How We

Celebrate
Christmas
In
F.L.A.G.
Countries
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 Contents

How we celebrate
Page 5
Christmas in France

How we celebrate
Page 17
Christmas in Scotland

How we celebrate
Page 29
Christmas in Slovakia

How we celebrate
Page 45
Christmas in Bulgaria

How we celebrate
Page 55
Christmas in Italy

How we celebrate
Page 69
Christmas in Poland

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 How We
Celebrate
Christmas
In
France

5
 Special Christmas Dates in FRANCE

04 December - Ste Barbe

In the south of France, we plant wheat or lentils to have a prosperous year.

(they will grow until Christmas and decorate the table)

06 December - St Nicholas
In the north of France, Saint Nicholas comes to reward nice children by
offering them sweets and gifts (usually gingerbread and an orange).

24 December - Christmas Eve

It is a family Festival. People gather and eat a festive meal. Some then go to
midnight mass.

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On the night of December 24 : Santa Claus comes to each home.

25 December - Christmas day

Children (and adults) discover their gifts under the Christmas tree.

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 How We Prepare for Christmas in
France
In the streets and in the houses, there are Christmas decorations, made with
balls, garlands, lights and candles. The windows of the shops are decorated.

Decorated Christmas trees are installed in the town and village squares, in homes
and in the schools.

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Nativity scenes are also installed in the town halls and sometimes in homes. On
the other hand, they are not in the schools because of the principle of neutrality.

Children send a letter to Santa Claus where they list their wishes of gifts. In
France, the post office hires people to respond to the letters from children, so
that all children who have written to Santa Claus can be answered.

There are entertainments in the streets with Christmas markets. In general, this
is the place to buy products that will be eaten during Christmas Eve or Christmas
day. But we can also buy gifts for our family and friends or decorations for our
Christmas tree.

It is also an opportunity for children to see Santa Claus and to take photos with
him.

At home, the Christmas tree is decorated. The child counts down the nights
before Christmas from the 1St December with an advent calendar. Every day, they
open a new box until December 24. Inside of the advent calendar, there are
surprises.

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In schools, this is the month where we teach our students Christmas carols. In
general, Santa Claus comes to the schools and brings gifts to the pupils.

10
 Christmas Traditions in France

In the Christmas choirs, the most well-known songs are:

Il est n le divin enfant (the divine child was born ) and

Petit papa Nol (little santa claus)

Gifts : before the gift offered for Christmas was an orange.

Now, this celebration has become very commercial (as everywhere) and we
offer any kind of gifts (with toys and chocolates remaining the most
common gifts.)

Snacks: we install a small snack for Santa Claus (at the foot of the
Christmas tree), consisting of a biscuit, a glass... to give him strength for his
Christmas tour.

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 Special Christmas Food in France

As an aperitif, we often drink champagne, this drink is a symbol for special

occasions.

This is usually accompanied by toast with salmon, foie gras or caviar.

Starter, we eat snails, oysters, or frogs legs.

The dish, is often composed of a meat like Capon chicken, Guinea fowl, turkey,
duck or goose. This meat is usually accompanied by vegetables or potatoes.

Cheese, guests are presented with a cheese tray consisting of several varieties.

Dessert, The classic cake is the Yule log.

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In Provence it is accompanied by 13 desserts (fresh fruit, candies, dried fruits,
donuts, nougat, chocolate...)

The French are wine lovers. Also, it is customary to drink wine during the meal
and we change wine with every dish.

13
 Traditional Tales Told at Christmas in

France
There are no traditional stories told at Christmas in France

14
 Religious Christmas Traditions in France

People go to the church, 24th December

There are nativity scenes :

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16
 How We
Celebrate
Christmas
In
Scotland

17
 Special Christmas Dates in Scotland
30 November Saint Andrews Day
Saint Andrew is the Patron Saint of Scotland. This is the date we
celebrate his special day. This day also marks the beginning of Advent
in Scotland.

24 December Christmas Eve

The night before Christmas is when children hang up their stockings to receive
the gifts they expect from Santa Claus. Some children will leave out a snack of
Christmas Pies and milk for Santa, as well as a carrot for his reindeer. Many
people go to Church for either Midnight Mass (Roman Catholic), or a Watchnight
Service (Church of Scotland and others).

25 December Christmas Day

This is usually a day spent with family, although some people will go to
Church to celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus. Children waken early to
find the presents left for them by Santa Claus and families gather together
for a special meal (Christmas Dinner) and to spend time together.

26 December Boxing Day

This is a National Holiday and most people do not work on this day. Boxing
Day gets its name from a time when servants received a box or present
from their employer for a years good service. Nowadays, many people
spend Boxing Day watching TV, visiting friends or shopping in the sales.

31 December Hogmanay

Hogmanay is on New Years Eve. Many people prepare to welcome the New
Year by attending street parties or visiting friends and relatives.

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01 January New Years Day

On New Years Day, people visit each other to wish them Happy New Year.
It is traditional to bring a gift (like a piece of coal, or a cake) when visiting.

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24
 Religious Christmas Traditions
in
Scotland
Christingle

A Christingle is made from an orange, a candle, some cocktail sticks, some

dried fruit (or sweets) and a scarlet ribbon. The Christingle is a symbol to
remind us that Jesus was born at Christmas and was the Light of the World.

Advent Crown

Many Churches have an Advent Crown made up of a wreath (usually made

from Holly or some other evergreen plant) and five candles. The first
candle is lit on the first Sunday of Advent, the first and second candles on
the second Sunday and so on. The candle in the middle is usually lit at
Midnight on Christmas Eve to signify that Christ is Born.

Carol Singing and Christmas Music

Christmas carols and Christmas music can be heard everywhere from 01

December. Some groups raise money for charity by singing carols.
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 How We
Celebrate
Christmas
in
SLOVAKIA

29
 Special Christmas Dates in
Slovakia
25 November - Katarna (St.Katherine)
30 November - Ondrej (St. Andrew)
01 December - Advent
04 December - Barbora (St. Barbara)
06 December - Mikul (St. Nicolaus)
24 December - tedr de (Generous day)
Christmas Eve
25 December - The First Christmas holiday
26 December - The Second Christmas holiday
tefan (St. Stephen)
01 January - New Year Day
06 January - Three kings

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 How We Prepare for Christmas in

Slovakia

In Slovakia, Christmas celebrations begin with Advent but there are many folk Christmas
traditions from St. Katherine to Three Kings in villages. During Advent there are lots of
preparations to be made for Christmas. This includes cleaning the house, baking, shopping and
buying the Christmas Tree. Living carps are also sold in the streets from big tanks (carp is
eaten in the main Christmas meal).

Christians usually make use of advent wreaths during

advent, with four candles representing each of the four
Sundays. Every Sunday one more candle is lit.

Children receive Advent calendar and open one calendar

window (packet) with chocolate (or other sweet) every day.

Slovaks, especially children, celebrate Mikul (St. Nicholas'

day) on the 6th December. Mikul in Slovakia is an old man
dressed in a white or red long coat and big boots. He has got a
long white beard and on his shoulder he brings a bag full of
chocolates, sweets and fruit on his shoulder. He doesnt come
on his sledge with his reindeer and doesnt come down the
chimney, but he comes accompanied with an angel and a
devil. In the evening of 5th December, children clean their
boots and place them near the window. Mikul fills up the
boots with lot of sweets, chocolate figurines, bars and other
titbits to eat. In the morning children find their boots filled up. Parents often say the bad
children get only coal or potatoes from devil, but they only frighten children to make them
better behaved. During days around St. Nicolaus, adults dressed like St. Nicolaus, angels and
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devils come to schools, nurseries and hospitals. Angels are dressed in white and have got
wings of feathers. The devils have got tails and hooves. They give packet of sweets to every
child who can sing a song or tell a poem.

AT OUR KINDERGARTEN: We prepare and celebrate Christmas almost three weeks. First week
in December is about Mikul: we learn poems and songs about winter, Mikul and his bag
with sweets. Children make Mikul from paper in many ways. In some evening around 6th
December teachers and children with parents go together to the puppet theatre in Kosice,
they watch theatre performance (a fairy tale) and after it Mikul, an angel and a devil come
and, after childrens songs and poems, they give sweet present to each child.

Next two weeks are about Christmas.

Children at
schools learn
about
Christmas
traditions,
meals, they
watch
Bethlehem
story and
make their own Bethlehem. They make very nice decorations and decorate Christmas tree,
classrooms and windows. They prepare Christmas programme for their parents. Parents and
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teachers buy a lot of presents in secret. When everything is ready, school Christmas day
comes. In the morning there are lots of new toys and games under the Christmas tree in every
classroom.

In the evening parents come to school playground to watch childrens Christmas

programme.

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 Christmas Traditions in

Slovakia

In Slovak families Christmas Eve is the most important day during Christmas. Usually on
this day father would put up the tree. This comes from the times when the Christmas tree
would be a simple spruce brought from the forest and it couldnt be in the room for a very
long time. Childen decorate the tree, sing Christmas songs and carols, watch Chistmas
fairytales. Mother prepares meals for the Christmas Supper (traditionally it consists of twele
dishes). The house has to be cleaned and decorated. Catholics are supposed to be fasting all
day, or at the very least, not to eat meat. Actually the story is that if you fast all the day then
you will see the golden piglet in the evening. In Slovakia the 24th December is called The
Generous Day because we get the presents already in that evening after the traditional
Christmas Supper. After unwrapping the presents, children and parents play with new toys
and watch Christmas fairytales. Many people go to a Midnight Mass Service.
Next two Christmas days are spent by visiting of relatives and enjoying the atmosphere
of Christmas. People might go to Holy Mass Service and families with children like to go to
church and watch 'Bethlehems' which are displayed in almost every church. Families like to
walk in the winter nature. 26th December we call St. Stephen's Day when the first dance ball is
organized after Advent time. People usually spend this day with friends together with good
music and wine.
New Year's Eve is celebrated in Slovakia mostly with friends at home. Young people like
to be in restaurants or in the mountains where people go skiing with friends. In the evening
people usually have a party with their friends. They dance , play games, talk or spend evening
with TV.
At midnight many youngsters come out in the streets or in the main square and begin to shoot
fireworks. All people are watching the fireworks. People drink champagne and wish their
family and friends good luck with the new year. The 1st January is the day of relaxing and
resting with family. Definitely Christmas time is considered as the biggest family holiday time.
Three Kings Day /6th January/ or Walking with star - it means the tradition that three
boys in village dressed in long white waists and with the crowns on their heads walk from
house to house. They usually write over the door G+M+B (the names of the three kings -
Gaspar, Melichar and Balthazar) with a white chalk and usually sing carols.

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Svie nm, stromek jagav

1. Svie nm, stromek jagav, 2. Svie nm, vloka vesel,

u sme vetci zvedav, svet sa odel do biela,
je ten darek a o je v om, blzniv vrabce kriepia sa s nm,
cingi, lingi, cingi, lingi, bom. imarara, imarara, im.

3. Svie nm, stromek bieluk,

chytme sa za rky,
nech nam spevom znie cel dom,
fidli-tidli, fidli-tidli, bom

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 Special Christmas Food in

Slovakia

For Christmas dinner on the 24th December the whole family should get together, no
one is supposed to be on his own. It is traditional to lay down one more place at the table, so
if a beggar would come you can host him. The traditional Christmas dinner is known as the
'velija' and consists of 12 dishes (the number of dishes symbolizes the number of Jesus's
disciples).

The father of the family cut an apple crosswise, if

you get a star, the next year will be happy. A happier
tradition is this: everybody gets a wafer very thin, like holy
wafer, but bigger. You put on some honey, slices of garlic
and bits of walnuts, and stick on another wafer. Then
everybody on the table should bite into each others
wafers this will ensure that they will love each other
for the next year. The meanings are: garlic for health, honey
that you will be sweet and lovable, nuts for beauty.
Wafers are followed by bobalky, pieces of dough
soaked in milk and honey and topped with poppy seeds.
The next course is kapustnica sauerkraut soup, but
more rich. We have in there some sausages (the red
ones, like chorizo) or cream, smoked ham, meat, dried
mushrooms. Each family has its own recipe. Some recipes
include ingredients that might seem unusual such as dried
plums and apples. In the northern regions they have lentil
soup. We eat bread with soup. Bread is important in
part because it symbolizes plenitude for next year.
Then the main course is fish. It is a fresh water local carp fish. It is sold a week before
Christmas in Slovakia in the streets from big tanks and pools alive and many people keep it
alive at home in the bath till Christmas Eve to have it really fresh and to get rid of the possible
muddy taste. Mother cut the killed and cleaned fish into horse-shoe shapes for good luck
(everything has a mystery in Slovakia). She coat it in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs and fry it. We
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also save a few scales and put them into our wallet so we would have loads of money next
year (they look like small silver monies, so that is where this mystery comes from). We eat
potato salad with the fish. It can be salad with carrots, peas, gherkins, and more, but to the
pure north they have just a simple vinegar potato salad with onions.
Other dishes are loke, pirohy dumplings, pork cutlets with
sausage, vegetables and plenty of walnut rolls or cookies. Cookies
are a popular dessert and treat at Christmas. Some favourites
include vanilla ones made with poppy seeds and walnuts and
apricot cookies. Sometimes people will make more than 10
different types of cookies. These are given to visitors over
Christmas.
Traditional Christmas sauerkraut soup Ingredients: 250 g pork chop 200 g sauerkraut 100 g potatoes 30 g
garlic 50 g bacon 1 dl sour cream
Instructions: 1. Fry bacon cut into little cubs, add
onions and 2 3 sausages when onion is fried, add red
pepper and pour 1 teaspoon salt 1 litre of water. 1
seasonings. 2. Put in sauerkraut, pepper and
other seasonings. black pepper 3. Put meat, cut into
cubes into boiling soup, then 30 g dried
mushrooms sausages and at the end mushrooms
and potatoes 1 teaspoon red pepper 4. Cook until
soft and when the soup is ready, 1 teaspon sugar
serve with sour cream. This soup is typical Slovak
Christmas dish. People in some regions cook it
also with dried plums.

Traditional Tales Told at Christmas in

Slovakia
Of course children in Slovakia know the Christmas Story about the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.
But there is another nice legend about St. Nicolaus in Slovakia. Mikul (St. Nicolaus) comes
with an angel and a devil and they can reward good children or punish naughty and
disobedient children. Here is the story about a punished boy .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPvb14HdUS0

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 Religious Christmas Traditions in

Slovakia

In Slovakia there are many regional variations of the Christmas celebrations. Some are
local folk custom and rituals that date back many years. During the 24th December the
traditional Christmas dinner is cooked. It used to be the custom to fast (not to eat anything) all
through Christmas Eve. It was said that if you manage to get by without food for the whole
day, you will see a little golden pig in the evening (after the Midnight Mass service)!
The Christmas Eve varied from village to village even from home to home. In Catholic homes
the supper starts with a prayer and the breaking of the special Christmas wafers.
The traditional table is prepared with a white table cloth with straw and sheaves of
wheat under the table. Every Christmas
table contains a jar of honey and a few cloves of
garlic, foods symbolizing health. Poppy seeds
and peas are often found; both represent
money. To have as much money as poppy seeds,
would be nice indeed! The table is loaded with
steaming bowls of food that will be eaten during
the evening.
In some Slovak families, the head of the household traces the sign of the cross on the
foreheads of the children in honey. This is a wish for a sweet New Year as well as a sweet
disposition. During the supper, no one is permitted to leave the table so it is thought that
someone would not be present there during the coming year. When the meal is completed,
the dishes are cleared away but the pastries, nuts, candies and fruit are left on the table for
any visitors even for the visitors from the other world who died.

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 Secular Christmas Celebrations in

Slovakia

25th November, the day of St. Katherine, was the first of many so called witching days. No
one was safe. The witches loved to sneak into barns and steal milk or lead horses away. A
witch could easily take the likeness of another. To be visited by a strange woman on one of
these days was a bad omen indeed. Such a visitor could easily find herself being chased away
from the house with a broom or having hot coals thrown at her. It was best for the family to
be extra vigilant.

30th November, St. Andrew's day, "halushky" - gnocchi were cooked. Unmarried girls put 13
slips of paper with names of young men: one name into each piece of gnocchi. When the
water boils the gnocchi rise up and the first piece of gnocchi disclose the name of boyfriend.
Girls pour the wax or melted lead through the keyhole to cold water. The shape of cast will tell
her what the profession of her boyfriend will be.

4th December, St. Barboras day. Unmarried girls cut twigs from cherry trees and forced them
into bloom. There is an old belief that if the twig blossoms on Christmas Eve, the girl will be
married the following year.

13th December, St. Lucia's day is the shortest day of the year, so it is associated with magical
practices that protect home and family from witches. People believe that Lucia was the most
powerful witch. On this day you could see girls in white dresses with white veils on their faces.
They have got a brush of feathers to sweep dust from home with it and they spoke magic
words to keep witches away from houses.

There are some other superstitions bound with St. Lucys day:

- A girl prepares 13 cards and write the names of 12 boys on them (one card is empty ).
She put the cards under her pillow. Each day up to Christmas Eve she removes one card
without looking at it. On Christmas Eve she picks up the last card and reads the name on
it. The boy on the card will be her boyfriend.
- Each day from St. Lucys Day to Christmas a girl bites into an apple before sunrise or
sunset. If the apple hasnt been rotten until then it means that the girl will get married.

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- The girl with the apple can stand in front of the house and start to eat the apple until
she sees the first man passing by. The name of this man will be the name of her
husband.
- A girl pours some water into the jar and then on Christmas Eve before the Midnight
Mass she washes her face in it, the man whose clothes she touches first will be her true
lover.
- A Boy makes a small stool without using any nails. People say that the person who will
sit on it during the Midnight Mass will be able to see the witches. If he does not want to
be caught by the witches he must pour poppy seeds around Lucy 's small stool.

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 How We
Celebrate
Christmas
in
BULGARIA

45
 Special Christmas Dates in

BULGARIA

20 December - Ignazhden

24 December - Christmas Eve

25 December - Christmas Day

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 How We Prepare for Christmas in

Bulgaria
Christmas- its time for fun and a lot of
games. First of all, we need a Christmas
decoration. Christmas tree is one of the
most popular traditions associated with
celebration of Christmas. Every
classroom, home and town is decorated
with Christmas tree. Santa Claus takes his
central place and shows that holidays are
coming. We make a lot of handmade
greeting cards.

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 Christmas Traditions in Bulgaria

Christmas it is time for gifts, which are brought by the good old
man Grandfather Christmas.
In many Christian countries
25thDecember - Christmas is the most
important holiday of the year. On this day
in Bulgaria we could meet the carolers in
Bulgarian KOLEDARI. They are
unmarried men lead by a stanenik-their
chief. The men play and sing in front of the
peoples doors. They
say blessings for
every member of the
house and the hosts give them gifts. This
day on the table we put bread, chicken,
bean and other. If anyone wishes
something on Christmas, the wish will
become true.

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 Special Christmas Food in

Bulgaria
Christmas Eve is one of the most important family holidays.
People meet together around a dinner table.
We prepare 7, 9, or 11
traditional Christmas
meals. All of them are
vegetarian as it is the last
night of fasting.
Normally we have
cooked beans, a meal
from rice and spices
wrapped in cabbage, or
vine leaves, different
kinds of salads, cheese,
and most important the
Christmas pita, or banitza with a coin for luck in it. We often put
more luck items in the banitza, so that more people can get their
chance.

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The Christmas dinner is richer than the Christmas Eve dinner
because there you can find meat. The most typical kind of meat is
pork. There is also a cake with a coin. It is believed that if you
have the coin in your slice the luck will be with you the whole
year. With that coin the person has to go to church and buy a
candle.

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 Traditional Tales Told at Christmas in

Bulgaria
The night until 24:00 is quiet
and peaceful. People expect
the birth of Christ.
In the fireplace, the hosts of the
house put a special wood to
burn, called Budnik. Its
believed that the light and the
warmth are symbols of the New
Sun and the birth of Jesus. If
the Yule log burns, the family can expect being better next year.

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 Religious Christmas Traditions in

Bulgaria
Christmas Day
In the morning, after the Carollers had already visited all the
houses, people gather and go on a divine service. After that they
play typical ring dances which have ritual character and symbolize
long life. We say to each other
Chestito Rozhdestvo Hristovo.
At midnight on Christmas
carollers start their round.
They visit the houses of their
relatives, neighbours and other
people in the village. Carol-
singers are boys aged 8 to 12. Its
believed that their songs will
bring health and happiness to the family. The mistress of the
house had prepared cakes and when carollers came, she gives
them of these cakes together with fruits, nuts and bread.

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 Secular Christmas Celebrations in

Bulgaria
We have a very special tradition in Bulgaria, which comes
from ancient times /before Christ/. Its connected to the
Winter solstice and the belief that people should fight
the evil forces of Nature /darkness, cold, frost,
blizzards, drafts, infertility and all of the kind/. This
ritual, called SURVAKANE is very important for the
good health and overall prosperity of people and
agriculture.
SURVAKANE was traditionally performed by young boys
and men, but nowadays its a privilege for all
children.

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54
 How We
Celebrate
Christmas
in
ITALY

55
 Special Christmas Dates in
Italy

29 November - Advent calendar

08 December - Christmas tree

13 December - St. Lucia brings gifts

24 December - Food traditions

Christmas Eve

25 December - The Nativity

26 December - Lunch of St. Stephen

6 January - The gifts of the Magi

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 How We Prepare for Christmas in
Italy
Christmas, celebrated on December 25, is the most important holiday in Italy and
celebrates the birth of Jesus. The families in this day get together, cook many things to eat,
play and exchange gifts. The children are waiting for Christmas morning to receive gifts
from Santa Claus (BABBO NATALE in Italian). This is a good time for children because
schools are closed, generally from December 23 to January 6. Some
families leave to go skiing in the mountains and this is called the
white week (SETTIMANA
BIANCA in Italian). The
Christmas tree and the nativity
scene are prepared usually on
December 8, the feast of the
Immaculate Conception.
The day before is called VIGILIA,
and preparing an important
dinner is called CENONE. For this dinner we prepare
dishes based on fish, we can buy or prepare special sweets and every home is decorated.

During the Christmas season also occurs the celebration for the New Year. On December
31, the families come out or get together for dinner on the last day of the year. At midnight
we celebrate with champagne and fireworks. In small towns, for Christmas, people buy
handicrafts in a Christmas market but if you like cribs (PRESEPE in Italian) and want to
really see all about the Neapolitan Crib, you should definitely visit the famous street of the
nativity scene makers, in Napless historic city, the Via San Gregorio Armeno. Here you can
admire numerous shops with creative nativity figurines in all variations. Besides the Jesus
and Madonna figurines you will also
find detailed copies of all household
objects, gastronomic delights, exotic
animals, and sometimes even
caricatured politicians.
Moreover, you can get thousands of
accessories and building material for
your presepe, like cork to create the
mountains, ready-to-place houses,
wells, waterfalls powered by electric
engine, small lakes with water, trees,
grasslands, bridges, towers.

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And all (or nearly all) handmade! During Christmas time, more than half a million tourists
come to see the shops with the original miniature figurines, and the shops in this street are
especially busy.

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 Christmas Traditions in
Italy
On 8th December Italian families prepare Christmas tree with ornaments and lights and the
presepio ( crib ) too.
The presepio represents the Holy Family in the stable.
At Christmas time there are lights and decorations in the
streets.

Christmas Eve, December 24th, we get together and eat

a big meal. At the end of dinner we eat Italians cakes :
panettone, pandoro and Neapolitan struffoli.
All together we play tombola and exchange presents,
until midnight to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

On December 31st, we have

a big dinner and celebrate
the New Year with
fireworks.

In Italy, Christmas time is on

until the Feast of Epiphany,
January 6th, when the
Befana brings presents
and stockings full of sweets.

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 Special Christmas Food in
Italy
Natale, or Christmas, is one of Italy's most beloved holidays, where each region celebrates 3
meals with its own line-up of traditional dishes. Take a peek into Italy's rich tradition and get
a few ideas for your own holiday feasts this season.
December 24: Christmas Eve Dinner
Christmas Eve dinner is traditionally a light meal with no meat. Antipasti are normally based
on fish; for example, Carpaccio di pesce spada, tonno or salmone(sword fish, tuna fish, or
fresh salmon carpaccio), and/or insalata di mareordi polpo (seafood or octopus salad). As a
first course, in regions like Lombardia, Piemonte and Emilia-Romagna, agnolotti filled with
ricotta and spinach, potatoes or pumpkin are served. These are usually served with butter,
sage and Parmigiano-Reggiano. But the originality of some traditions can go to extremes like
the cialson prepared in Friuli, which are ravioli filled with ricotta, raisins and/or dried figs,
spinach, chocolate and candied citron! In Veneto, we love bigoi in salsa, which are a sort of
thick, buckwheat spaghetti seasoned with a delicious cream of anchovies and onions. In
Piemonte, the glorious bagna caudais often served. Anguilla (eel) orcapitone is very
traditional, and is cooked in many different ways all over Italy. In parts of Sicily, they
prepareinvoltini (roulade) of swordfish made with breadcrumbs, orange juice, pinoli, dried
raisins, tarragon, ginger, garlic, parsley and basil. This last dish is an example of how Italian
regional cuisine can reach an almost stratospheric level!
December 25: Christmas Day Lunch
This is the most important of the three meals associated with Natale and can last for hours.
The table has to be beautiful and big to accommodate the many guests; the relatives with
the biggest table usually host the party. The best tablecloths are chosen, together with
grandmothers antique dishware, and of course the English silverware. Precious crystal
glasses are brought out, and if you break one, you will be reminded of your clumsiness for
years to come.
On Christmas day lunch, the first course is often preceded by a classic antipasto with cuts of
cured meat, garnished with olives and cheese. When the pasta course is brought out, it is
just about impossible for any Italian to refuse a second serving of nonnas wonderful Pasta or
Pasticcio al fornoa baked pasta full of surprises. This type of baked pasta is more common
in the central southern regions of Italy. In the north, Lasagne verdi alla Bolognese reigns
supreme, along with a huge variety of filled pastas. Cannelloni with different fillings, baked
with besciamella and rag, are also popular. Though todays young families have their own
alternatives to these classic choices, most Italians prefer the traditional to the new for the
holidays. As a second course, meat is de rigueur: roasted veal, braised beef or roasted
chicken with potatoeswhich in my childhood was really an event. We say in Italy that court
birds and little animals are the sacrificial victims of our lust for meat at Christmas.

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December 26thSanto Stefanos Lunch
On the 26th of December, lunch is important too. For this meal, more distant relatives and
friends are often invited. The meal will be less sumptuous, but still important and well
composed. Fantasy and innovation at the stove are probably more common for this meal.
Different kinds of antipasti and other courses are often served. Then, of course, theres the
dessert. Italians are generally big on desserts, but when it comes to sweets and the
Christmas season, all bets are off. Of course, sweet breads, like panettone and pandoro, are
popular across Italy. Other desserts include cavallucci, cookies with the image of a horse
(from, of course, Siena); dita degli apostoli(fingers of the apostles), chocolate- or coffee-
flavored ricotta-filled omelettes, a Puglian tradition; and mostaccioli, spiced nut pastries
gobbled up by Romans.

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 Traditional Tales Told at Christmas in
Italy
The story of the Nativity: St. Francis of Assisi to the present day

The name "crib" is derived from the Latin

"presepe" which means stable, crib, or the
place where it seems was the setting for the
scene of the nativity as adoration of the
shepherds as early as the second century.
The scene has its main elements in the cave,
which contains the manger where baby Jesus
is placed, with a side of the Madonna, St.
Joseph, the ox, the donkey, the Three Kings
and the shepherds.

What are the origins of the crib? Some claim

that the introduction of the crib as a Christmas tradition and attributed to Saint Francis of
Assisi who first created back in 1223 ... It is said that, impressed by the liturgical functions
celebrated at Christmas 1222 in Bethlehem - where he had gone to see the place where
Jesus was born - Francis asked Pope Honorius III to repeat them in Italy for the following
Christmas.
This is the story.
On a cold Christmas Eve, Francis decided to do something special for the inhabitants of
Greccio. He gathered his friends, a group of monks called Friars Minor, and asked them to
give him a wooden manger. He also wanted a donkey. Yet a cow dark haired. And when he
had settled in the cave, he called back his Friars Minor. "Go into the village," he told them.
"Invite all here. Tell them that here in the cave there's a surprise for them" .The monks did
as he had told them. When they all arrived at the cave, Francis called a woman and made
her kneel, like Mary, beside the manger. Then she called a man and had him stand next to
Mary, like Joseph. Finally, Francis began to sing. Sang the story of the first Christmas, and
people of Greccio was moved and wept to hear that God had chosen a poor woman, even
the poorest of them, to give birth to their son, Ges.
The story could end there, if not It has been for a brother named John, who had once been
a knight. But then he met Francis and, following his example, had renounced his wealth to
live in poverty, and doing good works .. While Francis sang the story of the first Christmas,
it was John who saw something, and full of wonder
He shouted: "Look there is a child in the manger."
It was a miracle? It was a vision sent to him by God? No one knows. But when the people
of Greccio he heard that John had seen the baby lying in the manger in Bethlehem, there

62
was nothing that could contain the joy. So Saint Francis and all the inhabitants of Greccio
passed the whole night singing their praises to God.

63
 Religious Christmas Traditions in
Italy
Christmas without a nativity scene is not Christmas. At least in Naples, home par excellence
of scenic reconstruction of the night of Bethlehem.
In the houses of Campania (region of Italy where Naples is the main city) the crib is a symbol
that stands halfway between religion and tradition, a rite with an extremely thin line
between the sacred and the folklore.
This rite extends from the houses to the whole community often involved in large staging
that transform towns, villages, fractions in stages in which it plays the flow of life around the
grotto where Christ was born, ideally translated into a
setting that recalls the history, traditions, habits of the
surrounding places.
Living nativity scenes and pageants, in Italian presepi
viventi, are quite common in Italy. Living nativity scenes
are usually presented for several days, thanks to the fact
that many people in Italy enjoy wearing a costume and act
out the parts of the nativity.
In many parts of Italy living nativity scenes have become a secular tradition.
Here some examples:
1) Greccio (Umbria) is the place where St. Francis of Assisicreated in 1223 the first nativity
scene ever seen in the world. This happened one year after he visited Bethlehem and saw
where the stable was, where it was thought that Jesus was born. For this reason, Greccio
has become today the most famous seat for historical re-enactment of the nativity.
2) Custonaci is a small Sicilian town, and Sicily is a region with a great tradition of living
nativity scenes. During Christmas holidays, a small area of Custonaci known as Borgo
Scurati is transformed into a copy of the Holy Land, and the air is filled with the sounds of
Christmas.
3) Dogliani, in Piedmont, and Varese, in Lombardia, are probably the most famous towns
for living nativity scenes in the North of Italy.
Each town re-enacts its own version of the nativity scene, sometimes over several days,
usually on Christmas Day, December 26, January 6 and on the day of the Epiphany, when
the three Wise Men, the Magi, brought their gifts to baby Jesus.
Salerno (2nd city in Campania) Luci dArtista Festival of lights
This city welcomes you, until the end of January, for this marvellous event which attracts
millions of people. A spectacular exhibition through the streets, the squares and the
corners of Salerno where fantasy takes form
through lights, leaving everyone with bated
breath.

64
Enchanted gardens, the most popular fairytales, the planetary constellations and celestial
phenomena, the charms of the East, circus evolutions, sails and the sea.

Luci dArtista celebrates creativity and imagination, transporting visitors into an enchanted
universe.

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 Secular Christmas Celebrations in
Italy
BEFANA
In Italian folklore, Befana is an old woman who delivers gifts to children throughout Italy
on Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5) in a similar way to St Nicholas or Santa Claus.

A popular belief is that her name derives from the Feast of Epiphany or in Italian La Festa
dell'Epifania. Epiphania (Epiphany in English) is a Latin word with Greek origins.
In popular folklore Befana visits all the children of Italy on the eve of the Feast of the
Epiphany to fill their shoes with candy and presents if they are good. Or a lump of coal or
dark candy if they are bad. Being a good housekeeper, many say she will sweep the floor
before she leaves. To some the sweeping meant the sweeping away of the problems of
the year. The child's family typically leaves a small glass of wine and a plate with a few
morsels of food, often regional or local, for the Befana.
She is usually portrayed as an old lady riding a broomstick through the air wearing a black
shawl and is covered in soot because she enters the children's houses through the
chimney. She is often smiling and carries a bag or hamper filled with candy, gifts, or both.
Traditionally, all Italian children may expect to find a lump of "coal" in their stockings
(actually rock candy made black with caramel coloring), as every child has been at least
occasionally bad during the year. Three places in Italy are nowadays associated with the
Befana tradition:
Piazza Navona in central Rome is the site of a popular market each year between
Christmas and the Epiphany, where toys, sugar charcoal and other candies are on sale.
The town of Urbania in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino within the Marche, where
the national Befana festival is held each year, usually between January 2 and 6. A "house
of the Befana" is scheduled to be built and the post office has a mailbox reserved for
letters addressed to the Befana, mirroring what happens with Santa Claus in Rovaniemi.
In Fornovo di Taro a little town by Parma the national meeting "Raduno Nazionale
delle Befane e dei Befani" is held the 5th and 6 January.
Poems and songs
There are poems about Befana, which are known in slightly different versions throughout
Italy. Here is one of the versions:

La Befana vien di notte

Con le scarpe tutte rotte
Col vestito alla romana
Viva, Viva La Befana!

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The English translation is:

The Befana comes by night

With her shoes all tattered and torn
She comes dressed in the Roman way
Long live the Befana!

67
68
How We
Celebrate
Christmas
In
POLAND

69
 Special Christmas Dates in
Poland
- 29 November Start of the Advent

- 6 December Saint Nicolaus (! not Santa Claus !).

-24 December Christmas Eve Supper.

-25 December Christmas the main solemn mass in the church.

-26 December St. Stephens day.

-27 December St. Johns day.

-6 January Epiphany, in Poland known as Three Kings Day.

-2 February Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, in Poland known also as the Candlemass
Day the end of Christmas period in Poland.

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 How we prepare for Christmas in
Poland
The time before Christmas in Poland is called Advent.
Advent in 2015 began on November 29 and lasted for 4 consecutive Sundays.
It is the time to wait for the birth of Jesus Christ and the period of reminiscent waiting for his
second coming.
One of the most characteristic elements of Advent is the special mass called roraty. These
masses are in honor of the Virgin Mary. The Roraty Mass begins when it is still dark. In
Kraczkowa it is about 6 in the morning. Several children and the majority of employees from
our Kindergarten regularly participate in these Masses.
Other well-known symbols of this period include among others, the Advent wreath, decorated
with four candles, which symbolize the four
Sundays of Advent and the lantern that lights in
the church during the first part of the mass,
when the lights in church are switched off.
Advent is a time for reflection, prayer and
joyful expectation of the birth of Jesus.
At the same time we prepare for Christmas
undertaking Special Christmas Cleaning. We
try to finish all works in backyards, we
organize great family cleaning of our homes,
we clean up graves of our relatives in

cemeteries. Everything should be done and

ready before Christmas.
Clean homes and backyards are then decorated
with Christmas decorations. It happens also in
our Kindergarten we decorate our classes, we
decorate Christmas Trees.
It is extremely nice also when we can smell at
home the scent of pastries and other baked
goods.

71
 Christmas Traditions in
Poland
The Christmas Eve evening is the most special and touching evening of the year in the Polish
tradition. It is the great final after long period of Advents expectancy. Everything is already
prepared, everything is finished, cleaned and everyone is already impatient (especially children)
for the great final.
The main part of this evening is a very special and solemn Christmas Eve Supper. The whole
big family gathers together. The table is covered with a white tablecloth with pieces of hay
under it to remind us of the crib where Jesus lay after His birth. The table is decorated and also
has candles and the Advent wreath. Traditionally there should be 12 dishes on this supper and
they are all meatless. Most dishes are very special and they are prepared only once during the
whole year, just for this Supper. The Supper begins with a common prayer. Then all persons
share among themselves pieces of special Christmas wafer, breaking this wafer, granting good
wishes with this occasion.
During the Supper we remember, in a very special way, those who could not be present
together with us, especially those who are abroad. Usually we also prepare an empty chair and
plates for any unexpected guest. This space can also remind us of deceased family members.
Usually the Christmas Eve Supper begins with the first star that appears in the sky.

In the middle of the night we go to the church for a Midnight Nativity Mass. According to the
tradition, it commemorates the arrival of shepherds to Bethlehem and their homage to the
newborn Messiah.

An integral part of the Christmas Eve Supper and the whole Christmas time is singing Carols.
There are lots of carols; some of them go back to the very deep past, sometimes to the middle
ages. On the other side we have some universal carols known well also in other countries, like
for instance, Silent night.

Another tradition is connected with Christmas Nativity Scenes. There are sometimes very big
and sophisticated Scenes arranged in churches. Beautiful masterpieces of Christmas Nativity
Scenes are prepared in Krakow. They are very unique, made with some inspirations to the
architecture of the historic buildings of Krakow. But at the same time we create also small
Christmas Nativity Scenes at our homes. We make them also in our Kindergarten together with
children.

72
 Special Christmas Food in
Poland

The main tradition connected with special food is linked to the Christmas Eve Supper.
All in all, there should be 12 dishes served during the dinner, which stand for 12 apostles. The
first course is soup. It is either beetroot soup with mushroom-filled little dumplings, sour rye
soup (white borscht), or mushroom soup. Then the dinner continues with pierogi with various
fillings and fish (especially carp) that may be fried or served cold in gelatin. Other traditional
Christmas Eve dishes are cabbage with peas and kutia, a dessert made of poppy seed, wheat
grain and honey. According to the Polish tradition dishes for the Christmas Eve Supper should
be meatless and without the use of animal fats.
At the table there should be one additional plate for an unexpected guest. After the dinner,
people traditionally open their Christmas presents and sing
Christmas carols.

73
 Traditional Tales Told at Christmas in
Poland
Christmas traditions are very important in Poland, and also in Kraczkowa.

As Kraczkowas Church has Saint Nicolaus as its patron it is still more important.

We try to remember the true and real tradition of Saint Nicolaus and bring this tradition against
commercial and secular vision of Santa Claus with its big belly, red nose, naughty elves and
ho ho ho guffaw.

And how it really was?

Nicholas, Bishop of Myra was born around
year 270 in Patara that nowadays is located
in Turkey. From an early age Nicholas was
very pious and eager to help the poor, which
was so much easier because his parents were
very wealthy people.
One day, Nicholas learned that one of the
residents of Patara fell into poverty. He had
three daughters but through unexpected lack
of money they could not marry. One night,
when all people were sleeping, Nicholas
threw a pouch with money through the
window, which protected them from poverty
and enabled them to get married.
When he was a bishop he became famous
among the faithful as a benefactor and a
zealous pastor.

We preserve this vision of Saint Nicolaus in

Kraczkowa, also in our Kindergarten.

74
 Religious Christmas Traditions in
Poland
Religious Christmas Traditions start with period of
Advent.
The most important feature of this period is connected
with restraint from joyful parties. It is rather time of
silence, reflection and expectance.
In Kraczkowa very important moment is on 6th of
December when Saint Nicolaus (! not Santa Claus !)
visits us and gives us presents. In Kraczkowa its a feast
in our parish St. Nicolaus Church. On this day we have
a parish festival.

There are lots of celebrations during Advent time in church to attend including special Roraty
morning mass. Then, during Christmas time, people fast in the day of Christmas Eve, they have
later their Christmas Eve Supper with all religious attributes and finally they go to church to
attend in Midnight Nativity Mass.

During days of Christmas every day there are special celebrations in church.
Very important tradition is connected with Carolers. They wander during the period of
Christmas across village, dressed in special costumes, visiting our houses. They sing Christmas
carols, play little scenes and ask for small gifts.

On 6th of January there is special blessing of white chalk and incense herbs in this day. After the
mass we all write on external doors of our homes the first letters of Three Mags and actual year
with this blessed chalk and we burn blessed incense herbs letting the incense smoke spread
thorough all interior of our homes.

The end of Christmas time is on 2nd of February Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, in
Poland known also as the Candlemass Day. On
this day, during the mass, the priest gives a
special blessing to candlemasses. We take those
special candles homes. We use them in special
moments. There is also a tradition to light this
candle in moments of danger, for instance during
storms.

75
 Secular Christmas Celebrations in
Poland
Christmas time in Poland is very special also for those who do not follow Christian traditions.

The most important feature is very unique decorations. Cities, towns and villages are full of
Christmas lights, Christmas decorations and motives. Shops and commercial centres are full of
insistent Christmas promotions, Christmas carols can be heard from everywhere, Santa Clauses
are walking on the streets giving sweets to children.

There are still lots of people who follow the tradition of sending cards with Christmas wishes
during this period by traditional mail, although new techniques, like SMS and e-mail, are
getting more and more popular.

During Christmas time Carolers, dressed in special costumes, visit our houses. They sing
Christmas carols, play little scenes and ask for small gifts.

Gifts this is what everyone is waiting for in this period. Either on 6th of December Santa Claus
brings his gifts close to beds and/or on 24th of December (in some homes St. Nicolaus or Santa
Claus) brings gifts leaving them under the Christmas tree.

76