Twelve-dish Christmas Eve supper Twelve-dish Christmas Eve supper A twelve-dish Christmas Eve supper is traditionally prepared in many Central European and Northern European cultures, especially those that were formerly part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, including Polish, Lithuanian, Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian. The meal (, , , or "wieczerza wigilijna", , ) consists of twelve meatless dishes representing the twelve months of the year. The tradition of the supper can be traced back to pre-Christian times and connected with remembrance of the souls of deceased ancestors. In some parts of Poland a similar tradition of thirteen meatless dishes on Christmas Eve is practiced. The specific
Kalach (food) "kalashnik" (калашник) due to the sandhi effect. Such a man's descendants might be given the surname "Kalachnikov" (Калачников) or "Kalashnikov" (Калашников, "[son] of the kalach-maker"). Ukrainian kolaches are made by braiding dough made with wheat flour into ring-shaped or oblong forms. They are a symbol of luck, prosperity, and good bounty, and are traditionally prepared for "Svyat Vechir (Holy Supper)", the Ukrainian Christmas Eve ritual, most often in the form of three round bread loaves stacked one atop the other with a candle in the middle. In the area around Kiev, it was custom for a midwife to give a