Our Christmas traditions by Ewa Nenkin

Polish carols concert

nenkin — 2018-11-18 21:36:39 UTC

Christmas market in Wrocław

nenkin — 2018-11-19 16:17:11 UTC

Kateryna Hordienko, Ukraine

KaterynaHordiienko — 2018-11-26 18:54:44 UTC

Christmas Food in Greece

tari261067 — 2018-11-26 20:34:28 UTC

Greece is a country where traditions and customs are a part of everyday life. Most holidays in Greece are celebrated traditionally, and Christmas in no exception. Christmas caroling is very popular, and although you might hear them being sung at any given moment during the holiday season, there are actually three "official" caroling days. The custom is that children go from house to house singing the carol, with the accompaniment of a triangle, and residents of the houses give them a small amount of money. Greek Christmas carols (calanda) are sung on the mornings of Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and January 5, the Eve of the Epiphany.
According to tradition, during the Greek 12 days of Christmas (December 25 to January 6), goblins come out to tease people and eat their food. This tradition is based on the legend that the "waters aren't christened" since Christ has not yet been baptized. The goblins are renowned for their ugliness and their impishness. They are not very intelligent and can't really hurt anybody. It is said that they enter houses through chimneys, and this is the reason people, especially in villages, keep the fireplace lit during the 12 days of Christmas.
In many parts of Greece, people hang a pomegranate above the front door of their house. By the New Year, when the fruit will have dried, Greeks throw it on the ground so it breaks, and step into their house on their right foot. According to tradition, this brings good luck for the year to come.

Christmas, like many other holidays in Greece, is a time for feasting. In the past years, Christmas turkey has become very popular as the main dish of the holiday. Traditionally, the main course of Christmas dinner in Greece is roast pork, with a variety of side delicacies. No matter what the main dish is, one thing is certain: Christmas food in Greece is delicious!
Melomakarona and kourabiedes are the two varieties of Christmas and New Year's cookies in Greece. The first are semolina, cinnamon, and clove cookies drenched in honey, while the second are rosewater and fresh butter cookies sprinkled with powdered sugar that are normally served on New Year's but many succumb to temptation and begin consuming them earlier.
Christopsomo is the bread that is made on Christmas Eve, which has a cross carved into the top crust before it is baked. On Christmas Day, the head of the household makes the sign of the cross above the loaf of bread, cuts it and gives a piece to each person at the dining table.
Vasilopita is a cake that is eaten on New Year's Day. Before the cake is baked, a coin covered in foil is placed in it. The New Year is written on top of the cake with almonds. The person who cuts the cake makes the sign of the cross three times above it and then starts serving the pieces, one to each person, the house, Christ, The Virgin Mary and Saint Vasileios. Whoever has the coin in his piece of cake will have luck for the rest of the year.

Greek Christmas Carols

milonaaspasia — 2018-11-26 20:38:07 UTC

Aspasia Mylona, Greece

milonaaspasia — 2018-11-26 21:41:39 UTC

Giuseppina Clini Italy

giuseclini — 2018-12-01 12:10:48 UTC

In my country Christmas traditional sweet foods are: panettone of Milan - pandoro of Verona - torrone of Cremona.

Paola Cicolini - Italy

2018-12-01 13:09:04 UTC

Christmas lunch

Marijampolės Petro Armino progimnazija, Lithuania

Edita_ — 2018-12-01 15:26:38 UTC

Edita Grubienė. Video prepared by my students.

Almerindo Oliveira - Portugal

proftic21 — 2018-12-01 16:41:18 UTC

Traditional christmas dishes
Codfish and roasted turkey

proftic21 — 2018-12-01 16:54:22 UTC

Kübra Ersan from Turkey

kubra_ozkurt — 2018-12-02 07:32:41 UTC

We celebrate the New Year's eve with cooking special foods, decorating tree, cooking Yule Log cake, playing bingo, and going out to have fun. Generally people wear red on this day.

paratoremariarosa — 2018-12-02 15:21:24 UTC

The Panettone (recipe)

New Year and Christmas in Ukraine.

helenfurman2014 — 2018-12-04 07:39:17 UTC

Christmas in Toledo

juantroncero — 2018-12-07 09:44:43 UTC

Like in most Spanish cities, Christmas is a very important holiday in Toledo for the city’s large Christian population, just as Hanukah and the other High Jewish Holidays are significant in the Jewish quarter of town. There are two celebrations, however, that are very popular in the city: the Festival of Corpus Christi and Easter Week.

And now...something so sweet...
Mazapán is a very typical sweet in all Spain and particularly in Toledo, where during Christmas and especially during the whole year the visitor can buy the best sweet made with the objective of giving the most típtico flavor to the Christmas dates. It is a paste made of almonds, sugar, and egg which is sometimes put on top of cakes. It´s delicious.

Merry Christmas!!!

Teresa Russo

russo_teresa01 — 2018-12-09 15:49:36 UTC

Hi, in Italy chocolate cake's appreciated for Christmas!

Türkiye'de Okullarda Yeni Yıl

fundatalayhu — 2018-12-11 20:55:54 UTC

Ukraine, Dnipro, New Year

valentinashvydka0 — 2018-12-12 09:09:52 UTC

ŞENGÜL BARIŞ

2018-12-13 07:08:24 UTC

New Year’s Eve is one of the most popular holidays in Turkey. The New Year’s Eve traditions in this country include a family dinner, a national lottery drawing and a countdown to midnight. New Year’s Eve falls on December 31 in the Gregorian calendar.

New Year's Eve is not a public holiday. Businesses have normal opening hours.

What Do People Do?

Many people in Turkey start celebrating New Year’s Eve with a large family dinner. The main course is traditionally a roasted turkey. Variety shows on television begin in late afternoon and continue until early morning of the next day. Many people play games while waiting for the clock to strike midnight. State TV channels announce the winning numbers of a New Year’s national lottery just before midnight. Many people in Turkey try to buy a New Year’s lottery ticket because it promises a large sum of money to the winner. Many people also congratulate each other, toast to a New Year and exchange small gifts at midnight between New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

Hotels, restaurants and nightclubs offer special entertainment programs on New Year’s Eve. Most places require early reservations. Some people go to city centers late on December 31 to watch the traditional fireworks. New Year’s Eve ends with a countdown to announce the arrival of a new year, and celebrations continue until the morning of January 1.
Public Life
New Year’s Eve is not an official holiday, although many workers get half a day off. Administration buildings, schools and post offices may be closed in the in the afternoon of December 31. Supermarkets may also close earlier than usual. Many people celebrate New Year’s Eve in city centers, so traffic may be intense in the evening of December 31.

Background
December 31 became the last day of a calendar year in Turkey in 1926 when this country started using the Gregorian calendar. Turkey and the Ottoman Empire used a solar-based Islamic calendar (Rumi takvim) prior to 1926. New Year’s Eve became a popular holiday in Turkey after the Turkish parliament made January 1 (New Year’s Day) an official holiday in 1935. Turkey has borrowed many of New Year’s Eve traditions from western celebrations of Christmas and Thanksgiving during the 1920s and 1930s.

Symbols
The common symbols of New Year’s Eve in Turkey are:

The New Year’s tree (a decorated fir tree).
A roasted turkey.
Images of Noel Baba (the Turkish name for Santa Claus).

TURKISH NEW YEAR FOOD

2018-12-13 07:16:51 UTC

ŞENGÜL BARIŞ

Croatian Christmas tradition

babic_gorana — 2018-12-13 19:36:50 UTC

Croatian Christmas customs are part of the Croatian tradition. Along with the Christmas celebration, numerous customs have been developed, such as Christmas tree decorating on Christmas Eve, singing Christmas songs and exchanging gifts. Before Christmas, it is so-called preparing time, which takes about a month from the beginning of the encounter. They anticipate feelings of anticipation, hope and longing. We celebrate st. Barbara,st. Nicholas, sv. Lucius and St. Thomas. Christmas wheat is sown on the day dedicated St. Barbar or St. Lucia. The children are especially delighted with the St. Nicholas, when they get gifts in their boots, and the bad kids are punished by sticks left by Krampus. In some parts there are habits of children, maternal and eyelashes, which occur in three weeks until Christmas. Numerous customs aim to have a desire for well-being, good seed, progress, and good health. The Christmas Eve is rich in various customs such as putting straw into the house, the festive arrangement of the holiday table, the preparation of Christmas food, and going to the mass with the family. Christmas is a day when, with great joy, hope and anger, the celebration of Jesus' birth is celebrated in a festive, cheerful mood. It is celebrated in the family circle, and the next day on the day of St. Steven people are visited by cousins, friends and neighbours and it is celebrated with them with a rich dining table. On St. John the next day, they blessed wine, and the straw came from home and planted on fruit trees to give birth better in the coming years. On the day of the innocent little boy, who is the next day, is a common habit of so-called shrieking, when people lightly hit the tops of the switch, marking the pain of the killing children. The children were blessed during service in church. The New Year would be congratulatory to each other, but the atmosphere would be less intimate than the Christmas one.
The end of twelve days, twelve Christmas days, is the feast of the Holy Three Kings or the Epiphany. On that day, we mention the three wise men who donated Jesus, went to Mass, removed the decoration, and ended the holiday season. Houses for the next year are blessed, and the blessed water was blessed by the gardens and the future. Often the Christmas songs sang the so called. stars dressed in three kings wearing a star.

Yeni Yıla Girerken Türkiye'de en çok oynanan oyun:Tombala

fundatalayhu — 2018-12-16 17:35:38 UTC

Yeni Yıla Girerken Türkiye'de en çok oynana oyun:Tombala

fundatalayhu — 2018-12-16 17:42:54 UTC

Croatian Christmas tradition

suzanajagi — 2018-12-16 22:38:23 UTC

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from Ivanec, Croatia

csuritescu — 2018-12-17 21:01:03 UTC

Christmas Carols in Romanian for all eTwinners!!!! Merry Christmas!!!!

csuritescu — 2018-12-17 21:04:47 UTC

Carmen-Mirela Butaciu, Lipova, Romania

Italy

lucia_tarolla — 2018-12-17 21:18:37 UTC

Torrone di Cremona

Basque Christmas tradition

uzuri1 — 2018-12-18 09:48:02 UTC

Basque Christmas tradition share many features with other Spanish Christmas traditions. However, there are some differences as well. The main one is that instead of Papa Noel or Santa Claus, we have a local character, Olentzero. He is the last Basajaun, and ancient semi-human breed that used to take care of the woods. He now spends all year long producing coal on the mountains and comes down to the cities and town on the nigh of the 24th of december, to bring toys to the kids that have been good, and coal to those who have been naughty.
Gastronomy is also a very important part of Basque traditions all year long but Christmas is a time of the year when we work particularly hard in the kitchen, in order to entertain our guests and family. One of the delicacies you can taste in our homes is Intxaur-saltsa, a cream made of wallnuts and sugar. You´re invited to try it anytime!

Şeniz SEBE (Turkey)

seniz29012005 — 2018-12-19 16:06:11 UTC

We wish health,happiness, success and peace for everyone when the new year comes.We usually gather
around a big table with friends or with our relatives have our dinner.
People usually give presents to each other.At midnight people go to the city centre where they can find a big tree with decorations on it.

Ukraine

2018-12-19 22:20:09 UTC

Christmas traditions in Ukraine

Ukraine

2018-12-19 22:23:09 UTC

Christmas greetings

Ukraine

patsarynanatalya — 2018-12-20 18:24:53 UTC

Christmas carol

patsarynanatalya — 2018-12-20 18:27:16 UTC

Ukraine

patsarynanatalya — 2018-12-20 18:27:46 UTC

Christmas cards made with your hands

Preparations for Christmas

bianca_stefana72 — 2018-12-21 17:58:46 UTC

Preparations for Christmas

bianca_stefana72 — 2018-12-21 17:59:33 UTC

SHARING CHRISTMAS SPIRIT IN MY SCHOOL (L'Eliana, Valencia, Spain) Yesterday all the educative community (students, families and teachers) shared Christmas spirit doing craft activities, playing Christmas games,singing and dancing songs all together in the playground.

remifasolmayte — 2018-12-21 21:18:28 UTC

Christmas in Serbia , Sandra Mitrovic, Belgrade

2018-12-26 22:41:37 UTC

In Serbia, the main Church is the Orthodox Church and they still use the old 'Julian' Calendar, which means that Christmas Eve is on 6th January and Christmas Day is on the 7th January. There are a lot of old Serbian traditions associated with the countryside, which have now lost their meaning because more people live in towns and cities. On the morning of Christmas Eve, the father of the family used to go to the forest to cut a young oak called the 'Badnjak' (Christmas Eve tree) but today people just buy one. The Badnjak is then burnt like a Yule Log.There are sometimes large bonfires outside churches where oak branches and Badnjak are burnt.

Christmas Eve in Serbia

2018-12-26 22:51:57 UTC

Christmas in Poland

2018-12-27 23:58:57 UTC

Preparations to Christmas start many days before that holiday. People clean their houses, buy presents and prepare first dishes. Christmas Eve- 24th December is the most important part of Christmas. In the evening, when the first star appears in the sky,people gather around the table and start the celebration by sharing the holy wafer and wishing each other all the best. Traditionally, there are twelve dishes on the table, without meat. The main ingredient is the sour cabbage and the fish, but also red borscht, dumplings, poppy-seed cake or gingerbread. Presents are put under the christmas tree. At midnight many people attend the mass and sing christmas carols. The 25th and 26th December are holidays and people visit each other.

Kırıkkale Province, Turkey

kubra_ozkurt — 2018-12-28 10:27:38 UTC

Yenimahalle Ş.A.T vocational and technical high school Christmas preparations

CHRISTMAS TRADITION AT LICEUL TEHNOLOGIC SEBEȘ, ROMANIA

cristina_cmpn — 2018-12-29 07:59:56 UTC

Wishes for Christmas and New Year 2019!

2018-12-30 07:15:18 UTC

“May the spirit of the season of,
New year fill your heart
with serenity and peace,
Wish you a happy new year!”

Christmas in Romania

2018-12-30 07:21:39 UTC

“Just as a new bloom spreads fragrance and freshness around…
May the new year add a new beauty and freshness into your life.
Happy New Year 2019!”

Best Christmas Wishes from Romania!

2018-12-30 08:41:28 UTC

We made a Christmas Exhibition

100. Yıl Akkent Primary School Pınar ARISOY from Turkey

p_arisoy01 — 2018-12-30 20:05:34 UTC

My students make Xmas carts and post it other freind

Christmas in Romania

icavln — 2018-12-31 18:10:27 UTC

Școala Gimnazială Alexandra Nechita, Vaslui, Romania
We are singing Christmas Carol to spread the joy of the holyday !!!!
Merry Christmas to all ! And to all a happy new year !!!