Christmas dishes in Ukraine

On the Christmas Eve on January 6 the host and hostess ritually prepared special meals: Christmas pudding (kutya) and uzvar. To do this wood was laid in the oven in a special way, which had to be lighted with “live fire” (i.e. produced by rubbing pieces of wood or with a flint).
Kutya was cooked of crushed and soaked wheat with water brought before sunrise, which was believed to be blessed by the Sun god. For the final preparation of kutya the hostess added honey, nuts, poppy seeds and raisins. So called “uzvar” is a drink prepared of boiled dried fruits (apples, pears, plums, cherries).
Then the hostess cooked some other meals like cabbage rolls and other dishes, which number must be twelve. So if you happen to be staying at Odessa, Ukraine flat or a hotel, you’ve got a chance to taste some of these meals in restaurants or fairs in the city.