Friday, December 24, 2010

Preparing for Vilia



.... and it begins! We finished the potica (pronounced "pu-teetsa")and the gnocchi (pronounced "no-key") late yesterday afternoon and today we'll focus on the perogi and kapusta. All will culminate in our Christmas Eve Feast we call 'Vilia'.

At any rate, Vilia is a European 7 course meatless meal eaten on Christmas Eve. Ours consists of perogi, gnocchi, smoked herring, pickled herring, kapusta, potica (sounds like pa-teetsa), and creamed corn or fruit. My family has celebrated Vilia since they came to this country (100 years ago). I don't EVER remember a Christmas without it.

Our Christmas Eve celebrations are so special. After the meal & Mass, we throw the kids into bed and head down to the barn with the sheep. Unfortunately, it's gonna be a dark one t'nite (no moon). It's SO incredibly quiet this time of year----no birds, no cars, no corn dryers buzzing in the distance :-)

Welp.... it's off to finish cleaning the house & start MORE FOOD and put up the Christmas tree!!