Three Christmases

This is the first time I have experienced three Christmases. One is usually enough but this season consisted of even more eating and drinking for me than in previous years.

On the 24th of December I celebrated a traditional Polish Christmas with dumplings ("pierogi"), vegetarian "bigos" (sour cabbage and mushrooms) and some wine. Perhaps the latter is not traditional but the cheesecake we had for dessert was.

On the 25th of December I had my Irish traditional Christmas meal minus the turkey and ham. This meant lots of potatoes (baked, mashed and also disguised in the form of croquettes), broccoli, carrots, roasted parsnips and best of all, stuffing. This was followed by pudding and other sweet treats.

After that, on January 6th it was time for the Ukrainian Christmas. This time I was more involved in the preparation of the food. I made dumplings stuffed with sour cabbage and potatoes ("varenyki"), cabbage leafs with buckwheat and mushroom filling ("holubtsi"), doughnuts with rose and poppy seed filling ("pampuszky") and a dessert called "kutia" which consists of poppy seeds, nuts and raisins. There was also beetroot soup ("borsch") and sour cabbage salad with beans all washed down with cognac and vodka. Fish is eaten on the 6th while meat is eaten on the 7th of January.

There are many differences between these different traditional meals. In Ireland we have a candle at the window to welcome in strangers while in Poland there is an empty space at the table reserved for a possible guest. In Ukraine bread is placed on the table as well as a candle which is a reminder of the star of Bethlehem. There were also four cloves of garlic placed at the corners of the table. In Ireland we pull crackers which doesn't happen in Poland or Ukraine. However, in these countries carol singing at dinner is common while in Ireland, it is not.

There are many more differences depending on the region of each country but this year has certainly been full of interesting opportunities to compare and contrast different traditions as well as eating and drinking more than my fair share.