Sviata Vechera or "Holy Supper" is the main tradition of the Christmas Eve celebrations in Ukrainian homes. The dinner table has a few wisps of hay on the table cloth as a reminder of the manger in Bethlehem.

When children see the first Star in the evening sky, the Sviata Vechera begins. A prayer is said and the father says the traditional Christmas greeting, "Khristos rodyvsya!": Christ is born!, and the family answer "Slavite Yoho!": Let Us Glorify Him!

At the end of the Sviata Vechera, families sit around singing carols. Also, groups of young people go out caroling: singing in the streets and outside houses collecting money for the Church or the poor.

Christmas day begins with families attending  Church, followed by family members and friends getting together to share Christmas dinner and tea.

Father Frost visits all the children in a sleigh pulled by three reindeer. He brings with him a little girl named Snowflake Girl. She wears a silver blue costume trimmed with white fur and a crown shaped like a snowflake.

The Ukrainians also have a 'second' Christmas on January the 7th, this is a peaceful and quiet event. These celebrations are a reminder of the birth of the Baby Jesus in a Bethlehem manger