Christmas Eve Traditions
Eastern Slovakia
Slovak and Carpatho-Rusyn Genealogical Research
The Christmas Eve dinner was a very formal affair. All foods were prepared
and placed on the table.
Everyone took their places and after an opening prayer,
we all sat and ate the standard Slovak foods and had the Oplatky and
honey etc.
We had candles lit at the beginning and throughout
the meal. No One was permitted to leave the table until the meal
and all formalities were completed. To do so would result in bad
luck (ie: early departure from this world).
The candle was then relit and passed to the next oldest person to blow out.
This continued until all persons had blown out the candle. After this
ceremony, a final prayer was said by the head of the house and then people
could safely leave the table.
I remember with a little fear that the smoke would go down on
someone or even me, but that never seemed to happen.
As info, we continue this tradition (Superstition ??) in our
family and my children continue the tradition along with the
traditional Slovak foods and Oplatky and Honey.
Regards
Andrew Verostko averostko@bealenet.com
After everyone had eaten their fill, one of the candles was selected and
passed to the oldest person to blow out. If the smoke went up, the person
would have good fortune and be around for next years dinner. If
the smoke went down, bad luck would follow and the person would not
be at the table next year.
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