Christmas stories seen through children's eyes Christmas in the countries of Europe | Page 3

I
n countries of Central Europe (for this purpose, roughly defined as the German-
speaking countries of Germany, Austria and Switzerland as well as the Czech
Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary and possibly other places) the
main celebration date for the general
public (December
is
Christmas
Eve
24). The day is usually a fasting day; in some
places children are told they'll see a golden
pig if they hold fast until after dinner.
When comes preparation
starts. Traditions
of
the
Christmas
evening
Dinner
concerning dinner vary from region
region, for example, in Poland, Czech
to
Republic, and Slovakia, the prevailing meal is fried carp with potato salad and fish (or
cabbage) soup. However, in some places the tradition is porridge with mushrooms (a
modest dish), and elsewhere the dinner is exceptionally rich, with up to 12 dishes. This
in fact reveals that when Christmas comes around all the kids get presents from
neighbours and house guest. Even the house pet got a little something to gnaw on.
After the dinner comes the time for gifts. Children usually find their gifts under the
Christmas Tree, with name stickers. An interesting example of complicated history of
the region is the "fight" between Christmas beings. During communism, when