Baptism pies. What to cook on the table for the christening of a child? Epiphany cookies - “Cross”
1987
On January 19, Orthodox Christians celebrate one of the biggest holidays - the Baptism of the Lord. Baptism is one of the most important Christian sacraments. According to Jesus Christ, baptism is necessary condition to be born again, to enter the Kingdom of God. The holiday begins on the evening of January 18, when all Orthodox celebrate Epiphany Eve. Epiphany Christmas Eve is strict post, preparation before Epiphany.
The whole family, as on Christmas Eve, gathers at the table, to which only lean dishes are served, first of all, sochivo, or, as it is also called, hungry kutya.
On Epiphany Christmas Eve, it was customary to clean the entire house, from the rooms to the porches, to remove Christmas decorations and then cook ritual dishes.
Importance this holiday has water - a symbol of new life, purification and health. It is believed that Epiphany water is gaining special strength and healing. They heal wounds with Epiphany water, sprinkle every corner of their home, so they settled order and peace in the house.
From the evening of January 18, they began to bless the water in the churches. After that, the owners hurried home and, with the help of spikelets or dried bunches of herbs, consecrated (splashing) all corners of the house, as well as the barn, so that the house was a full bowl, loved ones did not get sick and the animals were also healthy. In addition, it was customary to draw crosses with chalk over door and window openings, as well as in the corners of rooms, so they drove away evil spirits.
Unlike Christmas kutya, which is filled with poppy seeds, honey, nuts and dried fruits, Epiphany kutya is served empty. Epiphany Christmas Eve is why it is also called - hungry kutya. On this day, they abstained from food until the first star, and drank quite a bit. dark people they thought that various evil forces wanted to enter the house that night, so they put “hungry” dishes on the table so that all evil spirits would remain hungry.
There were always traditional ones on the table: uzvar, kutya and, of course, consecrated water, with which the meal began. There were 12 dishes for the hungry kutya, as on Christmas Eve, but all the dishes were much more modest than Christmas ones. After they ate a spoonful of kutia, they proceeded to the rest of the dishes - lean pies and donuts, oatmeal and wheat pancakes, dumplings, cabbage, cabbage rolls, pickles, etc. They fed holiday food and livestock to keep them healthy. Some housewives left a little bit of kutya from Christmas and Epiphany - they mixed these leftovers with flour and fed the living creatures.
After they ate the kutya, the children began to loudly knock with spoons on empty dish, expelling kutya with the words: “Get out, kutya from pokutya”! So our ancestors said goodbye to happy holidays until next year.
On the night of the Epiphany, it was customary to wash oneself with water, dip into the water and sprinkle each other with water. In the morning they drank the blessed water on an empty stomach as a medicine and ate ritual cookies- crosses. Usually they were baked with names. The hostess marked each cookie only with her slave badge. For myself with small raisins, for my husband with poppy seeds, for my son - anise, for my daughter - cumin, or simply squeezed out the first letter of the name with a knife if there were no spices at hand.
The crosses taken out of the oven told what kind of life cross all family members would have to bear in the coming year. For example, a well-baked yellow-pink cross promised health, success, and prosperity. Cookies with cracks and breaks predicted difficulties or just big changes in fate. The most unpleasant was considered a burnt or unbaked cross, it promised illness, mental trauma, grief. Such crosses were immediately fed to the birds.
Uzvar was made from dried fruits. Dried fruits washed, soaked, then thrown into boiling water and boiled until soft. Uzvar was seasoned with honey.
Kutya was made from wheat. Wheat was soaked in cold water, then the stoves were heated for a long time. The grain was boiled soft and became juicy.
The fish was stuffed sauerkraut or mushrooms, smeared vegetable oil and baked in the oven on iron pans or pans.
Herring was marinated with spices, pepper, bay leaf, cloves and served with onion and vegetable oil.
Dumplings were prepared flour or potatoes. Flour ones were prepared by steaming the dough with boiling water and adding vegetable oil. Then they were divided into pieces, rolled up and boiled in salted water, served with onions and mushrooms fried in oil. Potato dumplings were made from grated and squeezed potatoes mixed with strained starch. Served in the same way as flour.
Cabbage rolls were served stuffed with buckwheat, mushrooms, onions and carrots, sometimes grated potatoes were added to the filling instead of buckwheat. Stuffed cabbage rolls in own juice in an oven in cast iron for 3-4 hours. At the same time, the cabbage became tender and soft, the filling was juicy.
Vareniki were stuffed with potatoes, mushrooms, fresh or sauerkraut. The dough was brewed boiling water, from this it became elastic and at the same time soft.
Soups were cooked with mushrooms, peas, big amount roots and dried herbs. Borscht was cooked with beans.
One of the main holidays for Christians is the Baptism of the Lord. It is also called Epiphany. It is believed that it was on this day that John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ in the waters of the Jordan. This holiday is celebrated by adherents of the Orthodox Christian faith on January 19. The Baptism of the Lord: how to celebrate, what to cook on this day, what beliefs are associated with it ... Celebration If you follow all the rules, then the feast of the Epiphany, or Baptism, must be celebrated for 8 days, of which 4 are pre-feast, and the remaining 4 are post-feast.
And these days it is not so important what to cook for the feast of Epiphany, more importantly, the baptismal consecrated water is life-giving and helps to cure many ailments. By the way, it is generally accepted among the people that in Epiphany even tap water is special. If it is not possible to go to the temple for water, then you can drink a glass of it from the tap, and only after some time (at least half an hour) after that you can have breakfast.
But the consecrated baptismal water brought from the temple should be consumed on a spoon on an empty stomach.
In the houses of believers, such water is stored in a red corner. By the way, if you are interested in what they cook for Epiphany, January 19, then on Christmas Eve you need to eat Lenten dishes, but for the holiday itself - everything you want. Nevertheless, there are some dishes, the presence of which on the festive table is not only desirable, but also mandatory, for example, a whole roasted pig. January 19 - The Epiphany of the Lord: the menu of the pre-holiday and festive table
Let's move on right away to the main dishes for the feast of the Epiphany:
- For the first - thick borscht or Ukrainian skit.
- On the second - necessarily pork. Our ancestors baked a whole pig. It needs to be broken by hand (this was done by the head of the family). Yes, such a dinner for two or even four will be plentiful - there will not be enough space for other dishes. Therefore, we propose here to limit ourselves to the original stew with pork and beans.
- Snacks can be very different. Fish and mushroom pates were very popular.
- Vareniki is another indispensable dish for January 19th. If you have been buying semi-finished products all year, now is the time to make your own dough. And as a filling, use potatoes, eggs and cheese.
- The Baptism of the Lord is a holiday of purification of soul and body. Fried liver, cooked correctly, may well be the perfect finishing touch to the festive table.
So, the main dishes on Christmas Eve should be lenten, for example, kutya, lenten pies, cookies, uzvar, cakes, jelly, etc. These dishes should be on the pre-holiday table either seven, or nine or twelve. Kutya in the old days, as a rule, was washed down with uzvar. Cookies were in the form of crosses, pancakes were made from wheat or oats, then dumplings with potatoes, cherries, etc. were made. beans. Kutya sochivo Required products: peeled wheat 100-200 grams; honey two tablespoons; poppy 50 g; dried fruits or candied fruits - 1 handful; walnuts, cashews, almonds (kernels), etc. 1 cup. Cooking method. 1. Soak grains of wheat, filling them with cold boiled water. In a few hours excess water drain, add water again and put on the stove to boil. 2. After the water in the pan boils, reduce the fire and cook for about 40 minutes more. 3. Rinse poppy seeds, pour boiling water over them and leave to swell on the side, do the same with dried fruits. 4. After the wheat is cooked, put it in a colander and let the water drain. 5. Grind the swollen poppy in a mortar or blender until a milky mass is formed. 6. Nuts, if necessary, should be lightly roasted (without adding oil) in a pan, and honey should be diluted warm water until a thick syrup is formed. 7. Cut dried fruits into small pieces. 8. Mix all ingredients in a deep bowl. At the end, pour everything with honey sauce. 9. Kutya shift to holiday dish and garnish with whole dried fruits. Epiphany cookies Cross Of course, one of the main treats on Epiphany table are cookies in the shape of a cross.
For their preparation, the following ingredients: flour (a quarter of a kilogram), one egg, half a pack of butter and half a glass granulated sugar, as well as salt and vanillin on the tip of a knife. All ingredients must be mixed and kneaded elastic dough. Then roll it out on the table into a layer and cut it into strips, and form crosses from them, decorate the middle with nuts or candied fruit. Bake in the oven until golden brown.
Homemade dumplings with egg and cheese
For dumplings, three groups of products are needed.
- Dough. 200 g flour, 5 tbsp. spoons of water, 2 yolks, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of butter and a pinch of salt.
- Filling. 10 g of dry dill (3-4 sprigs of fresh), 2 eggs, 3-4 potatoes, 100 g of cheese (you can take feta or ricotta).
- Gravy. 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 teaspoon of sugar and 5 tbsp. tablespoons of vegetable oil.
For the dough, sift the flour and melt the butter. Add to flour cold water, yolks, butter. All this is not cool knead and leave in the refrigerator for half an hour. For the filling, boil the egg (peel, chop), prepare mashed potatoes (with butter or milk), grate cheese, add dill. The gravy is prepared in well-heated oil (fry the onions and carrots, add sugar, wait for it to dissolve). The dough for homemade dumplings must be rolled out very thinly. Then they are cooked for 10 minutes and are tender.
Fried liver: all households will run to the aroma
For final touch 0.5 kg required beef liver, 1 egg, a teaspoon of sugar and salt + 0.5 teaspoons of soda, onion, 2 cloves of garlic, olive oil. The liver can be breaded in cornmeal or breadcrumbs - as you like.
The liver must be properly washed, dried with a napkin and coarsely chopped. Separately, mix the egg, salt, soda, sugar, finely chopped or crushed garlic. This is a marinade with which the liver is poured for at least 2-3 hours (longer is better).
Chop the onion, fry, remove from the pan and spread the liver (you can roll in breadcrumbs). We cook the liver separately for 3-4 minutes, then return the onion, reduce the fire to a minimum, close and let it reach for another 5-7 minutes. Before serving (if there is little experience yet), check one piece fried liver- cut it in the bottom and make sure that the middle is no longer red. So you can apply.
At this time, believers go to church for services, swim in the ice hole in the early morning, and lay magnificent festive tables in the circle of relatives and friends.
How did the Feast of Epiphany come about?
The Bible says that the prophet John saw the Lord, who called him to repent before the people, and then to baptize all those listening to the sermon in the Jordan River. And although this ritual could not yet be considered a real baptism, repentant people in this way showed that they wanted to wash away their sins.
Jesus Christ was also in the crowd of people. In a simple pilgrim, John recognized the Messiah and said that he needed to be baptized by him, and not vice versa, to which Jesus replied that everyone should fulfill his assigned work.
During the prayer of Jesus, the heavens opened, and the Spirit of God descended to earth, having the appearance of a dove. Following the example of the Messiah, Christians around the world began to perform the rite of baptism. Thus, the human soul finds purification and draws closer to God. 
It was the rite of the baptism of Jesus that became the source of the holiday that we celebrate today. In the old days, Epiphany did not have a separate date on the calendar and was celebrated along with the day of the Nativity of Christ. Then the holiday had another name - Theophany, since the Lord appeared before people in 3 forms: the Spirit, the Son and the Father.
What can you eat on the eve of Epiphany
Today, the feast of the Baptism of the Lord ends the period of Christmas time, which begins on January 7th. It is customary to start celebrating on the eve of January 19th. In the evening, the family gets together and sits down for Lenten table. This time is called Great Christmas Eve or Poor Kutya. During Christmas Eve, a strict fast should be observed - there is only fast food and not drink alcohol. You can sit down at the table only after the first star has risen in the sky. 
Equally important at Baptism is the use of water. It is believed that at this time it changes its qualities and is healing. After the solemn service, everyone collects Jordanian water for himself and carries it home. They drink it or wash themselves with it. Believers think that on this day water can heal any disease. Oddly enough, but in fact, Jordanian water can be stored for a very long time and not lose its freshness.
After the appearance of the first star in the sky, the whole family sits down for festive table. All day before, the hostess of the house prepares traditional dishes. Kutia must be present and those dishes that are on the table on Christmas Eve, but only even more lean.
There should be an odd number of dishes on the table (5, 7, 9) or 12 - according to the number of apostles, months in a year, etc. Before starting gala dinner, you need to take a few sips of water brought from the temple. You can also sprinkle it all over the food on the table. 
The Epiphany menu on Christmas Eve is distinguished by its traditional character. Kutya, cookies, pancakes, pies, etc. must be present.
The eldest person in the family always treated the youngest and all the guests first. All dishes on this day are exceptionally tasty and healthy, as they do not contain a large amount of fat.
The housewives would definitely prepare Crosses cookies for Epiphany, paying tribute to Jesus. This cookie also had to be eaten in the morning after Christmas Eve and washed down with holy water. People believed that such a ceremony would help them remove all sins from themselves. You can find many recipes for such cookies, and making them is very easy and simple. By traditional recipe neither dried fruits, nor nuts, nor honey can be added to it.
The baking of this cookie also has many signs. For example, if the cross is well baked, then the one who eats it will bring a lot of health and happiness. Such a person will become a good adviser for the next year and help in any trouble. If there are cracks or breaks on the cross, then it can bring new difficulties in life, as well as bad changes. If the cross is burnt or not baked, then it will bring a lot of grief, as well as illness. 
Spoiled crosses were forbidden to be eaten by people. Usually, the hostess fed them to street birds. It was believed that it was the inhabitants of heaven who would help get rid of trouble. In order not to spoil the mood for the holiday, the people to whom the spoiled crosses were intended were not told anything about this. They were given another biscuit prepared in reserve.
Other dishes were pancakes and fritters baked with honey. There was a sign among the people that the more pancakes a person ate, the more money he would be able to get in the new year.
Compulsory ritual dish is kutya. Translated from Greek, this word means "boiled wheat", although any other cereals can be used for its preparation. Raisins, nuts, honey, poppy seeds, etc. are added to kutia. Cooking it is quite simple, but its taste is very pleasant. Children especially like kutya, as it is often made sweet.
What can you eat on the day of Epiphany
The day of the Epiphany of the Lord is accompanied by many traditions and festivities. Moreover, in each region they have their own, unique in their own way. Orthodox people believe that on this day magical properties possesses not only water, but also candles lit in the temple. They say that if you light them during a thunderstorm, it will help prevent a fire.
The main symbol of Baptism is Jordanian water. In the morning after the service, they bring her to the house, they drink it and treat her guests. Cookies in the form of crosses are prepared for water, which should be consumed by all family members. 
If on Christmas Eve it is customary to dine only with lenten dishes, then on the day of Epiphany you can not limit yourself to food. The hostess must cover sumptuous table, necessarily, there must be meat. They cook borscht on the brisket, dumplings, cabbage rolls, fry the liver, roast, sausage, black pudding, ham, etc.
On this day, one of the richest tables of the year should be laid, as this should give an impetus to well-being in next year. On Epiphany, all fasts are canceled, you can eat a lot of meat and fish. The day before they bake fresh bread, pies, donuts, kalachi and other sweets. Unlike Christmas Eve, you can also drink a little alcohol - vodka or tincture - but only on a small amount.
For desserts, a variety of jelly, gingerbread, nuts, shortbread and other pastries with sweet filling were prepared.
On Epiphany, you should not limit yourself to food, but you also do not need to eat too much. This bright and joyful day is primarily intended for repentance and forgiveness of sins, a kind of cleansing in the Jordanian water.
Epiphany is a popular day for infant baptism. It is generally accepted that a child baptized at this time will be a happy and rich person. Matchmaking is often held on this day, as they believe that such a marriage will be happy and long. After the end of the holidays, the period of weddings begins.
The Baptism of the Lord is an important holiday for all Orthodox Christians. Cooking takes a special place in the celebration. traditional dishes. If only Lenten dishes can be consumed on Christmas Eve, then on the very day of the Epiphany of the Lord, a magnificent table with meat and fish should be laid.
After the Sacrament of Baptism is performed, it is supposed to prepare a festive feast. The festive table for the christening of the child is covered by his parents. They can be helped by godparents, grandparents, close relatives and friends. Guests invited to the feast can also come with their own treats. Everyone should understand that after giving birth, the mother needs to recover and gain strength. Cooking various dishes takes a lot of time, therefore, the more close people and friends can help in this matter, the better for mother and child.
What to cook on the table for the christening of a child?
Every mother asks the question: What to cook on the table for the christening of a child? Traditional dishes for this holiday are "Babkin's porridge", "Babkin's pies", "Babkin's cheesecake". The grandmother, who was so called in antiquity, was called the midwife in another way. She helped a woman during childbirth. How well the process of the appearance of a new person into the world depended on her skill and God's help. The midwife brought "Babkin's porridge" with her to the feast. She was also called kutya. She was very filling and tasty. It was prepared with the addition of milk, butter, eggs, honey and cream. Served as a decoration for porridge boiled eggs cut in half. If a boy was born, then a rooster was baked in this christening porridge. At the birth of a girl, chicken was baked in a pot while preparing porridge. Various baked meat and egg dishes as well as confectionery.
Especially popular at christenings were "Babkin's Pies". They required a lot of work and time for their preparation. A special sweet was being prepared yeast dough. Then, as far as fantasy allowed, various figures were made from it. Confectionery was baked in the form of birds, bagels, hearts, flowers, pretzels, cones, rabbit ears and other various shapes. Previously, many housewives could cook such pies; this art was passed down from generation to generation. Now the products purchased in the store are gaining more and more popularity, this is due to their good palatability and the fact that you do not need to spend your time on their manufacture. However, when buying confectionery the store has its drawbacks, the main one being the composition of these buns and cookies. Very often they contain margarine, it is an artificial type of oil that is hard to process by the human body. Also included in shop products often there are various stabilizers, flavor enhancers, flavors and other additives that can cause significant harm to human health. It is especially dangerous to use them for a nursing mother. In ancient times, "Babkiny Pies" were the first to try midwives, they used them along with borscht, while uttering various jokes and jokes.
At the end festive feast“Babkina porridge” was served, for this porridge a bargain was to be made. This custom can be compared with the ransom of the bride. For example, the groom could be offered to recite various poems, songs, give money, after which he was allowed to pull the rope, the other end of the rope went out the door to a closed room. There were three ends of a rope coming out of the room. When the groom pulled the first and second ropes, he usually did not guess and pulled out other cheerfully dressed women instead of his bride. It is the same with "Babkina porridge", instead of real porridge first they brought a pot with something else. They could put simple potatoes there or even hide a pet, such as a cat.
During the auction, everyone had to put money in, whoever put in a large amount got the honor of breaking a pot of grandmother's porridge. Usually such a person turned out to be the godfather of the child, he broke the pot of porridge on the corner of the table. Here, too, it is worth remembering some wedding traditions. During the wedding, the bride turned her back on all the girls and threw a small wedding bouquet, the unmarried girl who caught it was supposed to get married soon. In the case of Babkina's porridge, the godfather tried to break the pot in such a way that most of the fragments would fly towards the childless women, then the porridge from the pot was shared among all the guests. First of all, they put part of the porridge to the mother of the baptized baby. She also got all the money collected during the auction. Although, in some cases, part of this money was given to the midwife.
The father of the child was given "Babkin's porridge" with fun, which means that something spicy was added to it, for example, pepper, mustard, horseradish or a large number of salt. At this time, he was asked: “How was your wife giving birth - sweet, salty or bitter?” The father of the child was obliged to eat what was imposed on him and pay for his portion.
For a young mother brought as a gift walnuts, it was believed that milk comes well from them. They tried to treat local children with "Grandma's porridge", at this time they were asked to protect and not offend the baptized baby. Children were also given nuts and leguminous plants. This was done so that the Lord would bless the baptized baby with the gift of good speech. Our ancestors believed that if they treat other children with generosity, then the Lord will not leave their child with his gifts. If the baby had problems with speech, then they filled his mouth with nuts or legumes, or small pebbles.
How to set the table for the christening of a child?
Let's talk a little more about how to set the table for the christening of a child. During the celebration of christening, you can set the table according to ancient customs, bake various culinary products, which used to be called "Babkin's pies", cook "Babkin's porridge". But you should not worry much about how to set the festive table for christening. Guests will be pleased to try any delicious dishes. If you have already cooked something many times and you are good at it, then we advise you to cook this particular dish. What you have never cooked and have not tried yourself yet, it is better not to bring it to the attention of guests. If you are interested in a recipe for a salad, hot dish or dessert, then you first try to make it for your family. If it tastes good and has good external qualities, then you can safely offer it to guests.
Menu for the christening of a child
In addition to the famous "Babkina porridge" or "Babkin's pies", we advise you to include in holiday menu for the christening of a child, a very satisfying, tasty and healthy cheesecake. For its preparation you will need: 5 eggs, 200 grams of butter, 3 cups wheat flour, a teaspoon of soda, and a glass of sugar. First you need to beat the eggs well with sugar, then add cottage cheese to the resulting mixture. Pour flour into a separate bowl, add a tablespoon of sugar, a teaspoon of soda and a pack of butter. With well-washed hands, you need to knead the butter with flour until the mixture takes the form of small crumbs. Orthodox housewives divide this dough into 4 parts in the form of a cross and pronounce the same words as when overshadowing themselves with the sign of the cross: “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.” Then, three parts of the resulting crumbly dough neatly distributed in the form. A mixture of eggs, sugar and cottage cheese is poured onto this dough. After that, sprinkle with the remaining fourth part of the crumbly dough. The form is placed in a preheated oven for about 30 minutes. The finished cheesecake is cooled, cut into pieces and placed on a dish. You can decorate it as you wish. One of good options decoration is chocolate glaze. To prepare it, you need to take cocoa powder, sugar and butter. For example, for 3 heaping tablespoons of cocoa powder, you will need three-quarters of a cup of sugar and half a pack of butter. Cocoa with sugar is thoroughly mixed, add quite a bit boiled water and put on fire. Add butter to the resulting mixture and gently stir constantly over low heat. When the icing boils and the sugar dissolves in it, then pieces of cheesecake are covered with it. You can cover them evenly, or you can, in the form of various patterns or just small stripes. It will be very tasty if you sprinkle roasted peanuts or walnuts on top. This dish can be called "Babkina cheesecake". Here is such a good menu for the christening of a child. If you cook it in several servings, then you can not only treat those who come, but also give them a piece with you.
Congratulations on Christening before the festive table
Let the feast be generous
After all, a child was born into the world!
From the hospitable owners
Let the old and the young enjoy themselves!
Man Baptism accepted!
Grace keeps him!
She is like wings
It beckons to the Heavenly Heaven!
We share this joy
And congratulations baby.
Sun, joy, peace, fun
There's a knock on your door!
open, call
All your relatives and friends,
Accept congratulations
Christening Hurry!!!
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