What is the traditional meal for Christmas Eve dinner in Slovakia?

TYPICAL CHRISTMAS DINNER In general, it has lots of courses including a fish dish, a potato salad (with mayonnaise, pickles and carrots) and a sauerkraut soup – kapustnica, with sausage, meat, dried mushrooms and cream.

What do Slovaks eat at Christmas?

Christmas dinner begins with Oplatky small bread wafers and a blessing. The main Christmas supper varies between regions and families. It normally has lots of courses including a fish dish and ‘Kapustnica’. Kapustnica is a thick cabbage soup with sausage, meat, dried mushrooms and cream.

What is the traditional Christmas Eve meal?

Traditional Christmas dinner features turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and vegetables. Other types of poultry, roast beef, or ham are also used. For dessert, pumpkin or apple pie, raisin pudding, Christmas pudding, or fruitcake are staples.

What food is traditionally eaten in Slovakia as a main course dish for Christmas?

According to Catholic traditions, meat could not be consumed until after midnight mass. The fast did not apply to fish and fried breaded carp became the traditional main course on this holiday. The fish scales represent coins; whoever keeps one in his or her wallet can be assured of wealth.

Who eats carp for Christmas?

In Slovakia, Christmas Dinner Starts In The Bathtub. Carp is a holiday mainstay in several central European nations. Traditionally kept in the bathtub, the fish can become a sort of family pet for a day or two, before becoming dinner.

Where is the tradition of the Christmas tree from?

Germany
Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if wood was scarce.

Who eats carp at Christmas?

Why do Polish eat carp at Christmas?

The Wigilia feast has some unusual traditions, most curiously placing a layer of hay under the tablecloth. As Poland is more than 80 per cent Catholic, the Wigilia meal is meat-free with a main course of fish, most famously carp, which is meant to bring good fortune.

What are the 7 fishes for Christmas Eve dinner?

Typical feast The meal’s components may include some combination of anchovies, whiting, lobster, sardines, baccalà (dried salt cod), smelts, eels, squid, octopus, shrimp, mussels and clams.

What is the most popular Christmas dinner?

The Most Popular Christmas Dishes The #1 pick is roast potatoes, with a win percentage of 76%. Mashed potatoes came in second (75%), and turkey was third (73%)—the only protein in the top five.

Who brings Christmas presents in Slovakia?

Ježiško, Baby Jesus, brings presents to children and places them under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. The counterpart to Santa Claus in Slovakia is Father Frost or Dedo Mraz. But St. Mikulas can also visit children, who leave their shoes on the doorstep to be filled with treats, on St.

What do they eat for Christmas dinner in Poland?

A traditional Wigilia supper in Poland includes fried carp and borscht (beetroot soup) with uszka (ravioli). Carp provides a main component of the Christmas Eve meal across Poland; carp fillet, carp in aspic and gefilte fish.

What do Slovaks do for Christmas Eve dinner?

It seems that these traditions came to the forefront during the holiday season. As a Slovak, I was fortunate to be able experience one of the most beloved Christmas traditions, the Vilija (pronounced vă – lē´ -yă.) Vilija is the traditional Christmas eve gathering and dinner that is rich with traditional foods, religious symbolism and family.

Where to find a Christmas tree in Slovakia?

The Christmas tree is one of the symbols of Christmas in Slovakia. You can find it in almost every Slovak family. And not only there, but also in various public buildings and squares of Slovak towns and villages. It is usually decorated on Christmas Eve, or on the night before Christmas Eve.

What kind of food do people in Slovakia eat?

In Slovakia, a historically agrarian society, food is fuel. Traditional Slovak cuisine provided high-energy, low-cost, and recipe quick-prep sustenance to peasants, herders, and laborers.

Why is Christmas Eve called Vianoce in Slovakia?

As one did on New Years, so was one bound to do for the rest of the year. This is why Christmas (Vianoce) is associated with abundance. Even the Slovak name for Christmas Eve, štedrý večer – meaning “generous evening” – tells this story.