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Christmas Eve is known as Sviata Vechera in the Ukraine, and the
following is a description of their celebration. It is from the
cookbook "Festive Ukrainian Cooking" by Marta Pisetska Farley.

The traditional year for the Ukrainians started with the great
period of abstinence called Pylypivka (Advent). By fasting on
certain days and restraining from dancing, Ukrainians prepared
themselves for Christmas and its celebration. Until quite recently,
Ukrainians celebrated the Christmas season from Christmas Eve
(January 6, O.S) to the Feast of Jordan (January 19, O.S.). The
Birth Of Christ (Rizdvo Klustove) started the church calendar for
Uniate and Orthodox Christians alike. As with many great feasts, the
eve (navecherie) preceding the day marked the beginning of the
celebration. Christmas Eve ended with Holy Supper (Sviata Vechera).
However there was much preparation beforehand. Before partaking of
the Christmas Eve meal, the family fasted all day. The house was put
to order, but no outside work was done. All members wore festive
clothing. This was a holy day. The tone of the supper was that of
"festive dignity". The meal officially began with the sighting of the
first star, a task assigned to the children. The male head of the
household (hospodar) took a bowl of Kutia (flummery) and invited the
souls of all the departed family members to partake of the meal. He
invited the forces of nature to share in the meal and to protect the
family from natural calamities in the coming year. Specific rituals
and spells to placate nature's fury differed regionally. One
important ritual that prevailed in many households was the communal
sharing of bread and honey. The Hospodar took a plate with small
pieces of kolach and a dish containing honey and salt, and dipping
each piece of bread lightly into the honey, approached each member of
the household, starting with the eldest. "Chrystos razhdayet'sia"
("Christ is born"); he was answered "Slavite Yeho" ("Let us glorify
Him"), The female head of the household (hospodynia) repeated the
greeting. After that the supper began, dish following dish, ending
with kutia or uzvar, depending on which one began the celebration.
Each family in each locality developed its own adaptation of this
meal, so that there were many variations on a basic theme. After
the meal, the hospodar visited the barn animals and added kutia to
their food. This custom reflected the strong belief that the dish
had magical properties far greater than the sum of the ingredients
would suggest. The animals were believed to be endowed with speech on
Christmas Eve, as a gift from God for their service to the Christ
Child on the night of His birth. Other ritual activities were
important to varying degrees in different regions. The menu for
Sviata Vechera varied from province to province in execution and in
order of presentation. The number of dishes ranged from twelve
(most common) to nine or seven. Each number had magical
associations. The table was set with specific items. The table was
strewn with hay, symbol of fertility and abundant harvest, then
covered with a cloth. A large kolach flanked by candles, was placed
in the center of the table. A dish of salt and a dish of honey
were put at the host's place. On a sideboard, a lit candle with a
dish of kutia commemorated the family's dead. An extra place for the
unexpected guest remained set until the end of the meal. A sheaf of
wheat, symbol of abundance and nature itself, graced a corner of the
room.

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