Many of us are back to the regular work week, starting New Year's resolutions, and taking down our Christmas lights and decorations. But for Orthodox Christians, the Christmas season got into high gear this week. January 6th is Ukrainian Christmas Eve and January 7th is Ukrainian Christmas Day and we had great fun celebrating with our friends. 

Manitoba has a large Ukrainian population that celebrates Orthodox Christmas, including our guest, Yevgenia Taterenko of Morden. Living in Manitoba since 2016, Yevgenia mentioned that her family takes on the Canadian Christmas tradition of celebrating on December 25th, as well as Ukrainian Christmas on January 7th!

The 12 meatless dishes are something most of us can recall hearing about, but it has much to do with remembering ancestors and with a table full of food, it can be tempting to dive in, however, Ukrainian families look for the first evening star before they begin!

And the main dish? Kutia.

Carolling is a big part of their celebrations as are church services which are usually a staple part of the Orthodox Christmas time. 

2020 celebrations looked completely different than usual but that did not take away our Christmas spirit!!

Merry Christmas!