Holy Supper

[Vasya Davidovich]

Hello to old friends. And a blessed Nativity (past or future) to one and all.

For those of you who follow Slavic Orthodox customs, how do you celebrate your Christmas eve Holy Supper?

More specifically, which 12 dishes do you eat?

Vasya.

 

[Mary of Bethany]

Hey - great to see you again!

I wish I could answer your question. We have a Holy Supper, but I'm never able to be there because of family obligations. Hopefully someone else will chime in.

Mary

 

[Monica child of God 1]

Hi!

I've wanted to do this for years, but it never works out with the timing of vespers. It's a lot of cooking to try to squeeze in if I go to morning and evening services. Maybe I'll give it a shot tomorrow.

M.

 

[Vasya Davidovich]

Do you do a fish dish? Do you do wine?

 

[Monica child of God 1]

No, I'd do shrimp instead. Wine & oil are allowed on my calendar (ROCOR). I have a set of recipe cards for the traditional dishes but it's a little late to pull them out tonight.

M.

 

[Anhelyna]

My GodPapa is preparing a 'mini' Holy Supper tonight since he is visiting me for Nativity. I know we are having fish and wine 'cos I was asked if I had both . He can't manage to bring everything for 12 meatless dishes but I believe we are having a minimum of 6

This will be my first Holy Supper - I have never managed to have this before .

Now I just have to hope the trains run today and he arrives safely

 

[Khaleas]

Wow! Blast from the past!

These are the links Father posted in the bulletin, maybe you can get ideas from there

Sviat Vechir

Twelve-dish Christmas Eve supper - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

We usually had a wide selection of cold salads, soups, pierogies. I miss going there... almost drove to MD today...

 

[Vasya Davidovich]

I have spent a lot of time researching this (there is no formal 12-course Holy Supper tradition in my parish and only learned of it incidentally) and I have to admit to being frustrated.

It is hard to understand which dishes (such as are mentioned in Wipikedia or other places) are essential, and which dishes are variations on a theme, and which dishes are completely incidental. What compounds the problem is knowing that the Supper in general is symbolic, almost liturgical, in nature. The 12 dishes representing the apostles, the bread and candle that symbolize Christ, bread and light of the world, etc. The bread is leavened, referring back to the leavening nature of Christianity in the world. I could go on.

So I see any number of mushroom dishes. Do the mushrooms have significance? Or is it simply a matter of taste, Lenten-ness, and convenience?

I see any number of fish dishes. I read that the fish represents Christ. It appears almost sacrosanct. I hear from my Matushka this morning ... definitely okay. Yet in other traditions (ref Monica's post, above) fish is a no-no.

So what I am hoping for is either a list of what someone ate, or eats (more data towards helping me understand the traditions), or a reasoning behind a given dish or dish theme.

Vasya.

 

[Mary of Bethany]

In our OCA parish - it's considered a "strict fast" day, so no fish for us. I'll see if I can find out about the other dishes.

Mary

 

[Julina]

i should have tried to convince my parents to do this.

how do you know which food is for which apostle?

 

[ProScribe]

Hello to old friends. And a blessed Nativity (past or future) to one and all.

For those of you who follow Slavic Orthodox customs, how do you celebrate your Christmas eve Holy Supper?

More specifically, which 12 dishes do you eat?

Vasya.

I don't know . . . I saw a television show called strange rituals and there was a segment that had talked about cannibalism . . .

 

[ProScribe]

Do you do a fish dish? Do you do wine?

Theres usually a "supper" after divine liturgy ~

 

[Vasya Davidovich]

i should have tried to convince my parents to do this.

how do you know which food is for which apostle?

I don't believe any specific food is attached to any specific apostle ... just the number 12 is symbolic of the apostles, and so calls to mind both the Last Supper and the totality of the Church.

The only person symbolized in a specific dish (pagach) is the Person of Christ, the bread of the world.

Hope that helps!

Vasya.

NB. As an interesting side note, I was reading the memoirs of a Slav in North America who was writing about their childhood experiences eating the Holy Supper at her grandmother's. She described wondering which apostle had the misfortune to be represented by the creamed peas. So clearly the question is not a new one.