receive guests
Meet Christmas!
*************
Bright holiday of Christmas!
There is no happier celebration!
On the night of Christ's birth
A star lit up above the earth.
Since then, through the centuries
She shines for us like the sun.
Warms the soul with faith
To make the world a better place.
Gives sparks of magic
Bright holiday of Christmas!
*************
For all adults:
We brought you supper,
So try it.
Mom and dad cooked
We were taken on a good journey.
Give us a gold piece,
And see us with God.
For aunts and uncles:
Aunts uncles do not be stingy
Pay for the evening.
For grandparents:
Grandparents' supper is good
Get the money out of the closet slowly.
For mom and dad:
Mom and dad, don't laugh
And don't rely on money
Get your money
Add to toys.
*************
Here comes Christmas again
The triumph of heavenly forces:
On this day Christ came
To save our world from evil.
Glory to Him forever
The conqueror of darkness.
Congratulations with all my heart
With this great joy.
The feast of the Nativity of Christ is one of the greatest Christian holidays, which the Church celebrates especially solemnly. All people pay special attention to the Christmas holiday, trying to observe customs and traditions on this day. The carrying of the supper is one of the traditions of the Christmas holidays. But do we wear the supper properly? How does the church feel about this? And what does this well-known tradition give us? About this and many other things, the journalist of the First City Newspaper was told by Archpriest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Father Andrey Bobrik (pictured).
- Is it obligatory to wear an eveningYu,or is it optional?
Bearing the supper is a tradition of our people, its origins are not connected with Orthodoxy. In Orthodoxy, on the 6th, it is obligatory to go to worship. The Supper is more of an established tradition of our people, taken from paganism. The reason why Christianity adopted this tradition is a spiritual value that has been developed in people for many years. They put something very important into it. Therefore, in Christianity, the bearing of the supper refers more to the manifestation of a person’s desire to visit his relatives, godparents, and especially important people.
No, it's not a sin. Most likely, you need to consider whether you offend your loved ones by this. Visiting your relatives who are close in the norms of Christian morality is welcomed and encouraged. But if you really can’t, then you should reschedule the visit or explain the situation. It is important here not to harm another person, so that your loved ones understand you and do not hold a grudge.
- Who exactly is it customary to wear the eveningYuand up to what age?
According to tradition, the children bring suppers to their godfathers: first to the godfather, then to the godmother. They bring the supper in gratitude for taking on the responsibility of teaching and praying for the child. And godparents, in turn, give gifts to the child. According to the logic of reason, we can say that it is customary to wear suppers when you are still a child. When a person becomes more independent, then this tradition is less obligatory. You can also say that in each region in its own way. In western Ukraine, for example, it is customary to wear a supper until the age of 7, until the child goes to school.
- When can you start wearing suppers and until what time?
According to tradition, the supper should be carried on January 6, the eve of Christmas. Children bring the supper to their godparents, communicate for several hours, and then go to their homes to celebrate Christmas at the family table. After Christmas, this can already be considered Christmas greetings, and visiting relatives depends on human desire.
- And if the godparents are in different families or even in different cities?
If this is possible and your godparents live in the same city, then it is advisable to do everything on the 6th, during the day, before Christmas dinner. But when your godparents live, for example, in another city, there is no opportunity to go. Then after the 6th, you can get together and go to congratulate them. It's called "bringing the supper," but it's actually a Merry Christmas greeting.
- Are there any special words with which you need to enter the house?
Yes, there are certain words with which one should come to the house, and which should be spoken when meeting. At the liturgy, the priest addresses the parishioners with the words: "Christ is born!" All people answer: "Praise him!". These are the words to greet the person on your path. On the day of the Baptism of the Lord, on January 19, when people meet, they greet each other in other words: “Christ is baptized!”, And they answer this: “In the Jordan River!”
- What do you need to bring with you? What is the supper?
Experience is more connected with tradition, so there is no need to bring special and obligatory things. Each region is different. But if we analyze the traditions of all regions, we can say that the most important thing is kutya and bread. Bread has always had a special meaning. And since there are children in the family, it is also customary to bring and give sweets.
- Is it possible to draw such a conclusion that it is necessary to bring what you can?
Yes, no doubt. If a person does not have the opportunity, then no one obliges to bring a lot of products. The main thing in this tradition is the attention and desire to visit loved ones.
And what special traditions exist during Christmas time? Perhaps there are restrictions? For example, many people know that it is impossible to work during Christmas time. There is also a ban on marriage.
People have always worked, and a person must fulfill his duties. But some household chores that you can do without - should be moved. The period of Christmas time is called so because people glorify the Nativity of Christ. And for us this is of particular importance, because salvation has come into this world - a person has received the hope that he can go to heaven. Therefore, people rejoiced that the one who would conquer evil and death had come. Work that helps another person is allowed. If you need to sew something, then it is better to refrain and do it after the holidays. But if a person comes to you and he has nothing else to wear, then, of course, in this case you must help. You must always think and understand - where is a good deed, and where is the satisfaction of personal interest.
During Christmas time, as you noticed, it is forbidden to perform the sacrament of marriage. This is due to the fact that people during this period are at services and receive communion. There is a certain preparation for communion. A person observes a kind of post. But fasting is not from food, but from carnal pleasures. And since the wedding presupposes this, accordingly, marriage is prohibited during the Christmas season.
- How to deal with superstitions?
Only negative. Literally translated, superstition is a vain belief. We build our own future, and faith in vain things leads us astray. A person cannot be happy when he is afraid. And faith in all sorts of vain things is based on fear. Some people are afraid when they spill salt on the table, they believe that there will be a quarrel or misfortune. But if you think about it, during the preparation for the holidays, we try to do everything on time - to have time to get ready and not forget anything. During this period, a person becomes less attentive and this leads to sloppiness or less carefulness. Also, we can say that when a person believes in something, he puts it above himself. That is, it turns out that a person puts vain and insignificant coincidences of circumstances above himself, believing in them. The Lord said that laws and commandments are for people, and not vice versa. I feel sorry for people who believe in superstition, because they cannot take all the joy from this life - they are unhappy in fear of this faith.
How to deal with divination? People, especially young girls - this can be seen from our Ukrainian literature - were especially reverent about this period of the year, knowing that they would finally be able to know the future, find out the name of the betrothed and more.
It is definitely negative. If a person does this, he cannot be called a Christian. At its core, this man is a pagan. The Lord directly forbade guessing. And for this there is a direct punishment - it is death. If worship is the glorification of God, then divination is the glorification of the devil. You can't even mix Christian holidays with fortune-telling. This is the moment when Christianity begins to be considered magic. It's not magic. Christ did not perform magic - he brought life. Christianity is life in the truth of understanding. The performance of witchcraft rituals during the period of great Christian holidays is a sin that is not forgiven for many more generations to come.
Christian holidays during the Christmas holidays:
16:00 - worship
After the service, people go home for a family dinner.
Irina Kotsyubenko
Kutya is considered a traditional dish for the Christmas Eve. This is a lean dish, which includes grains of barley, wheat, sugar, several types of nuts, honey.
In addition to cooking, there is a tradition among the Russian people to bring it to godparents or other relatives and close people. Let's talk about how to cook kutya for Christmas correctly, as well as for what reasons it is worn and to whom.
Kutia on a visit: why they bring
The rite of wearing the supper came to us in pagan times from the southern side of Ukraine. The main purpose of the tradition is the wish for prosperity. The grain from which the dish is prepared is considered a sign of fertility, honey - wealth, various nuts - strength.
The technology of cooking a dish is not an easy process. After all, it is important to remember that well-being is a fruit achieved through diligence. Therefore, in ancient times, bringing a plate of kutya into the house for Christmas was considered the highest reward for diligence, as a person shows respect.
With the advent of the Christian faith, the tradition has undergone a number of changes. The main purpose remained, but they began to wear it exclusively to relatives and friends, blood relatives, showing the unity of the family. The second name of the rite is the procession of the cross.
Kutya was always brought to the house of godparents, as a thank you for the presence and participation in the second birth of the baby, to which the baptism process belongs. “Thank you” is also said for having made a decision and for the responsibility to pray for the child, to give instructions on the true path. For this reason, it is children who bring in the classic Christmas dish.
In pagan times, the guys showed this gratitude to midwives, helping them to be born. They were considered a second mother. But over time, godfather's parents' godfathers were endowed with this duty.
Children are the hope for the future, symbolizing spiritual purity. Therefore, it is important to congratulate not only godparents, but also other relatives. The first to try kutya are children, and only then the rest of the relatives.
A lenten, tasty and noble dish is being prepared on Christmas Eve before Christmas, and Vespers must be brought after sunset on January 6th.
In ancient times, the traditional snack was used not only by people, but also by domestic animals. The process of feeding took place according to certain rules, because an animal tamed by a person was considered a symbol of wealth, success, prosperity.
Of course, in the modern world, such strange customs are not carried out, and amendments were also made to the date of treating kutya until the evening of the 7th.
How to bring kutya
The meeting of children with kutya on the threshold should take place with the following words "Christ is born", and the children in response say "We praise him." After the official ceremony, adults distribute sweets, cookies and other treats to the children, and receive kutya in return.
Of course, gifts can be varied, not necessarily sweets. But it is important to remember that the exchange of sweets on Christmas Eve testifies to the wishes of each other for well-being, prosperity and prosperity.
It is important to follow the customs, even if you are not a fan of sweet foods. So, let's look at a few important rules for giving the supper:
- First of all, the container with kutya is given to the godfather - the head of the house, after which the lenten dish goes to the keeper of the hearth - the godmother.
- They eat a snack in a tablespoon, and then put it in the middle of the festive table, for testing by other family members.
- It is required to celebrate Christmas in the family circle, for this reason guests are not invited to this holiday.
But if you still invited guests, then they should not stay too long. After all, Christmas is required to be celebrated in a narrow family circle, smoothly ending the fasting time.
How to cook kutya
You can make a lean dish from any cereal, grain. The classic option is the use of wheat grains, previously crushed in a bowl of clean water to separate the chaff. But in different regions, people also use cereals such as: barley, pearl barley, rice, buckwheat, oats.
Consider several options for how to cook kutia for Christmas.
Traditional wheat recipe
To prepare, you will need to prepare:
- water - 800 ml;
- wheat grains - 400 g;
- poppy - 200 g;
- nuts - 1 cup;
- raisins - 0.15 kg;
- natural honey - 60 g;
- granulated sugar to taste;
- dried apricots, prunes optional.
Rinse the grains, pour the required amount of liquid. Put on the stove, cover. After boiling, reduce the heat, cook until the wheat is ready. Add hot liquid as needed. It is important that the cereal is crumbly.
The poppy is laid out in a small container, poured with boiling water, covered and left in this form for 3 hours to swell. Drain the liquid, and grind the finished ingredient until white milk is released. To speed up the process, a little sugar is added to it.
Combine the finished poppy with a beekeeping product, chopped nuts, raisins. Pour boiling water over, leave for 5-8 minutes and fill the finished cereal. Stir, spread on a beautiful plate and serve.
From millet groats
- sugar - 200 g;
- cinnamon (powder) - 2 tsp;
- millet groats - 400 g;
- water - 800 ml;
- white raisins - 200 g;
- fresh honey - 100 g;
- almonds - 200 g.
Put dry grapes in a plate, pour boiling water over them, leave for 30 minutes to swell. Strain through a sieve.
Millet groats are well washed, boiled for 10-15 minutes until half-cooked. Drain the remaining water, add new 400 ml. Continue cooking until done. It is important that there is no liquid and the porridge does not burn.
Soak nuts in cold water for 4 hours. Drain, grind in a blender until smooth.
Add raisins, cinnamon, sugar to taste in a container with porridge. Stir, put in a beautiful plate. Drizzle with chopped walnuts before serving.
Recipe for Christmas rice kutya
- water - 400 ml;
- marmalade - 150 g;
- rice - 200 g;
- salt - 1/2 tsp;
- natural honey - 50 g;
- raisins - 3/4 cup.
Rinse the grits, put in a saucepan, pour water. With strong heat, cook for 4 minutes, then set the medium - 7 minutes, and on low - 4.
Cover, leave for a quarter of an hour to swell. As a result, the rice is crumbly, soft.
Rinse the raisins, steam with boiling water, leaving for 10 minutes. Strain through a sieve.
Finely chop the marmalade. Add along with raisins and honey to rice. Stir, put in a suitable plate, serve.
Advice! For a better taste, rice groats can be boiled in a mixture of milk and water. So, it will not only boil well, but will also give the dish a more refined creamy taste.
Proper serving of meals
After cooking, kutya needs to be laid out in a deep beautiful plate. In order not to spoil the original taste, it is recommended to add honey just before serving. And how to decorate a Christmas kutya?
As a decoration, you can sprinkle chopped nuts, raisins, finely grated chocolate, sweets and marmalade on top. Basically, the appetizer is not decorated, as the combination of products gives it a special appearance.
Kutia is not only a healthy, but also a tasty dish that brings joy, respect, prosperity. Observing all traditions, children's laughter will always sound in your family, and bitterness and bad weather will pass by.
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