One of the best ideas our pastor ever had was when he asked me to consider changing the format of our annual ECF Nativity party to include a pre-enactment of our traditional Slavic Holy Supper. When we moms talked about it, I was shocked at how many families no longer hold this tradition! Many of them had no idea which foods to serve, how to set the table, what the symbolic meaning of each dish was. For many of our parish families, this tradition was lost. So Father had a better idea. "We have to invite their parents," he said; and so we did. I sent invitations to all our ECF families and asked for volunteers to bring a dish. We had a pretty intense sign up sheet, complete with instructions for each dish and worksheets for the children to review the symbols involved in the meal. But who would make the pirohi? Very few moms would volunteer to bring that dish. So we made them ourselves!
All the children were invited to our home a few days before the party and we had a lesson in making one of our most cherished traditional foods. What fun! The children (and their moms...and even Grandpa Drozdik!...see the picture above!) peeled, boiled, pinched and fried to their hearts content and we served their precious creations at our party. They all went home inspired and armed with the skills they would need to recreate this dinner in their own homes. More importantly, they felt the warmth and comfort that comes from preparing, and then sharing, a traditional meal together.
The week before Christmas break is always stressful in our home. Our children are homeschooled, so I need to be sure that the holiday work, as well as the everyday school lessons are done...so why not combine the two! After giving this traditional meal some thought, I made up this little visual aide to help instruct my own children. This year, we'd like to share our lesson with you!
The lap book template I have designed includes a dinner table, with a table cloth, treats, and straw to place upon it, and a candle. There are twelve dishes, each one a tradition in my own family and two empty dishes to accommodate the ones your family may serve, which ours may not! There are five additional flaps to be included in the upper page of the book, highlighting the symbolic Christmas traditions of our Carpatho-Rusyn heritage. All you will need to provide is a folder in which to paste the material, some glue, and crayons or colored pencils to decorate your creation. Just click on the link below, print, color and cut, then begin pasting as the directions describe.
And here is the page you are missing! Sorry folks! I'm learning as I go!
Amazing!!!!!!!!! Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you like it Dessi! Thank you!
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