How to Celebrate a Hungarian Style Christmas
Hungarians celebrate Christmas as a very elaborate but a private affair and the festivities begin with the arrival of Advent.
Christmas here is celebrated in a little differently than other European Countries in that the Hungarians believe in celebrating Christmas quietly, with family and friends and not with the world partying. Here are some pointers to celebrating Christmas, Hungarian style.
A few Suggestions
- Give the whole house a thorough cleaning and on the Eve of St. Nicholas Day (December 6th), have the children put out a pair of well-cleaned shoes. If in the morning the shoes are filled with sweets and small toys or gifts then they have been good but if the shoes are filled with potatoes, stones or a wooden spoon then they have been naughty.
- Decorate the house more and more with each passing day with pine boughs and cards on the mantelpiece, a manger scene of cornhusk dolls and embroidered tablecloths and runners around the living rooms.
- Take care to see that the Christmas Eve supper begins with sauerkraut soup that has dried mushrooms and sausage (kolbasz) floating in it. Serve poppy seed rolls (baigli) or crepes (palacsinta) for dessert.
- Do not put up the Christmas tree until Christmas Eve and even then let the children not know. Only with the ringing of the bells usher them in telling them that angels have brought them the tree.
- Gather round the tree and sing Christmas songs and then open presents that have each family member’s name written on them.
- After all the presents have been opened and everyone has wished everyone else the whole family should go to church to attend the midnight mass.
Do’s
- Prepare and partake of a sumptuous Christmas dinner mainly consisting of fish or cabbage with the special poppy-seed bread.
Don’ts
- Have fun and make merry and don’t get into the intricacies of doing everything just so by following all the Hungarian traditions, especially baking the many different types of desserts that old Hungarian wives excel in.
no they don’t they like being with lots of people
December 2nd, 2008 at 9:09 am