Christmas in Slovakia

The generally known purpose of Christmas is to remind us of Jesus Christ being born. The Church brought this to light in the 4th century. This is why on the 24th or 25th of December the majority of people get together under the Christmas tree. At the utter beginning, this time was known as the celebration of winter solstice. The celebration was worshiped by Slavs, Germans and Nordic nations. All these nations celebrated the approaching spring, gifts of the future, a new life dormant under the snow and a strong and growing family. Many of them eventually became the symbols of Christmas integrated with Christian concepts. The day of Jesus’ birth was also considered as the first day of the New Year in middle ages.
In those times, many customs, ceremonies and rituals were performed during the Christmas holidays. People believed that they could positively influence their future lives and the upcoming harvest. Different plays, songs, were performed in costume.  The children went from house to house with rhymes or songs and people gave them sweets or money. It was very similar to today’s Halloween.

The time of winter solstice was connected with celebrations where a lot of food was served. When Christians took over these holidays, the Church ordered a fast on the 24th of December. The Roman Catholics were only allowed to eat fish and meat after midnight! In contrast, the Evangelical faith was allowed to eat fish and other meat products.
During days around Christmas, everybody ate some onion or garlic in order to gain protection from witches and to be healthy. The garlic was usually eaten with wafers and honey which was also believed to have magical healing power. Many cakes, breads and others dishes from dough (e.g. ´lokše, štedrák, medovníky´) were also prepared for carol singers and visitors.  The dough could be used for another ritual. If a housewife wanted her hens to lay eggs she cleaned her hands from the dough in the yard. If she wanted a tree to bear fruit, she would put the dough on the trunk of the tree. One of the first foods eaten on Christmas Eve was fish (the scales of the fish symbolized money and wealth) and in some regions people eat  ´opekance´ or ´pupáky´ with poppy seeds. Soup was not to be forgotten. In Slovakia people either ate the traditional cabbage soup into which beans, dried fruit and dried mushrooms or fish soup. This soup was to be eaten very slowly in order to prolong your life.
The evening meal started when the first star appeared in the sky. The oldest man or woman made a wish or a toast. Then apples and nuts were used to predict the future. The Christmas Eve meal had a strict order of courses and their number was magical e.g. 7 or 9. In some households they used to take only three bites from one particular meal. Housewives took pieces of each food and threw it to the animals or into the well to guarantee plenty of water.
Another traditional part of Christmas was the serving of alcohol, such as wine, ´slivovica´ or ´hriatô´. They were served during visits. Neighbours visited each other and treated themselves with many kinds of food. On the 25th of December smoked meat and sausages could be eaten. On St. Stephan’s Day, some small kids used to go around with verses and poems. Grandmothers brought their children and decorated cakes.