Christmas stories seen through children's eyes Christmas in the countries of Europe | Page 18

On Christmas Eve morning the carp is killed and gutted (or some other kind of fish is
taken out of the freezer!). During the day the supper is cooked. It used to be the custom to
fast (not to eat anything) all through Christmas Eve. This was a direction given by the
Catholic Church. 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 main Christmas meal is known as the 'velija' and consists of 12 dishes (the number of
dishes symbolizes the number of Jesus's disciples). The table is prepared with a white
table cloth with straw and sheaves of wheat at each end.
Christmas dinner begins with Oplatky small bread wafers and a blessing.
The main Christmas supper varies between regions and families. It normally has lots of
courses including a fish dish and 'Kapustnica'. Kapustnica is a thick cabbage soup with
sausage, meat, dried mushrooms and cream. Every family has its own recipe. Some
recipes include ingredients that might seem unusual such as dried plums and apples.
Carp is often the fish that is eaten. Some people buy it live and keep it in their bath until
it's time to kill it and cook it. And if you want a bath or shower, you have to take it out of
the bath and put it in a bucket!
Other dishes might include a baked ham or a roost goose, 'bobajky' small pieces of bread
mixed with butter and sauerkrat or sweetened with honey and poppyseeds, potato salad,
pirohy dumplings, vegetables and plenty of walnut rolls or cookies.
Cookies are a popular dessert and treat at Christmas. Some favorites 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. There
are also special thin waffles that are eaten with honey.
After supper people might visit the close family or neighbors and give small gifts. Then
many people will go to a Midnight Mass Service. This is the busiest Church service of the
year.
In Slovakia there are many regional variations of the Christmas Eve celebrations. Some
are local folk customs and rituals, that date back many years. One tradition is to clean the
house and windows ready for Christmas.
Christmas Day and Boxing Day (26th) are much quieter and days of rest. People might go
to Holy Mass Service and visit their family on Christmas Day. Families with children like
to go to church and watch 'Bethlehems' (crib scenes) which are displayed in almost every
church. Some of them are mechanical!