Christmas Traditions (cont...)

Also, different games and plays with the motives from Christian legends were performed. The themes were mostly from the biblical story of baby Jesus being born, which at first had been used as part of the mass. However, from the 13th century these plays were forbidden to be played out in churches, and so from that time on they were only performed in the towns' squares.

Another important part of Christmas was also the preparation of the Christmas food. Its roots go back to the time when the solstice celebrations were connected with big parties, where mainly meat was eaten. The Church, therefore, ordered that people should fast on the 24th of December, in order to get rid of these celebrations. The Roman Catholics were allowed to eat fish, and they laid the meat onto the Christmas table and ate it only after midnight.

The fish was also a favorite dish because of their scales, which symbolized money and wealth. The fish scales were put either under the table cloth or plate. The Evangelical religion allowed people to eat meat, sausages and other meat products on Christmas Eve. For Catholics, the period of 30 days before Christmas was the period known as "Advent", where the meals were mostly prepared from cereals, peas and beans and other pulses, fruit, cabbage and often also from poppy seeds and garlic.

Christmas Traditions (cont...) >>

- Introduction

- Traditional Calendar

- Traditional Food

- Traditional Recipes

- Traditional Crafts

- Folk Music & Dance

- Folkgroup ORAVA

- Folkgroup Kubincan