Ancient custom stated
that no one eat until the first star shone in the sky. Kutya, consisting of boiled wheat
sweetened with honey and sprinkled with poppy seeds, or of boiled rice with raisins and
nuts, was the traditional dish. In southern Russia, particularly, there was a tradition
practiced. A mixed sheaf of barley, wheat, and buckwheat, tied with a handful of hay,
was brought in. The sheaf was placed in the corner under the icons and a pot of kutya
with a candle stuck in it was placed next to it. The table was spread with hay and covered
with a white cloth in memory of the manger. A prayer for the New Year started dinner,
which was finished with kutya. But first, the head of the household threw a spoonful
outside for Grandfather Frost, saying "here is a spoonful was thrown up in the ceiling.
Any grains that stuck represented the number of bees that came in summer. Everyone left
some kutya in their bowl for departed relatives at the end of dinner.
Christmas Day.
Christmas Day found everyone out visiting in their finest clothes. Tables were always spread
in a special manner, traditionally with at least five varieties of nuts, from Greece, the Volga,
the Siberia, as well as many kinds of pickled mushrooms and several sorts of special
gingerbread cookies. All kinds of apples, fresh, sweet, scrunch, sugar-preserved, or dried,
were spread on the table along with many dried fruits, raisins, currants, cherries, prunes,
pears, and dates.
Svyatki
Svyatki was the period between Christmas and New Years in old Russia. During this happy
time it was the traditional to tell fortunes every day in a whole variety of ways. For instance
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