A holiday shrouded in home warmth and tradition. How a Grodno family spends Christmas

December 25, Grodno. Romuald and Kristina Zanevsky from Grodno, who are celebrating Christmas today, shared with a BELTA correspondent how their family prepares for and celebrates this important holiday in the Catholic calendar.
Romuald Zanevsky said that Christmas is truly loved in their large family. "This holiday is very family-oriented for us; children and grandchildren gather. This year, 13 people gathered around the table," he noted. His wife, Kristina, added that this holiday is also special for her. "We used to visit Mom all the time, and a lot of us would come. Mom has been gone for three years now, so everyone brings their own family, bringing their own relatives," she said. "Since childhood, Christmas has been my favorite holiday; I loved it even more than Easter."
Preparations for the holiday begin long before Christmas Eve. On the very evening before Christmas, only Lenten dishes are placed on the table —there should be 12 of them. “The table is covered with a white tablecloth, and on it during the vigil is the most important thing—the oplatok, which we share with each other after the prayer. Another important dish is kutia, which is pearl barley porridge with poppy seeds; it is eaten first. My mother always used to say that you should eat pearl barley standing up so that the barley grows well,” the hostess noted.
“And then—”potato ,fried herring"Fish , smoked fish, sprats. To each their own, as they say. A special place, of course, is given to sweets, which children love," added Kristina Zanevskaya.
In their family, they make "ushki" (ears) with poppy seeds - pies made with yeast dough. "I made them the day before - December 23rd. The process is not fast, the dough needs to rise. Mom, for example, made them with mushrooms, but with this filling they sell out less quickly. And the grandchildren really love them with poppy seeds. I also make lazanki with poppy seeds - these are dough diamonds boiled in water, they are then doused with cooled boiled water and poppy seeds with sugar are added to them," Kristina Zanevskaya shares her recipes. "My mother used to make "lamanci" in the oven, but it takes a very long time, and then we started soaking broken bagels in water with sugar and poppy seeds. That's how this dish turns out. By the way, she also had yeast-dough pancakes with poppy seeds on the table, but because they had "ears," they remained unclaimed, so at some point she stopped making them.
Kristina Zanevskaya also prepares kissel for the vigil table. She noted that her mother used to make white kissel. "It was generally made with sourdough. But only my dad liked it," the hostess says with a smile.
"We try to observe all the traditions that our parents had; they passed them on to us, and we then passed them on to our children," Kristina Zanevskaya emphasized. "This time, when I was preparing the vigil table, I wondered how my mother managed to do everything. Of course, we all helped her, but try and cook for that many people. "And she also baked pies."
After the vigil, the extended family always goes to church for the rite. "It's a must; only the very youngest stay at home," noted Romuald Zanevsky.
Yesterday was a completely Lenten day—no milk, eggs, or butter. Today, however, meat dishes are allowed. "We usually grill shashlik; we have a private house, so while the girls are setting the table at home, the men are busy with the shashlik. Everyone likes it, everyone is happy," said Romuald Zanevsky.
So, on December 25th, the extended family is together again. The couple noted that Christmas has a special atmosphere for them. "There's a Christmas tree, presents, the children recite poems, we sing carols, and we all go to church together," added Romuald Zanevsky.
"Little Jesus was born on this night. A new life begins, as they say. This is a family holiday , when we are all together. Even on New Year's , we might not get together, because young people have their own way of doing things, their own plans. "But these moments—the evening before Christmas and December 25th—we are together. That's how it's been, from our great-grandfathers on down through the ages," Kristina Zanevskaya concluded.