'It's beautiful to be Ukrainian': Manitobans ring in Orthodox Christmas with host of traditions

The holidays are just getting started for those who follow the Juliancalendar.

Sunday isOrthodox Christmas Eve, a celebration with many longstanding traditions for the city's Ukrainian community that have passed down from generation to generation, including throwing porridge on the ceiling and giving some of your dinner to the animals in your home.

Andriy Michalchyshyn, who plays in local Ukrainian folk-punk band, Zrada, will be celebrating by gathering with his family to eat 12 meatless dishes, which represent the 12 disciples of Jesus Christ.

Another tradition involves throwing kutya, a sort of pudding, at the ceiling.

"And if it sticks, it will be a bountiful harvest and a good year, and if it falls down, you better make a better batch next year," Michalchyshyn said.

Things were hopping at Alycia's Restaurant's new location at the Royal Albert Arms Hotel Sunday where staff were kept busy preparing traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve dinners for three separate seatings throughout the evening.

"So for Ukrainian Christmas it's usually meatless dishes, twelve meatless dishes, so that includes pickled herring, we've got meatless cabbage rolls, and our beet borscht a lot of the stuff that we've served over the years, " said Aaron Blanchard, whose grandmother ranAlycia's originalNorth End location for 40 years before it closed in 2011.

"So far it's good," added Blanchard of the night.

"This is the first seating and we've got two more seatings to go, so, we hope everybody enjoys themselves."

Katrusha Basarab, whocelebratedOrthodox Christmas on Sunday night with her family, said some traditions come from pre-Christian Ukraine, such as feeding your farm animals, or pets, some of your dinner to show your appreciation for them.

This is because it was believed that during this time of year, the god of animals would come to askthe animalshow they had been treated, she explained.

Even though some of these customs might be strange, Basarab said they are comforting to her.

"There's something very comforting to me about going through some of these rituals and motions and knowing that as you're you know cooking a particular food item that you only eat once a year that that's the way your mom does it. That's the way your grandmother did it. That's the way your ancestors before them did it," she said.

"It's tradition is so strong that even during times of adversity or separation, it's the thing that you cleave to, I think."

Michalchyshyn said he finds he appreciates the traditions more as he gets older.

"For me it's beautiful to be Ukrainian, it's beautiful to be Metis, Nigerian you know, be what you gonna be, but you have to know a bit about who you are," he said.

"So it keeps me tied to my roots and I have to say, I probably didn't appreciate as much when I was younger. But you if you go on with it, you learn to love it more and more each time I would say."

Ukrainians are not the only culture that celebrates Orthodox Christmas Eve on the Juliancalendar.

Some Ethiopians, Eritreans, Coptic Christians from Egypt, Russians, Serbians, Macedoniansand Montenegrins also celebrate the holidays according to the Juliancalendar.