Monday 10 December 2012

Delivering a Love Letter-Koliada 2013

The candle is lit, the table is set, the family welcomes the "diduch дідух - spirit of the the ancestors" and sits to a Holy Supper much like the Jewish Seder - Sviata Vecherya Святя Вечеря.   Feast on kutia кутя, the mysterious, sweet pudding of Neolithic origin or earlier? Rejoice, we continue to survive! We have lived to see the light of eternity in the darkest night of winter - and rejoice!

By the Julian Calendar, January 6 and 7th each year are the dates of Eastern Orthodox Christmas.  For the one quarter of Albertans for whom Ukraine is spiritual, ancestral homeland, it is Rizdvo Різдво, here on the prairies again!

After a forty day fast, a ritual feast of ancient dishes remind the family of past challenges, threats to survival.  A menu of "hard-time" foods, meat-less, dairy-less, nothing hunted, no bloodletting, but the incense of innocence, a New Baby Born.  Let's feast on the Good News!  Life is now better!   The Lamb will be fat!  We will drink the cup of eternity! A life of milk and honey is upon us! Even death will be filled with a satisfying aroma of anticipation!   Sing!  Isn't that Good News?

Christmas Carols tell the story, carolers arrive at the home.  If He knocks, will you open the door?  The ritual song, a recited greeting , and the hosts share their feast of food and drink with the travelers.

Tryzub Ukrainian Dance Ensemble is ready to carol in your home on the evenings of January 6, 7, 2013.  For more information please contact  info@tryzub.ca.

Some carols to enjoy in the meantime  - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpK_QxMfwvc



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