In the early days of the Vilija, the Slovakian people relied heavily on the agriculturalist adaptive strategy as means for survival. Due to this fact, much of the Vilija meal focused on asking God for a good harvest in the upcoming year. It is a rite of intensification, which serves to strengthen and enforce the beliefs of a culture, adding to the social solidarity of those involved. Stress is put on and self-sacrifice to the Christian God, and the reliance on God to produce a bountiful harvest in the agriculturally-dependant Slovakian culture. The entire village benefited from a good harvest, and if the crops were not plentiful everyone in that area suffered. In this sense, the celebration of the Vilija focused greatly on the village as a unit of social structure, much like other celebrations in Europe at that time (Rice 1980: 113).

Even before the meal started, the concentration on farming could be seen when the husbands bandaged the fruit trees with straw binders and treated them as living beings. The trees were nursed in this fashion to encourage a good harvest. The tree that did not produce a great abundance of fruit would be threatened by the axe-wielding man, and it was believed that the tree would listen and begin bearing fruit. During the meal itself, a mountain of bread would be strategically placed at the end of the table, at the seat of the male head of the household. At the beginning of the meal, the father would hide himself behind the mountain of bread, and ask his children, “Can you see me from behind the bread mountain?” After the children responded no, he would say something to the effect of “Let us wish you'll not see me either in the spring from within the hay or in the summer from within the wheat (Musinka 1983)!” Through these examples it is made quite apparent that dedication to God played a large part of the Vilija.

As is the case in other cultures, the celebration of the Vilija, and the feeling of goodwill that it generates, is centralized on and symbolized by the offering and serving of special food (Newall 1989: 186). This food represents the relatively prosperous lives that many Slovakians are fortunate enough to have. Prior to the meal, all of the food is brought in baskets to the local church, where it is blessed by a priest. A bountiful feast is always present on the table, barring a bad harvest or treacherous weather season. Outside of the mushroom soup, the main dishes include pirohy (pronounced pea-ro-hee, and most commonly known to Westerners as pierogie), a variety of meats including ham, smoked and fresh kielbasa, baked chicken and lamb, bread, fresh horseradish and an abundance of garlic seasonings. This abundance of food is a direct representation of the value placed on a bountiful meal and harvest, one which is seen cross-culturally, including in Western society today.

The Vilija did not just consist of the actual meal itself. For many days leading up to the celebration, families would prepare for the feast as a whole, with no one person contributing much more than another. While the father of the house was out gathering food from the fields, the mother and daughters worked together to prepare what was brought to them. The sons of the house participated by going throughout the town and spreading well-wishes to its residents (Musinka 1983), expressing the good nature and pleasant atmosphere that the Vilija brought with it.

  The importance of the family is correctly emphasized by saying that “…implicit in the definition of celebration is the idea that the locus is familial (Rice 1980: 113).” The entire family contributes to the preparation of the celebration, fostering an immense state of communitas within the village. During the meal the social solidarity of the Slovakian culture is reinforced on many levels. The Vilija is a rite of intensification, one which reaffirms the Slovakian's commitment to the long-established linkage with which the family, community, and church are instilled (Baklanoff 1987: 391). From a religious aspect, the meal itself concentrated on giving thanks and praise to Jesus Christ. This can be seen in many aspects of the meal, starting with the spreading of oats and straw on the dinner table to symbolize the birth of Jesus on straw and oats in a manger (Musinka 1983). Other aspects of the meal that reinforce the faith of the Slovakian people include the meal beginning and ending with a prayer, oplatky with garlic and honey which symbolized the sweetness and bitterness of life, and the lit candle which is blown out and relit at the end of the meal, symbolizing the end of the previous year and calling for a prosperous upcoming one. Finally, the cakes and pastries distributed to the people of the village further contribute to the feeling of social solidarity present throughout the ritual feast.