Ukrainian Christmas Traditions: Holy Supper, Didukh and the Story Behind "Carol of the Bells"

Ukrainian Christmas is built around one evening: Святий вечір (Sviatyi vechir), Holy Evening, the night before Christmas. Families wait for the first star, sit down to a meatless supper of twelve dishes, and then go out carolling. Here's what happens, what it means, and why one Ukrainian carol is probably already on your holiday playlist.

When do Ukrainians celebrate Christmas?

For most of the last century, Ukrainians celebrated Christmas on January 7, following the old Julian calendar used by the Russian Orthodox Church. In 2023 that changed. The Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church both moved to December 25, and in July 2023 President Zelensky signed a law making December 25 the national Christmas holiday. Christmas Eve is now December 24.

Not everyone has switched. Some parishes, in Ukraine and in Canada, still keep the January dates, and many families with roots on both calendars celebrate twice. If a Ukrainian friend invites you to Christmas Eve supper on January 6, that's why.

Sviatyi vechir: the Holy Supper

The Christmas Eve meal, Свята вечеря (Sviata vecheria), starts when the first star appears in the evening sky, a nod to the star of Bethlehem. Children are often sent to the window to watch for it.

The table has twelve dishes, traditionally said to stand for the twelve apostles or the twelve months of the year. Because the day is a fast, none of them contain meat or dairy. Recipes vary by region and by family, but a typical table includes:

• Kutia (кутя): boiled wheat berries with honey, poppy seeds and nuts. It's the most important dish of the night; many families eat it first.
• Borshch: a clear, meatless version, often served with vushka, small mushroom dumplings.
• Varenyky: dumplings filled with potato, cabbage or mushrooms.
• Holubtsi: cabbage rolls stuffed with rice or buckwheat.
• Fish: fried, baked or jellied.
• Pampushky: soft garlic rolls.
• Uzvar (узвар): a drink made from dried and smoked fruit.

Many families set an extra place for relatives who have died, or who can't be home. Since 2022, that empty chair has carried more weight for a lot of Ukrainian families.

The didukh

In the corner of the room stands a didukh (дідух), a sheaf of wheat or other grain from the last harvest. The name comes from did, grandfather, and the didukh represents the family's ancestors joining the celebration. It's one of the oldest parts of Ukrainian Christmas and predates Christianity in Ukraine. Some families also scatter a little hay under the tablecloth to recall the manger.

Carols: koliadky and shchedrivky

After supper, carollers go house to house. Ukrainians sing two kinds of songs over the holidays:

• Koliadky (колядки) are Christmas carols, sung from Christmas Eve onward. Many are about the birth of Christ; some are much older and are about the sun, the harvest and the family.
• Shchedrivky (щедрівки) are New Year songs, sung on Щедрий вечір (Shchedryi vechir), "Generous Evening", the Ukrainian New Year's Eve. They wish each household a good, generous year ahead.

Carollers often carry a large paper star on a pole, and are thanked with treats or a small donation. Today many carolling groups collect money for humanitarian aid or for Ukraine's defenders.

"Carol of the Bells" is a Ukrainian song

The most famous shchedrivka in the world is Shchedryk (Щедрик). In it, a swallow flies into a family's home and tells the owner what a rich year is coming: healthy lambs, money, a beautiful wife. The composer Mykola Leontovych arranged the folk melody for choir, and it premiered in Kyiv in December 1916.

After the 1917 revolution, Ukraine's short-lived independent government sent a national choir led by Oleksandr Koshyts on a world tour to show that Ukraine had its own culture. Koshyts's chorus sang Shchedryk at Carnegie Hall in New York on October 5, 1922. In 1936 the American composer Peter Wilhousky wrote new English words for it, and it became "Carol of the Bells". Most people who hum it every December have no idea it started as a Ukrainian New Year song about a swallow.

Christmas greetings in Ukrainian

• Христос народився! (Khrystos narodyvsia!): "Christ is born!" The reply is Славімо Його! (Slavimo Yoho!), "Let us glorify Him!"
• Веселих свят! (Veselykh sviat!): "Happy holidays!"
• З Різдвом Христовим! (Z Rizdvom Khrystovym!): "Merry Christmas!"

Bringing a little Ukraine to your holidays

If you'd like to support Ukraine this season, our Holiday Gifts collection has our most giftable pieces. 100% of our profits go to humanitarian aid for Ukraine, and we publish every donation on our Transparency page.

To arrive by Christmas in Canada and the US, order by December 11 with standard shipping or December 15 with express. Веселих свят!