Viliya: Slovak Christmas Eve Supper
A few weeks ago, I saw an announcement that the monks of St. Andrew Abbey were hosting a "Viliya," or Slovak Christmas Eve Supper, yesterday at Benedictine High School. Several years ago, while Ben was still young, our family had been to the event, so Kathie and I talked about it and decided to attend.
Following a noon Mass in the abbey church, the congregation gathered in the Benedictine cafeteria for the meal. Knowing no one, Kathie and I ended up sitting with a friendly family of cousins. They had remembered such meals when their grandmother was alive and made plans to relive those days.
The abbott and the assistant principal of the high school acted as hosts, leading the group in prayer and song. Beginning with Oplatky wafers dipped in honey and accompanied by a glass of sweet red wine, our meal consisted of about a dozen dishes, each one with defined meaning in the Slovak tradition. The first course was cabbage soup, somewhat bland, but tasty nonetheless.
Fresh fruit and nuts were on the table and eaten after the soup was finished, then everyone filed through the cafeteria line for the main course. Breaded fish was served with bobalki (delicious pieces of baked dough, similar to marble-sized bits of dinner rolls, tossed in a sweet poppyseed sauce), peas and pirohi (two potato and one prune). For dessert, each person got slices of nut and poppyseed rolls.
Despite being surrounded by strangers, I felt a great sense of comfort and familiarity with the surroundings, the laughter and the wholesome goodness of the meal. Dinner conversation with our tablemates centered on our families--mostly grandmothers and mothers--church and roots. I thought a lot about my parents, grandparents, siblings and other relatives, many of whom aren't able to join us any more.
My hope this Christmas season is to prolong the good feelings and memories of family, sharing them with Kathie and Ben, my siblings and cousins. Through our family get-togethers, we can maintain the old traditions learned from our parents and grandparents, perhaps experiment with making some of the old dishes, and ensure our heritage gets passed along.
Vesele Vianoce! Merry Christmas!
Following a noon Mass in the abbey church, the congregation gathered in the Benedictine cafeteria for the meal. Knowing no one, Kathie and I ended up sitting with a friendly family of cousins. They had remembered such meals when their grandmother was alive and made plans to relive those days.
The abbott and the assistant principal of the high school acted as hosts, leading the group in prayer and song. Beginning with Oplatky wafers dipped in honey and accompanied by a glass of sweet red wine, our meal consisted of about a dozen dishes, each one with defined meaning in the Slovak tradition. The first course was cabbage soup, somewhat bland, but tasty nonetheless.
Fresh fruit and nuts were on the table and eaten after the soup was finished, then everyone filed through the cafeteria line for the main course. Breaded fish was served with bobalki (delicious pieces of baked dough, similar to marble-sized bits of dinner rolls, tossed in a sweet poppyseed sauce), peas and pirohi (two potato and one prune). For dessert, each person got slices of nut and poppyseed rolls.
Despite being surrounded by strangers, I felt a great sense of comfort and familiarity with the surroundings, the laughter and the wholesome goodness of the meal. Dinner conversation with our tablemates centered on our families--mostly grandmothers and mothers--church and roots. I thought a lot about my parents, grandparents, siblings and other relatives, many of whom aren't able to join us any more.
My hope this Christmas season is to prolong the good feelings and memories of family, sharing them with Kathie and Ben, my siblings and cousins. Through our family get-togethers, we can maintain the old traditions learned from our parents and grandparents, perhaps experiment with making some of the old dishes, and ensure our heritage gets passed along.
Vesele Vianoce! Merry Christmas!
posted by Joe Wollet at 11:32 AM
1 Comments:
I vaguely remember our first Slovak dinner. It was shortly after we moved to Cleveland, I believe.
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