Christmas in Ukraine is a special supper, called "Sviata Vecherya" (Holy Supper). Kutia (sweet grain pudding) is traditionally served at the Ukrainian Christmas dinner table. It is often the first dish in the traditional twelve-dish Christmas Eve supper (also known as "Svyaty Vechir") and is rarely served at other times of the year. At the end of the Holy Evening the family often sings Ukrainian Christmas carols. In many communities the ancient Ukrainian tradition of caroling is carried on by groups of young people and members of organizations and churches calling at homes and collecting donations. The Ukrainian song "Shchedryk" became the basis
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