Unique Holiday Traditions
Celebrating the Holidays with Six Festive Traditions from Around the World
To help you celebrate the “most wonderful time of the year” we have chosen six of our favorite countries whose holiday traditions are sure to give your festivities an interesting boost. In the spirit of the season, you might want to add some of these traditions to your holiday celebrations whether it includes listening to music, putting a shoe in your window or trying out a new recipe. We hope this newsletter inspires you!
Poland
Digging into a Traditional Polish Christmas Eve Dinner
In Poland, Christmas Eve is known as Wigilia (pronounced vee-Ghee-lee-uh). It is a meat-less dinner that begins when the first star appears in remembrance of the Star of Bethlehem. Everyone is dressed in their holiday best and a lavish meal is served that includes 12 traditional dishes like fried carp, herring, beetroot soup (barszcz) served with mushroom dumplings, and pierogi. The meal begins with the breaking of a wafer, or oplatek, that is symbolic of the family’s unity with Jesus. There is always an extra place at the table set for an unexpected guest. After dinner, Poles open their presents then head out to Midnight Mass. Costumed carolers called ‘koledy’ walk from house to house between Christmas and the Feast of the Epiphany, and sometimes enact Nativity plays. For traditional Polish Christmas Carols take a look at this video.
Central Square of the old city Christmas Market in Wroclaw, Poland.
Costa Rica
Two Months of Celebration
The holidays in Costa Rica are a vibrant time of year. Parades, carnivals, and festivals take place throughout December and into January. Homes are decorated with Christmas wreaths of cypress that are trimmed with red coffee berries, ribbons, ornaments, and lights. Elaborate Nativity scenes decorated with flowers and fruit, called Pasito, are on display in most homes. On Christmas Eve, everyone dresses in their finest and attends midnight mass called Misa de Gallo (Mass of the Rooster). After mass, the main Christmas dinner is eaten. It includes chicken and pork tamales wrapped in plantain leaves. There is plenty of eggnog (rompope) and rum punch to wash down this festive feast. The day after Christmas a colorful horse parade takes place and on the following day a Carnival is celebrated.
Iceland
Shoe in the Window
Iceland has a fascinating mix of holiday traditions and folklore. One of the most popular is the story of Gryla, the ogress living in the mountains with her third husband, her 13 Yule Lads, and her black cat. Every year Gryla comes down from the mountains to look for naughty children to boil in her cauldron. If the naughty children repent they are freed. Gryla’s 13 Yuletide Lads follow her into town in search of fun and mischief. Icelandic children place a shoe on their bedroom window each night for 13 nights before Christmas. Each night a different Yultide Lad visits leaving a treat or just a potato depending on the child’s behavior on the preceding day. As for the black cat, in Icelandic tradition every person must receive a new piece of clothing for Christmas or Gryla’s black cat, known, as the “Christmas Cat” will eat him or her!
Egypt
Fasting and Feasting
Most of Egypt’s Christians (about 15% of the population) belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church. According to the Julian calendar, Copts celebrate Christmas on January 7. They also follow a strict vegetarian diet from November 25- January 6, known as the Holy Nativity Fast. Houses and churches are decorated with trees, lights, and small nativity scenes. On Christmas Eve, January 6 after midnight mass the Christmas feast begins. A popular meal served is Fattah, a traditional Egyptian dish cooked with meat, rice, and crispy bread topped with a tangy tomato-garlic sauce. Sugar coated almonds and kahk; a butter-based biscuit dusted with powdered sugar and stuffed with nuts or dates is served at Christmas and during Eid al Fitr. In addition to visiting with friends and family on Christmas Day many Copts distribute candles, zalabya (donuts) and bouri (mullet fish) to the poor. The candles represent those that Joseph used to protect Mary on the night of Jesus’s birth.
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Vietnam
Where the traditions of France linger
Although a predominately Buddhist country, Christmas is one of the four main annual religious holidays celebrated. Every major church is decorated and has a large nativity scene. In Ho Chi Minh City the streets are so crowded on Christmas Eve that cars are not allowed in the center of town. Revelers come to throw confetti and to enjoy the lights and decorations of the big hotels, department stores and private homes and streets. Vietnam was once a French colony and some of their traditions linger. Like in France the special Christmas Eve meal in Vietnam is called “reveillon”, and traditionally consists of chicken soup or roasted turkey. The highlight of the meal is the traditional French cake, Buche de Nöel (a chocolate log cake) that is served for desert. Vietnamese people like to give presents of food and the Buche de Nöel is the most popular. Gifts other than food are not very common.
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Ireland
Nollaig Shona Duit = Happy Christmas
In Ireland Christmas officially begins on December 8 when towns and villages are festively decorated. Most Irish families decorate their homes with wreaths, and their Christmas trees with lights, garland, and ornaments. Candles are lite in the windows of many homes after sunset on Christmas Eve as a welcoming light for the holy family. On Christmas Day, after the presents are opened a festive meal is served. Traditional Christmas fare may include roast turkey, spiced beef; clove studded baked ham, crispy parsnips, goose fat potatoes, fruitcake, and Christmas pudding. One of the most beloved traditions in Ireland is The Wren Boys Procession that takes place the day after Christmas on St. Stephen’s Day. This festive costumed procession goes from house to house in Dingle and Country Kerry. Little Christmas, on January 6, often referred to as Women’s rest, is officially the last day of Christmas.
No matter how the Holidays are celebrated, they are an important time to be with friends and family. We all have our own unique ways that make the Holiday Season special and memorable. Let us know your special holiday traditions on our Facebook page.
Seasons Greetings!
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