Well, sure, it has almost past. But I wanted to wish it anyways since you could use it as an excuse to feed people gross and ungross vegan foods!

You see, the Russian orthodox calendar is "behind" the Gregorian one, so Christmas isn't until the 7th of January. The big meal is served on Christmas eve and is supposed to be meat and dairy free! Now, depending on your feelings on honey (as long as it's locally/responsibly collected, it is cool in my book) and how crafty you are at dodging eggs, the meal shapes up nicely.

You serve 12 foods, one for each apostle. Here's how my menu went:

1) Bread
2) Honey
3) Garlic
4) Whiskey (though some use vodka)
5) Chana Masala as a substitute for fish (okay... totally not Russian... BUT! India is in Asia, as is Russia. And Jesus probably ate a lot chickpeas back in the day...)
6) Parsley Potatoes
7) Mixed Vegetables
8 ) Pirogies (some serve a kidney bean potato dish instead of these)
9) Mashed Peas (some substitute nuts)
10) Babilki (a.k.a. Dirtballs! These are dough balls baked and the doused in boiling water, then covered in honey and poppy seeds)
11) Mushroom & Saurkraut soup
12) Stewed prunes

You start the meal by lighting a candle. Then you eat your garlic clove (for the bitter in life), followed by bread dipped in honey (for the bounty and sweetness in life). You then toast to god with the whiskey (best if you pass the bottle around so each can pour their share from the communal amount).

Then... dig in! By Googling "Russian Christmas" you can find out a lot more.

I just wanted to share an (almost) vegan holiday with everyone here!