So you thought the party was over. You've gorged yourself since Thanksgiving on holiday goodies, and now the only further excesses you were making allowances for were the after- Christmas sales. It's time to stop the insanity, isn't it?
Well, if you're of an Orthodox persuasion - Russian, Ukrainian, Greek or another sect - you may just be gearing up for your real Christmas celebration on January 7. What's with the difference of thirteen days? Many of the Orthodox churches still follow the Julian calendar. In 46 BC., Julius Caesar had the Greek astronomer Sosigenes establish the length of the solar calendar at 365-and-one-quarter days. Every fourth year, one day was added to keep the quarter days accurate, a practice which is now known as leap year. The Julian Calendar was introduced on January 1, 45 B.C., and the next year, Caesar was honored by having the seventh month renamed July in his honor.
In 354 A.D., Christmas, which had been celebrated on many different dates in conjunction with pagan winter solstice festivals, was finally fixed on December 25 by Bishop Liberius of Rome. A problem remained, though. The Julian year of 365 days and six hours exceeds the true solar year of 365.2422 days, by eleven minutes and fourteen seconds. The difference is about 0.0078 of a day per year, or about one day in every 128 years.
In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII introduced changes to correct the timing error in the Julian Calendar. Gregory restored the spring equinox to March 21 and eliminated the ten days from March 11-21 in 1582. The Orthodox countries that preserved the Julian calendar and its thirteen-day lag continue to date Christmas as January 7/25, 1998, meaning January 7 on the style Gregorian calendar and December 25 on the old style Julian calendar.
The Orthodox and Eastern rite churches have maintained the Julian Calendar for religious purposes into this century. Today, some fifty million Ukrainians, as well as Russians and smaller Eastern-rite Orthodox national churches, including the Greek, Syrian, Serbian, Bulgarian, and Byelorussian, follow the same calendar and continue to observe the old traditional date of the Julian calendar Christmas on January 7, despite the pressures of modern society to change. With the increasing commercialism of the "Western" Christmas, the later date allows observant worshipers to focus on the spiritual aspects of the holiday.
Chicago's multiethnic restaurant community offers you numerous opportunities to enjoy one more holiday meal. Simplon-Orient Express serves specialties from the regions on the route of the legendary Orient Express, including Russia, the Caucasus and the Balkans, where Orthodox and Eastern churches remain strong. In addition to its regular menu of specialties like veal goulash, raznjici (pork tenderloin shish kebab), bele vesalici (grilled pork loin) and cevapcici (spicy ground veal and beef), the restaurant will serve special dinners of roast lamb or roast pig around the Orthodox Christmas. Meanwhile, Saks Ukrainian Village Restaurant and Lounge will be closed January 7, but those who want to celebrate like Cossacks can visit the days before and after and dig into platefuls of varenyky (Ukrainian dumplings similar to pierogis), helbutsy (cabbage rolls with meat and rice) and plyatsky (potato pancakes), among other options. The Russian Palace, where one of the chef's grandmothers was a cook in Czar Nicholas II's palace, will be serving a multicourse Christmas dinner ($26.50) of Russian salad; caviar; borscht; a choice of white fish, lamb shish kebab or chicken Kiev; and dessert. If you'd rather order off the regular menu, try the stuffed duck, overflowing with rice, plums, oranges and raisins, with a baked apple and a side of cranberry Gran Marnier sauce.
Russian Palace's close neighbor, Russian Tea Time, won't be doing anything special for the holidays but still offers diners the opportunity to enjoy the dishes of Peter the Great, the czar who established the Russian Christmas as January 7. Try grazing through the restaurant's hot and cold appetizers for an introduction to blini, kulebiaka, pelmeni and knishes. Then relax and wash it all down with a steaming glass of black currant tea while you savor Christmas, St. Petersburg-style.
- Russian Palace, 24 East Adams, (312)629-5353.
Russian Tea Time, 77 East Adams, (312)360-0000.
Saks Ukrainian Village,, 2301 West Chicago, (773)278-4445.
Simplon-Orient Express, 4520 North Lincoln, (773)275-5522.
(A. Laban)
copyright 1998 New City Communications, Inc.