"A Christmas tree, a snowman, colorful lights, a magical mood and just spending time with the people closest to you-all this, and much more fun today is inextricably linked to the New Year's holidays, which in most orthodox countries last from December 31 to January 14.
Hi guys. Have a good and winter's great mood everyone!!! I really hope that none of us will get sick with covid 19 and your holidays will be spent in love and joy.
I want to take part in the challenge, kindly provided by Mr. @TengoLoTodo I'm "very tight" with the translation, but I think I understand its meaning, which is: you need a Christmas story and need to collect the word "READ". Specifically:
Submit an entry with the theme A Christmas Story
Mention the tag #ChristmasChallenge2021
Mention me @TengoLoTodo
The article needs to be in English and at least 600 words in length
Has to be your own words and original content
Needs to have a picture of the Special Requirement READ somewhere in the article.
No more entries after December 23rd will be eligible for prizes.
And it's only 23 days away!!!
Quotation from the Internet :
After the 16th century when the Pope introduced the Gregorian calendar, some parts of christian church started to celebrate Christmas according to the new style (December 25 of the modern Gregorian calendar) and some parts of christian church continued to celebrate it according to the old style with the date January 7.
Many times I have been asked about our Christmas - what is it like? How else can we celebrate Christmas? What do people do anyway?
This will probably be one of my favorite posts because I love Christmas! So if you're interested, sit back...I'll tell you about it.
Once again, I am an Orthodox Christian. But on December 25 we also have a holiday, but not Christmas! And the day of St. Nicholas, this patron saint of children and for some reason he is associated with Santa Claus. It is to St. Nicholas our children write letters of desire, and to Santa Claus whisper in his ear. Yes, the one under the tree (toy). Maybe that is why my sister and I always got presents which we wanted 😁 because my mom and dad heard us whispering.
We Ukrainians have a special attitude towards the celebration of Christmas, because the happiness of all the following days of the year depends on the richness and joy of this day.
Holiday in Ukrainian families begins in the evening of January 6, and lasts until January 14. On the night from 13th to 14th we Ukrainians have the opportunity to spend the old year and the New Year for the second time. The holiday is called the Old New Year))) And I want to tell you not only about our Christmas, but about Christmas Eve and Santa Claus.
I think you will be interested, maybe you've never heard of it :-)
In the evening, the whole family (and it is mandatory that all family members get together and move in) gather around the holiday table.
Only Lenten dishes are prepared, the number of which corresponds to the number twelve - as a tribute to the twelve apostles. It is forbidden to speak loudly.
At the feast table it is imperative to try all twelve dishes. Until dinner is over, one must not leave the house, lest evil spirits enter the house.
All day long adults eat nothing but drink water (oh how hard it is), children of course can. First we read a prayer, and then each family member eats three spoons of kutya.
We give it special attention. It should be made of whole wheat. Cooked wheat is topped with honey, raisins, poppy, dried fruits, uzvar and other sweets. Porridge made of wheat grains is called "poor Kutya". is also an indispensable meal at our funerals. And uvvar is usually cooked at the birth of children.
Uvzvar is a compote of dried pears and apples, plums, dried fruits - in one word.
Twelve Lenten dishes are borscht, fish, mushrooms, pies with beans, cabbage, mushrooms, stewed potatoes, cabbage, dumplings with potatoes and cabbage, pancakes, uzvar and kutya. But I am not much of a believer, and I don't always adhere to these criteria. BUT! I always make red borscht on Christmas Eve (I have a zedes recipe, look it up just don't add meat!), uzvar, cabbage pies (also have a recipe) and kutya porridge. I make it with boiled buckwheat, poppy seeds, nuts (hazelnut and walnut), dried fruits (dried apricots, prunes, raisins) and fill it with honey. Each of the ingredients means something: for example poppy seed means abundance in the house, nuts mean abundance and so on I will not go too deep.
On the night before Christmas, we have carols: "A carol, a carol, a caroler...good with honey...".
After supper is over, crowds of young people dressed in costumes pour out into the streets. At the porch of each house, performances are staged, with a goat as the central figure. It's called vertep... "to drive a goat." It's kind of like Halloween, only they dress up as different animals, not horrors. The trick-or-treaters wish the owners happiness. And they give different treats in return. Like this👇
"Goat" is a performance where each participant has a correspondence to his or her own character. The main characters are "Grandfather" and "Goat".
During the ritual performance and according to the lyrics of the song, the Grandfather "kills" the Goat with a stick, and then "cries" for her and tries to revive her. He succeeds by means of ritual actions - singing and dancing, as well as gifts that have to be brought by the masters. Or so👇
The idea of this performance is a victory of life over death!
It's symbolic in the ritual. Well, my friends, how do you like beautiful folk traditions? Write me about it in the comments to this article.
And a little story from my New Year's Eve childhood:
Back when I was a kid, we had a huge box with all of our Christmas toys in it. (I was about seven at the time). And it had a picture of Santa with short pants and reindeer. I asked my mom: "And why is Santa Claus in short pants, isn't he cold? Why did he take off his coat? He's going to freeze to death, isn't he? And where's his granddaughter, Snow Maiden, and who are those reindeer and why are there so many of them?" So I asked my mother a lot of questions😁😁
For your information Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden look like this👇 Santa Claus has a magic staff - he controls Winter and grants wishes
The Snow Maiden may have a kokoshnik on her head.
Not to be confused with his wife🤣 This is Santa's granddaughter!
Also our Father Frost rides in a sleigh with a trio of white horses. Why white?: Winter, Blizzard, Zaviruha! And he doesn't climb up the chimney like Santa. I take it his coat gets stuck 😁 in the chimney.
And here's Santa Claus: (there aren't enough reindeer, aren't there twelve? Correct me if I'm wrong. I also know that each reindeer has a different name).
Feel the difference?
So that's why I told you all this--so that you would understand what I'm talking about now.
And my mom's answer was simple: "It's the other Father Frost ))))." But I didn't ask her who it was. Why and where from?
But I do remember that after that, I began to believe that there is not one Santa, but two! I thought that after this news for me will be twice as many gifts and a ride on the reindeer at the same time, because the sleigh with the horses I have rolled, but the reindeer-no.
Childhood, naivety, dreams ... And what do we have to take from childhood to adulthood? That's right! A dream!
I hope you liked my story.
The pictures in the article above are all taken from the internet.
And now a photo for the contest.
And for this one I made a simple "Winter Window Pie", which is what I called it.
Sorry, bad lighting, I give the word "READ" separately.
How I made it will be my next article about that.
Thank you Mr. @TengoLoTodo for such a wonderful, winter contest!!!
Light a candle on Christmas Eve...Who has a light a candle in the window, God will never forsake.
Also on this night, look up at the sky and try to see a shooting star. 🌠 If you're. If you're lucky enough to spot one in the the Christmas sky a star in the Christmas sky, ask...to ask the birth of Christ...your greatest wish. It will...will surely come true...Christmas, for believers. Is the most important holiday along with the resurrection of the lord!
The Savior of the World is born!!!!! Praise Him!!!!
I would like to thank my sponsors for their faith in me and their support. Thanks to you, many people have learned about me and my content and become my friends. Thank you! I was so happy when I saw the sponsorship notices from you, it means a lot to me and I am grateful for it)
I thank God for his help in writing this article, and you, dear readers, praise him if your reading has been helpful to you.
I want to know your opinion.
If you are interested in my content,then I invite you to read my other articles:
https://read.cash/@Belozoriana/onion-and-garlic-jam-f71c50ef
https://read.cash/@Belozoriana/forest-glade-themed-cake-b6adf80b
https://read.cash/@Belozoriana/solanka-or-meat-pickerel-f982f73b
https://read.cash/@Belozoriana/stuffed-cabbage-rolls-with-bacon-and-minced-meat-in-a-tagine-72c8463f
https://read.cash/@Belozoriana/chicken-with-fried-rice-fd76245a?
...and you will also help the author collect more tips.
Congratulations, you are one of the $3 winners in #ChristmasChallenge2021 , I tipped you your prize, thanks for entering