Christos razdajetsja!

"Christ is born."Today is Christmas Eve for those of the Orthodox faith.Throughout the area, Carpatho-Russian Orthodox and Ukrainians are preparing for the celebration of the birth of Jesus as marked by the Julian calendar.The Julian calendar is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar, which most of the world follows today. Dec. 25 on the Julian calendar falls on Jan. 7 on the Gregorian calendar.To honor those celebrating the holiday, the Times News visited St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church in Nesquehoning to learn about a few of their Christmas traditions.Holy SupperOne of the oldest traditions of both Orthodox and other faiths alike is Holy Supper.According to parishioners the custom reminds everyone that church is also in the home.Mary Ellen Hawk of Nesquehoning, a parishioner of St. John the Baptist, keeps this tradition alive for her family and has been working hard to make many of the foods her family will enjoy this evening.She prepares the meal based on blended customs learned from her parents and grandparents."Our traditions are generational as both of my parents' families had Holy Supper," Hawk said. "Ours was a blend of both families' traditions. There are 13 foods that are served and how each family prepares and serves them is dependant upon which region of the 'old country' they came from."Holy Supper meals like Hawk's family's will include a number of versions of foods and drinks that symbolize different areas of life going into the new year.Holy Supper preparationsHoly Supper typically begins around 5 p.m., after the church bells ring. The ringing bells symbolize the time when the first star is usually seen in the night sky on Christmas.At that time families wash their hands with coins to signify good fortune in the new year.In some areas, animals are fed to remind the people that animals were present in the stable when Jesus was born.The table is dressed in white linen and four candles. A manger scene and hay or straw are placed in the center. One place is also set but will remain empty in memory of family who had passed.In some families, the legs of the table are tied with chain or rope to represent the asking of blessings and protection from all corners of the world.Candles and the Christmas tree are lit and the family, animals and food are sprinkled with holy water.Before the meal begins, blessed incense is burned, prayers are recited and a toast is offered.The mealThe serving of bread with honey and garlic begins the meal. Garlic symbolizes the bitterness of life, while honey, the sweetness of life.In the Hawk family, the meals begins with oplatki, a wafer, dipped in honey and garlic.Following that, bobalky or bread balls mixed with honey, cooked prunes and poppy seeds are served.The meal consists of 12 foods like homemade pirohy, mushrooms, pea soup, nuts, vegetables, fish, prune soup, stuffed cabbage, sauerkraut, tea, kolachy or borsch. No meat is served during the meal.Many families also create variations of the traditional foods as tastes and generations change.For example, Hawk will serve lima bean and prune, mushroom and potato and pea and sauerkraut soups; as well as various types of pirohy.The meal concludes with homemade cookies and cakes, Christmas carols, exchanging of gifts and attending Great Complines at church.Bethlehem carolersA tradition that has ceased in the Nesquehoning community, but is still lovingly remembered by the parishioners is the Bethlehem carolers.Richard Hallahan, a church trustee who portrayed the first shepherd for six years in the 1960s, said that the Bethlehems would walk around, carrying a wooden replica of the church, to all parishioners' homes over a three-day period, beginning at 7 p.m. on Christmas Eve and ending sometime during the afternoon on Jan 8.According to Ted Pathroff, a church trustee, the custom of the Bethlehems was brought over from central Eastern Europe and was a Carpatho-Rusyn tradition.The Bethlehems, dressed as shepherds, angels and St. Nicholas visited the parishioners' homes from the 1930s to the 1970s. Typically the tradition was to have only men in the group, but as the years went by, it allowed middle school, high school and college-aged boys as well.During the visits, the Bethlehems would enter a person's home in a certain order and complete a reenactment of the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. The wooden church would be carried into the home and set on the table during the event.The old shepherd or St. Nicholas, carrying a staff that included an ax on one end, would also provide a warning to the children to be good.The tradition ceased in the late 1970s because of lack of manpower, parishioners moving beyond the limits of Nesquehoning borough and the Great Complines being celebrated at 9 p.m. instead of midnight to accommodate the aging congregation, Hallahan said."It was a beautiful custom," Pathroff said."It was uplifting and spiritual for not only the players, but the people whose homes that were visited," Hallahan added. "Everyone looked forward to this."Today, two replica churches used during the event can be found on display in the community room of the church.