Christmas stories seen through children's eyes Christmas in the countries of Europe | Page 8

with the coming of Christianity. The next day (December 25) begins with the early
morning mass followed by daytime masses. According to scripture, the Christmas Day
masses are interchangeable allowing for greater flexibility in choosing the religious
services by individual parishioners.
The following day is often spent visiting friends.
The giftbearer varies. In some regions it is Święty Mikołaj (Saint Nicholas), in others
Święty Mikołaj gives his gifts on December 6 and the giftbringer of the Christmas Eve is
Gwiazdor ("star man"), Aniołek ("little angel") or Dzieciątko ("baby Jesus")
C
hristmas (Romanian: Crăciun) in Romania is on December 25 and is
generally considered the second most important religious Romanian
holiday after Easter. [citation
needed]
In Moldova, although Christmas is
celebrated on December 25
like in Romania, January 7 is
also recognized as an official
holiday. Celebrations begin
with the decoration of the
Christmas
tree
during
daytime on December 24,
and
in
(Christmas
Romanian:
the
Eve,
evening
in
Ajunul
Crăciunului) Moş Crăciun (Father Christmas) delivers the presents.