Christmas around the world _ PAB Languages Centre Ltd.
Christmas will not be normal this year but especially during a period of
uncertainty, rapid changes and unexpected challenges, time spent with loved
ones is even more precious for people of all faiths and none. Taking the time
to connect with those you love will bring you true happiness and strength.
This year, shaped by tradition, faiths and cultural norms, Christmas celebrations will have local flair both online and offline.
Poland
In every country, food takes centre stage.
In Poland, Christmas Eve is
known as Wigilia. The main Christmas meal is eaten in the evening and is called
"Kolacja wigilijna" (Christmas Eve supper). It is traditional that no
food is eaten (or sometimes the first present opened) until the first star is seen
in the sky!
On the table there are 12
dishes - they are meant to bring you good luck for the next 12 months. The meal
is traditionally meat free this is to remember the animals who took care of the baby Jesus in the manger. Everyone has to eat or at least try some of
each dish.
Carp is often the main dish
of the meal. "Bigos" is a dish which can be eaten either hot or cold.
It's made of cabbage, bacon, sometimes dried plums. Herrings are very popular
and usually are served in several ways: in oil, in cream, in jelly. In most houses there is also "kompot z
suszu" that is a drink made by boiling dried fruit and fresh apples. The
most popular desserts at Kolacja wigilijna are "makowiec", a poppy
seed roll made of sweet yeast bread, "kutia" mixed dried fruits and
nuts with wheat seeds, "piernik" a moist cake made with honey (that's
like gingerbread) and gingerbreads (which are usually dry and very hard).
Carols are sung in Poland
and each region has its own carols. The Christmas tree is also often brought in
and decorated on Christmas Eve. In some houses there is also a custom of breaking
one of the Christmas Tree decorations (e.g. breaking a glass bauble) to scare
the evil out of the house for the whole year ahead!
Bulgaria
In Bulgaria, Christmas is
celebrated on December 25th as the Bulgarian Orthodox Church uses
the Gregorian calendar. Christmas Eve, called
Budni Vecher (‚Бъдни вечер') is a very important day and the main Christmas meal is eaten in the
evening of Christmas Eve.
The meal should
traditionally have an odd number of dishes in it (usually 7, 9 or 11) and an
odd number of people sitting around the table. Salt, pepper and sugar can count
as separate dishes! It's normally a rich
vegan meal and includes dishes made of different vegetables such as beans soup; sarmi ('сарми') - cabbage leaves stuffed with rice;
peppers stuffed with rice; boiled wheat with sugar
and walnuts; different kinds of pastries, some keks, lots of
fruit and nuts, such as dried plums, dried apricots, oranges and tangerines and
'oshav' (‘ошав’)- a dried fruit compote.
Only after midnight dishes
with non-vegan ingredients are served and eaten. These will include foods like banitsa
(‘баница’) - a pastry filled with yogurt and feta cheese,
and 'baklava' (‚баклава‘) - a dessert made of filo pastry that is filled with
chopped nuts and soaked with syrup or honey.
Walnuts are especially
popular. It is traditional that the table is left with all the food on it until
the morning of Christmas Day. The main reason is a tradition that in this way,
people would like to invite God to enter their home and have dinner. Straw is
often put under the tablecloth and you might even bring a wooden plough into
the house and put it behind the door. These are meant to help you have good
crops during the next year.
Portugal
The holidays are very important
to the Portuguese. Scenes of the Nativity, or “Presépio”, are seen in every small town and home.
Some towns assemble a living Nativity Scene.
On Christmas Eve, a family dinner or "Consoada" is celebrated with boiled salt codfish and potatoes with cabbage. After the meal, people eat traditional fried desserts: “filhós", which are traditionally made of fried dough; "rabanadas" or “fatias douradas”, bread slices that are dipped in egg and then fried, and powdered with sugar and cinnamon; "azevias", Portuguese fried pockets depending on the region, but the main ingredient of the filling is chick pea, and powdered with sugar ; "aletria", which is vermicelli pasta cooked in sweetened milk, and topped with cinnamon, typical of the Northern regions.
Bolo Rei (King Cake) is also a particularly favourite dessert
among the Portuguese during Christmas time. It is a round cake glazed with
fruits, nuts and sugar. Whoever gets the broad bean (hidden in the cake) has to
buy the "Bolo Rei" in the coming year.
Festivities end on January 6th, Kings’ Day (in Portuguese,"Dia
de Reis").
The “Janeiras” are a Portuguese tradition, in which a a group of people stroll the streets of small villages singing in the New Year. The “Janeiras”
are somewhat similar to Christmas Carolling, as this tradition also involves a
group of people going from house to house singing and sometimes playing
instruments.
Traditionally, people go
out to the streets to sing the “Janeiras” between December 25th and
January 6th. The “Janeiras” tradition varies from region to region.
Wherever you are, we hope
you have a peaceful and magical holiday season.
We are blessed to have
wonderful humans in over 50 countries from different faiths, backgrounds,
ethnicities working with PAB Languages. We papered Christmas wishes in over 30
languages please feel free share your wishes in native language of you with
friends, clients, and suppliers. Christmas wishes in over 30 languages here