Christmas in Slovakia
This article was originally written for Helene Cincebeaux’s Slovakia Magazine. It’s scheduled to appear in the Winter 2010 issue.
Christmas in Slovakia is the most magical of times. The streets are quiet except for the sound of snow crunching underfoot. The frost paints elaborate crystal flowers on the foggy window panes, while inside, a family sits down at the dinner table in a room filled with the delicious smell of freshly baked cookies.
Not long ago, the first sign of winter signaled that long and cold dark nights were ahead. Howling winds would cover tracks in the snow. The cold air would squeeze its way through the crevices in the wooden walls. Food would be scarce, and spring far away. The sun slowly faded, losing its life-giving strength. The darkness brought out the witches from their hiding. This was their time to play.
November 25th, the day of St. Katherine, was the first of many so called stridžie dni, witching days. No one was safe. The witches loved to sneak into barns and steal milk or lead horses away. A witch could easily take the likeness of another. To be visited by a strange woman on one of these days was a bad omen indeed. Such a visitor could easily find herself being chased away from the house with a broom or having hot coals thrown at her. It was best for the family to be extra vigilant.
But Katherine slowly rolled over to Barbora, Mikuláš (St. Nicholas), Lucia, and before one knew it, Christmas was knocking on the doors. Christmas, arriving soon after the shortest day of the year, brought the good news that the worst was over. The days would soon start getting longer, and the sun, rejuvenated, would bring about a new year.
Throughout the Middle Ages, New Years was celebrated on December 25th, and belief of “first-day magic” was widespread. 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. Having many dishes on the table assured abundance in the coming year.
While in the U.S. Christmas is celebrated mainly on December 25th, in Slovakia Christmas Eve Day, December 24th, is the most special. The day starts shortly after midnight. The lady of the house begins kneading dough for the many kinds of baked goodies she will prepare. Baking had to be finished before the sunrise and the quality of the desserts was a matter of prestige. Hurrying was never good. The dough had to rise and the crust remain intact, otherwise, bad luck would surely fall upon the household.
Carolers, young lads bringing good wishes, came with the rising sun, and were rewarded with koláče (home baked cookies) or a shot of homemade slivovica (plum brandy), if they were of age. But eating during the day was strictly prohibited. A fast was held and girls who made it to dinner without eating could expect to find husband sooner.
Of course, life is different in modern Slovakia. Many traditions are slowly disappearing, but what remains to this day are the rituals associated with the Christmas dinner. Many cookies still dot the dinner table, even if the dough comes from the supermarket freezer.
In the cities, opening of Christmas markets signals the arrival of Christmas. In the booths you will find food specialties such as lokše, flat potato-dough pancakes filled with sauerkraut, goose liver, or jam, and also varené víno, mulled wine. But it’s not the food or the Christmas trees that people come looking for. They come to buy a live carp. The fish is kept alive (usually in the bathtub to the delight of any kids in the family) until Christmas Eve. The scales are removed and the fish is prepared for dinner. 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.
It’s not just fish that holds a mythical meaning. Every Christmas table contains a jar of honey and a few cloves of garlic, foods symbolizing health. Poppy seeds and peas are often found; both represent money. To have peňazí ako maku, as much money as poppy seeds, would be nice indeed!
Two things you will find at every Slovak Christmas table: sliced apple, indicating good luck if the star is unbroken, and Christmas wafers called oblátky eaten with honey.
The evening begins with the arrival of the first star in the night sky. The lady of the house lights the candles. Prayers are said and everybody takes a shot; it is called radostník (a merry-maker). An apple is sliced down the middle – unbroken star indicates good luck. Next come oblátky, Christmas wafers traditionally prepared by the school teacher or priest of the village, but of course, nowadays baked commercially. They are eaten with honey and garlic. In many families, oblátky are followed by bobalky, pieces of dough soaked in milk and honey and topped with poppy seeds. Bobalky are some of the most ancient of all foods in Slovak cuisine. Their history dates back to the days when only unleavened breads were baked, which had to be softened in milk unless eaten fresh out of the oven.
The dinner continues with soup. Soup is an important part of any Slovak meal, and Christmas is no different. The type varies from region to region, but most often, sauerkraut soup, kapustnica, is served. This delicious soup is made by cooking sauerkraut and mushrooms with garlic, caraway, paprika, nutmeg and onions. Apples or plums add a slight sweetness to the hearty soup. But the recipe, and even the name, varies.
In the east, it is called jucha, and is made only from sauerkraut juice mixed with dried peas, plums and even sausage. Another version is called mačanka, and includes mushrooms, garlic, and onion. This version is thickened with sour cream or flour, and is eaten by dipping pieces of bread into the sauce.
Sometimes during dinner, mom or dad would secretly sneak out to place presents under the tree. After the main course of fried fish and potato salad, it was time to see what Dedo Mráz, Grandpa Frost, brought you. The family moved to the living room and one by one, opened presents. This was also the time to visit close friends and wish them Merry Christmas (štastné vianoce). Then the family put on their heavy coats and set off on a walk to church for Midnight Mass. Witnessing a procession of villagers, with snow crunching under their feet, their lanterns swaying under the starry skies, is truly a magical sight.
You too can experience Slovak Christmas by preparing these wonderful treats for your family. You will find illustrated, step-by-step recipes for many holiday treats on slovakcooking.com. The 18-months old site now features over 80 illustrated step-by-step recipes using ingredients easily found in your local grocery store. Give it a try. Dobrú chuť a štastné vianoce! (Bon Appétit and Merry Christmas)
You will also find out more about Slovak Christmas traditions in the 2011 followup, Merry Christmas.
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Thanks for the wonderful memories of Slovak Christmas traditions! My grandmother, who lived with us after my grandfather passed away, was a fabulous cook. She was born in Trencin aand moved to Vienna when she was seventeen years old. Consequently, she had both her families’ Slovak traditions, as well as those from Vienna. Christmas Eve was very special in our house, starting with a candlight church service. We were Lutheran, as opposed to the majority of Slovaks who were Catholic. The meal began with prayers and oblatky with honey, followed by bobalky and turnip soup, with my grandmother’s dried turnips. This was followed by veal or pork Schnitzel, served with homemade apple sauce, sour cream green beans and fried potatoes with onions.
Dessert was often “floating island” or Salzburger Nocherlin and many other traditional baked wonders like strudel, fruit dumplings and kifli. We still try to uphold most of the traditions even though my grandparents and my parents are gone.
First let me say – what a wonderful site!
Thank you for sharing your memories and recipies – and I hope more find a share theirs as well.
My maternal grandparents were both from Czechoslovakia (and my paternal grandfather). They lived about 30 miles away from my parents and my family would go to Baba and Dedo’s every Christmas Eve to celebrate.
We were Catholic and did not eat meat on Christmas Eve so we would begin with oblátky and honey. This was followed by huge pots of pierogi – half of them filled with potatoes and onion and the other half with a poppy seed filling. We also had Bobalky with cabbage and for desert Bobalky with poppy seed. (please pardon my spelling).
Even though my parents and grandparents are now gone and I married a German girl we still have Oplaki, Bobalky with cabbage, and Pierogi on Christmas Eve. The Pierogi is from the freezer section of my supermarket but they are tasty indeed.
My mother passed away before she could hand down her recipes to my wife so I was just guessing when I made the Bobalky (it actually comes out pretty well) but now I will try the receipe from this site.
Also – my mother’s cousin taught my wife how to make Stuffed Cabbage (Halupki) and we have that with a ham for Christmas dinner just like my Mom and Grandparents did.
Thank you for your comment, John. I think every family has a little different recipe for making dough for kolache, poppy seed rolls, bobalky, etc… so there don’t take my recipe as the “real” recipe. There is no such thing. It’s all just suggestions. Take it and modify as you see fit.
Good to hear you guys still keep the traditions! Pierogi were never big in my family, so we didn’t make those for Christmas. I think Pierogi are more common in Slovakia near the Polish and Ukrainian border. Growing up, I remember only kind of pierogi being made by my grandma and that was the sweet kind, with fried bread crumbs sprinkled on the top.
Lubos, I like this web site and want to thank you for starting it! I didn’t know about it until this afternoon!
I am a full-blooded Slovak, American born. All four of my grandparents came to the US in the 1800s from Slovakia. My father, Stephen Kacerik, was born in the US in 1897. My mother’s parents, the Stefaniks, were married in the US in 1895 and were well established in the US by 1904. By then they had five sons, all US born, but decided to go back to Slovakia to visit their family. While there, my grandmother gave birth to her sixth child, Margaret, my mother, their only daughter. Then they came back to the US. In 1922, Stephen Kacerik married Margaret Stefanik in Massachusetts. They had five children and in 1946 became granparents, but in 1949, they had one more child, me.
My parents handed down their Slovak Christmas traditions to their children and their grandchildren. We start Christmas Eve dinner with the wafer and honey on it. Everyone puts some honey on another person’s face so they will be sweet. We have kapustnica, and opecance, and some special fish. The younger generation is now learning to make the traditional breads, such as poppyseed bread, nut bread, prune bread, cheese bread. Christmas Eve is “magical” in our family, to use the word of a new family member.
Wow Barbara, you have an awesome story: new world and the old world, back and forth. Do you know where in Slovakia is your family from?
So have you made the Slovak potato porridge yet? It’s another very old-school traditional dish.
Thanks so much for the site! This is wonderful. I am 100% Carpatho-Rusyn, not Slovak, but there are many similarities. My grandparents on both sides of my family were also 100% Carpatho-Rusyn, as were my parents, of course. My grandparents were from Eastern Slovakia, near the border with Ukraine. The villages were Kalsa (paternal side) and Cejkov (maternal side). I still have relatives in Kalsa and I am in communication with them as often as I can. They have sent me pictures of the village, the house where my paternal grandfather was born and lived until coming to America, the church they worshiped in (Greek Catholic, or now known as Byzantine-Catholic) and the cemetery and tombstone of my great-grandparents! We followed the Christmas Eve tradition strictly and had the wonderful saurkraut soup, pirohi filled with browned and sweetened cabbage and then drenched in browned butter and, of course, bobalky with browned butter, browned and sweetened cabbage as well as poppy seed. I still make all three each year for Christmas Eve. My 12 year old son and wife love them! My mom made the bobalky a few days ahead and poached them. That method is tough, as you found out. The timing is very important and very difficult. I have started using the “fresh bobalky” method (made the same day or days ahead but kept in an air tight ziplock bag) and then pour boiling water over them. They turn out perfect every time. Never soggy and mushy (disgusting) or too hard. Thanks once again for the site!
Tim Molnar