Christmas - family, peace, warmth, feast, presents. Christmas is many things and one of them is also tradition. Families in over 160 different countries gather around in this time of a year to celebrate. All have the same purpose, but each household holds it’s own ways of spending those festive days.
I thought it might be interesting to share the traditions! Typically for me, I focus on the food aspect ;)
At my family house we all gather in the evening of the 24th. In Poland one of the traditions is to serve 12 lenten meals (because of the 12 apostles) which at my home are:
starters: smoked salmon with cottage cheese and dill, marinated salmon, three types of herring (in oil and onion, in sour cream, and in oil and dried tomatoes), herring salad, caviar, carp in jelly;
first meal: mushroom soup;
second meal: dumplings, cabbage with mushrooms, roasted zander.
Then comes a dessert, which is usually a poppy seed cake served with a coffee or a tea. After that feast I dive under the happy, colorful Christmas Tree and distribute the beautifully wrapped presents to my family members.
What are the Christmas traditions at your home? Do they differ much from mine??