Many of the Eastern Orthodox Churches celebrate Christmas on January 7th – and so does our family, although nobody in it is Orthodox anymore, and although we also celebrate Christmas on December 25th. After all, who’d pass up a chance to have two Christmases? Especially when one of them gives you a chance to connect with your ethnic roots while throwing food at the ceiling? (More about that later.)

The big Christmas dinner actually takes place on Christmas Eve. Since this is still Advent, a season of penance, the meal has to be meatless. But that doesn’t mean it’s not elaborate. Traditionally, there are 12 different fish- and vegetable-based dishes. No, I don’t serve all 12 every year – for one thing, the supermarkets always seem to be out of miniature perogies (filled dumplings) and vegetarian cabbage rolls around this time of year. Obviously, we’re not the only ones celebrating.

But I do manage to come up with a few of the dishes, like borscht, fried fish, and a loaf of sweet bread. And there’s one dish that’s essential: Kutya.

Kutya (or kutiya) is made by boiling hard wheat kernels till they’re mushy, then mixing them with honey, sugar, and poppy seeds. It’s served cold or room temperature, and it’s not just food, it’s a look into the future.

At dinner, the father of the family takes a spoonful of kutya and flings it at the ceiling. The more of it that sticks, the better the next year is supposed to be. This may be the vestiges of some sacrifice to pagan gods, or just a test of the quality of last fall’s wheat crop. Either way, sometimes it’s good to keep doing something just because it’s always been done. And the honey comes off the ceiling with a little work.

Another Christmas is worth it.

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