Eastern Slovakia
Slovak and Carpatho-Rusyn Genealogical Research
Christmas Eve Supper
by
Martin Lipocky
I've once written a description of Christmas dinner how it's going
here in Slovakia. I used some incorrect and not exact expressions.
I'm trying to explain more about it again.
Our Christmas Eve starts at 6 p.m. with reading some St. Mark's
articles from the bible. We pray about 5 minutes. At the Christmas
table we keep one place more with cutlery, plates, and a napkin. It
has more reasons: For our dead relative, or for a hungry or homeless.
All we eat we also put in the plate.
We've got also some Christmas carols as a musical background.
For Christmas Eve Supper we traditionally get a waffer with honey and
garlic at the beginning. Then some cooked prunes and according to our
tradition how many stones a single man finds he will get married
until so many years. Then some fresh champignons mixed with squeezed
garlic, lemon, and extra virgin olive oil. Try it, too. It's yummy!
All these meals are as hors d'eouvres. Then we get sauerkraut soup at
a table served with fresh cream in the soup. Traditionally the soup
is prepared with ham. Because I am a vegetarian I prepare the soup
without ham, the flavour is at least not so excessive. Mushrooms and
prunes make a typical flavour of soup. The soup is cooked for several
hours. Kapustnica is the best if it's been stayed out in the room
temperature for 3 days. We may get alternatelly sour cream mushroom
soup.
For main supper we eat specially a Christmas carp, which is a
great tradition in Slovakia. Alternatelly we may get another fish or
fish fingers. But it's not the tradition serving fish fingers. Oh, I
forgot some drinks and softs. It's very various. At the beginning of
supper we traditionally get a little bit of original Slovak gin named
as Slovenska borovicka. Then we get some wine from this year. Then
what you are getting it's free. At the end of supper we may get some
cake.
The supper is so rich that I often already cannot eat cake. The
whole supper should take an hour. After ringing of bell at 7 o'clock
we all finally go to the Christmas tree to unpack gifts.
As always we never forget the Midnight mass.
Sincerelly,
Martin
MARTIN LIPOCKY
Institute of Histology and Embryology
Email: lipocky@crick.fmed.uniba.sk
Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University
WWW: http://crick.fmed.uniba.sk/~lipocky/
http://crick.fmed.uniba.sk/~lipocky/
Sasinkova 4, Bratislava, SLOVAKIA
Phone: ++42(7)5357237
Back to Genealogical Research in Slovakia
Back to Christmas in the Slovak Tradition