St. Stephen Ukrainian Catholic Church Annual Prosphora Dinner

On Sunday, January 16, 2011, a glorious Prosphora Dinner Celebration was held in Saint Stephan Ukrainian Catholic Church located at 1344 White Oak Bottom Road, Toms River, New Jersey, 08755. Following the Second Liturgy, a delicious traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve dinner prepared by Anna Dzera and the Rosary Altar Society was enjoyed by approximately eighty parishioners and guests.

The rich traditions that place a special religious emphasis on Ukrainian Christmas, the Christmas Eve Supper, or Sviata Vecheria, brought together the Saint Stephen Ukrainian Catholic Church parish family to partake in special foods and customs that reach back to antiquity. To start the Prosphora celebration, a kolach, or Christmas bread, was ceremoniously brought to each table by a procession of people dressed in beautiful Ukrainian outfits. The Christmas bread was placed in the center of the table, and a lighted candle was placed in the center of the bread. A bowl of kutia, or boiled wheat mixed with poppy seeds and honey, was placed next to it. Kutia is the most important food of the entire Christmas Eve Supper, and is also called “God’s Food.”

A piece of the Blessed Prosphora bread dipped in honey was passed to each member of the table, and Father Oleksandr Dumenko, Parish Administer, led the assembled gathering in prayer. The twelve course Prosphora Supper included kutia, as the first course, followed with borshch, beet soup, a variety of fish, varenky, boiled dumplings filled with cabbage, potatoes, and buckwheat grains, holubtsi, or stuffed cabbage, and the Prosphora Supper ended with uzvar, or stewed fruits. For dessert, there was a wide assortment of pampushky, little deep-fried pastries containing various fillings such as poppy seed and dried fruit, complemented by a huge variety of delicious home-made Ukrainian cakes, baked goods, and pastries.

Please be assured that no one from this Prosphora Supper went home hungry.

A very special treat at this year’s Saint Stephen Prosphora celebration was the appearance of the Wonderful Vertep Carolers, who put on a marvelous Ukrainian Christmas show, including colorful costumes, caroling, and lots of fun.

Our Prosphora celebration ended with the entire assembly joining together to sing traditional Ukrainian Christmas carols. What a joyful and magical event.

Let us remember that whether Christmas is celebrated on December 25th or on January 7th, the message is still the same: “Peace On Earth, Good Will Toward Men!” Please plan to join us at next year’s Saint Stephen Prosphora Celebration.  

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