www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization Holy Supper - how traditional is traditional?

There have been other threads that dealt with Holy Supper in the past. As far as I know, it is basically a Slavic tradition, largely unknown to Orthodox of other jurisdictions- Greek, Antiochean, etc. Our Ruthenian parish had a traditional Holy Supper last year (except for its being held on a Saturday night, rather than Christmas Eve). This year, there are some who would like to change the foods to be prepared, to include ethnic dishes other than Slavic, and perhaps some non-fasting foods as well. In my parish more folks fast at differing levels than you might find in, say, a ROCOR parish. (St. Philip's Fast has recommended fasting guidelines that are more flexible than most for us.) My concern is this: The further we move away from old world observances of Holy Supper, the more I feel like historic continuity is being lost, even if it is basically an ethnic tradition, not a church one. It begins to look like a potluck dinner, instead.

Anyone care to offer their take on it? Has anyone had success with changing how the supper is observed? What about the lessening of ethnic tradition?

Hi Jim

A great deal of the "tradition" depends on where your family came from.

The customs and traditions that my family follows for the Holy Supper are different from the ones followed by Diak & Alex, who post on this forum.

There are also different from the customs of other families in my church.

I have friends in a dance group and they are completely booked up for the next few weekends, do the traditional Holy Supper for various church groups. They talk about the dishes prepared and their symbolism, have the Jaslickare (Star-Carolers) come in and they share the traditional foods with all in attendance.

After the traditional foods, there is a "pot-luck" available for all to share in. I guess the "traditional" part is just enough to get a "taste".

We do have all of the "traditional" dishes from my grandmother's village but we also "adapted" or "adopted" some "American" customs to "create" a "new tradition".

Hope this helps....

mark

Jim, I share your concerns. For this one dinner, I would recommend trying to stay with the 12-dish non-meat tradition, for in that tradition there is great significance with every dish that is prepared, what order it is eaten in, fasting character of the meal, etc. This is not to be exclusive in any way, but to provide a fuller expression of the tradition for the experience of all.

Now that I have put my foot in my mouth, you will find a substantial variance where your particular traditions originate from (Slovakia, Ukraine, Russia, Byelorus, Hungary, etc. in addition to some things picked up in North America) in the 12 foods. Honey and boiled wheat (kutya/kolyvo) are common to all, as is the kolach which is not eaten until Christmas morning but a candle is put in and lit in deep remembrance of Christ and our ancestors.

As you have well observed, it can quickly dissolve into another pot luck and lose the signficance of the proximal preparation for the Incarnation of our Lord and all of the particular symbolisms which are so rich, and which must be experienced in order to pass on.

With a bit of education, the meal can be not only fellowship, but a catechetical moment as well as a glimpse into the traditions of those who preceded and built the parish. Most will be having a serious feast on Christmas Day, so one supper without meat on Christmas Eve should be possible.

Svjatiy Vecheria is far more than just another pot luck, which you can have on any Sunday or feast day with a multitude of dishes.

There are plenty of non-Slavic (Greek, Melkite, etc.) solemnities at which special foods are eaten, such as the feast on St. Basil's Day (New Year's Day) with the vasiliopita in the Greek tradition, etc. that are not fasting days and the types of foods that can be brought are not as specified as the Holy Supper. And there are many more, such as name days celebrated using the Serbian Slava tradition, etc.

SLAVA ISUSU CHRISTU!

Diak wrote: "...Honey and boiled wheat (kutya/kolyvo) are common to all..."

This is an example of what I mean, in my family, we do not eat kutya/kolyvo; it wasn't the custom in the region where my grandmother was raised.

Diak also mentioned 12 dishes, in my Grandmother's village, they didn't do the 12 dishes.

I also think the non-food traditions are also VERY IMPORTANT as well. For example, in my family, we all wear shoes or slippers when we eat the Svati Vecer, no one is bare foot. Being barefoot is the sign of being poor and because Christ is being born on the night of the Svati Vecer, we are all RICH because of this.

We open the door and keep a light in the window so that in case the Holy Family passes by, they know there is room for them in this house, we also set an empty place at the table in case the Holy Family visits or some other un-expected "guest".

Does anyone else wrap a chain around the legs of the table to keep the bounty found on the table at the Svati Vecer stays within the home for the coming year?

Who makes babalky to serve with the sauerkraut soup? Do you take them fresh from the oven to give to the first person you meet so that they will be your friend in the coming New Year.

An example of adaptation, when my Baba was living, she was diabetic and could not eat salt. We would serve tuna fish for her because it had less salt than the sardines we eat. One of my cousin's doesn't like peas so in additon to the peas we have, we also serve corn so there will be a propserous year.

In addition to the kolach and fruits and candy, we also have a birthday cake, not only for the Baby Jesus, but for my aunt who's birthday is on the 23rd of December.

I would be interested in hearing other traditions and customs that people have for this most special night of the year!

Does anyone else keep the "goodies" on the table where the Svati Vecer is served all night in case our relatives visit from the "other side"?

It would be interesting to hear the other customs followed by people on this most special of nights.

marko

This is very true. When I asked a Slovak Greek Catholic priest friend (in NE Slovakia) years ago about kutiya he told me they didn't do that in Slovakia. I have not met a Greek Catholic from modern Slovakia who knows what it is.

I heard an englightening presentation once by Fr. Ralph Biernacki who said that the Slavs who don't (ritually) eat kutiya eat bobal'ky. That seems to hold up to scrutiny. Bobal'ky are round and made of wheat, the etymology of the name is from bob = bean, probably due to the shape.

The bobal'ky are prepared in some of the same way as kutiya (sweetened with nuts, seeds, etc). When bobal'ky is used otherwise it seems to have lost its significance as a memorial to the dead. Although at the same time bread is blessed in honor of the dead on some traditions.

Some Western Christians had a fasting meal in some places, some Italians ate baccala, salted dried cod, on Christmas eve. To make it just a pot-luck without fasting food and ritual foods and observances seems to make it no longer a "Holy Supper."

Neither my mother's or my father's family ate kutija at the Holy Supper. We have bobal'ki, either with sauerkraut (mom's side) or with nuts n' honey n' poppyseeds (dad's side). I was always told that bobal'ki is a variation of kutija, so that would explain the reason why we don't eat it (maybe).

Mark, the custom of the chain or rope around the legs of the table is quite common. My family didn't do it until several years back (maybe around 1995) when I learned of it through printed materials. One source for the explanations of such customs is the book "Vampires of the Carpathians" by Petr Bogatyrev. It is quite fascinating.

I will post about my experience of a parish Holy Supper later, when I get a moment.

Dave

Tony mentioned the Italian equivalent of the Holy Supper - but it's a lot more than cod. The Italian tradition calls for TWELVE different kinds of fish and sea food. The Italians call this the "ieiunium gaudiosum", the joyful fast, and permit eating twice the usual ration for fast days. Invite yourself if you ever get the chance; it's wonderful. So is the Italian Christmas music.
Incognitus

1) Regarding the twelve dishes, my family has a unique variation that dates back to the period of the Great Depression. During that time, my mother's maternal grandmother (I think) found it hard to afford enough food to make twelve seperate dishes. In order to keep the number twelve, she made a soup with twelve kinds of vegetables/beans/ingredients. We still do this in my family.

2) I have some experience with organizing a parish-wide, "covered dish" Holy Supper (in my case, for the eve of Theophany), and with the difficulties of keeping it "traditional." Let me outline some of the things that I did:

*I created a sign-up sheet for foods, desserts, and beverages. At the top of the sheet, I listed some of the customary foods. As the years go on, I add more and more of these foods to the list. Since there is a lot of variation in the "traditional" menu, and since not everyone is "nash" or can cook these foods, I left blank spaces for unspecified foods, the only requirement being that the foods be strict fast in nature.

*I arranged the tables in the hall into a U shape or a square, so that everyone is gathered together.

*Ritually, things are kept to a minimum. I typically play MC and offer a few words of welcome. We sing the Troparion of the Feast, the priest gives a blessing, we have a toast, break bread, and, some years, have garlic and honey. There have also been a few times when one of the parishioners, of Slovak background, brought oplatki and honey (yes, wafers at an ORTHODOX Svjatyj Vecher! :gasps: :p ). Everyone then helps themselves to the buffet-style meal.

*There are no ropes or chains (although who knows what I'll do this year), and no blessings with holy water.

*I have encouraged people during the meal to share stories about Christmas and Theophany when they were growing up, what customs they had, etc.

*After the meal, we sing the Kontakion and have a final blessing. Last year, I lead several parishioners in singing kol'ady in English and Slavonic after the supper; some people sang along, others kept chatting, and the kids just ran around playing.

Oh, the next day we bless the river, but that's another story.

Dave

Dear All,

In my family, we always celebrated Wigilia - Christmas Eve vigil supper - since my father was born in Poland and my mother is Slovak in heritage.

Traditionally, the supper is supposed to start when the first star appears in the sky, but at our house we just waited until it was definitely dark outside. I recall my parents discussing at twilight if it was time yet. The menu for Wigilia consisted of fast fare [not fast food ] with no meat being allowed. At our house, we nicknamed it "the white supper" because all the food was white or beige. We had sauerkraut with mushrooms, pierogi with potato filling, beans with garlic, and white fish, salmon loaf, and pickled herring as the main courses.

The highlight of the evening was the breaking and sharing of the Oplatek � a thin wafer of pure white flour that had the consistency of the old-time communion hosts used in the Roman Catholic church before Vatican II. What made this extra special was that my father's relatives in Poland always mailed us the oplatek. So sharing it was a way to share the meal symbolically with his family back in the old country. Even though after traveling airmail from Europe the wafer tasted about the same as the evelope it came in, it was a very special moment nevertheless!

Next, we all would go to Midnight Mass as a family. Then when we returned home - we got to eat again. This time cheese and sausage and ham and all the forbidden non-fasting foods.

Now as a monk I have different customs, but I really do miss this tradition from my family. Who knows? Maybe I could talk the kitchen-master into doing a little something along these lines. I already have gotten the junior monks to paint Easter eggs with me on Holy Saturday.

PAX

It seems to me that the use of the oplatki among Slovaks and Poles is analogous to kutiya (and bobal'ky).

I am sure there is more to it than salted dried cod. I am not of Italian background but am very fond of salted dried cod and was surprised to learn that it forms a part of the Italian Christmas eve meal.

Please tell more about the Italian Christmas eve supper and any others.

Also, how is it that in some cultures (many of them strongly RC) the biggest (non-fasting) meal is on Christmas eve? Even in the West was that not a fasting day until recently?

T

You're right, Mark, I should know better than to overgeneralize, especially when it comes to particular Slavic customs. Admittedly my experience with Rusyns is primarily Lemko and around Uzhorod, who all do generally eat kutya. Out of interest I did check with our one remaining Slovak family at our parish, and yes, they eat bolbaki instead of kutya.

We wrap string around the table legs, and we put lots of hay around the table, under, on top, etc. I feed some kutya to the livestock (wheat sweetened with honey, they love it) and carry a bowl around the house and barns singing something. It is the job of my youngest son to say "God's star shines" and then put the baby in the nativity set, and light a candle before the Nativity icon.

My wife has grown weary of the tossing the kutya on the ceiling, and I've grown weary of cleaning it up (our truce) but my sons still look forward to it.

We do keep a place set for the ancestors in case they want to stop by.

Benedictine:
� a thin wafer of pure white flour that had the consistency of the old-time communion hosts used in the Roman Catholic church before Vatican II"

You mean they still don't make host like that anymore? What do you use in your Abbey for Holy Communion?

You should have entered Holy Trinity in Butler, PA.

Since I live near Phildelphia, I know many Italians who celebrate the "Meal of the 7 fishes on Christmas Eve". Must be an Sicilian custom. I spent Christmas and Christmas Eve in Rome a couple of years ago. They didn't know what I was talking about.

Really? I always thought it went along with the Eucharistic significance of having bread and wine at the meal; those who are Orthodox or Greek Catholic have a prosphora-type loaf, and those who are Roman Catholic (and Slovak Lutheran, perhaps?) have a wafer. The Slovaks (I don't know about the Poles) will usually have a loaf of bread along with the oplatek, though, and bobal'ky as well.

Dave

For my family it's a somewhat traditional wigilia (waiting for the first star, 12 dishes, no meat, some traditional foods, etc.), but on Christmas day we eat tamales. I think my kids prefer tamales to cabbage, but they don't know I make them with venison!