Beet Soup & A Donkey: 5 European Christmas Traditions That Are Totally Different From America
Irina WS | Shutterstock We all know what Christmas is about in America. Cookies, candy canes, Christmas carols, Santa coming down the chimney, and, of course, stuff, stuff, and more stuff.
But, as a holiday celebrated worldwide, there is, of course, a world of diversity among traditions related to the Yuletide season across the globe. And when it comes to European countries, some of the ways Christmas is celebrated seem downright weird to us Americans, while others sound like the kinds of things you just might want to add to your own agenda this year.
5 European Christmas traditions that are totally different from America:
America's way of doing Christmas has become so standard all over the world, it's easy to forget that the holiday was, you know, literally invented elsewhere! The holiday emerged in the third century AD as a sort of blend of Christian celebration of Christ's birth and early pagan traditions like Yule and Saturnalia from cultures all over what we now know as Europe.
The date of December 25, for instance, was the date the winter solstice was celebrated all over the Roman Empire and overlapped with the celebration of the supposed birthday of Sol Invictus, or "the invincible Sun."
To this day, many Christmas traditions, both within and outside a religious context, stem from these ancient original festivals. And in Europe, they live on in other ways that are very distinct from the United States. The travel experts at DiscoverCars, a rental car site, compiled some of these unique traditions that will have you wanting to book a Christmas tour of Europe, or stay firmly planted at home, depending on your sensibilities!
1. France: Forget the reindeer, it's all about a donkey.
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Leaving out milk and cookies for Santa has been a time-honored American tradition for ages, and in more recent times, the tradition has expanded to include his reindeer, too. My nieces and nephew leave a bowl of oats for Rudolph and friends, along with treats for Santa himself.
But in France, it's all about carrots for a donkey named Gui. Who the heck is Gui? Why, the donkey that Santa Claus rides from house to house, of course! French kids also leave out their shoes for trinkets rather than stockings, and in many French households, the whole Christmas shebang happens on Christmas Eve, not Christmas morning, especially the big feast "le reveillon." Though some French families today do TWO feasts on each day. All the more reason to move to France!
2. Italy: An entire month of celebration, a gift-giving witch, and so. Much. Food.
If you're the type who simply can't get enough Christmas, go to Italy: They start early, on December 8 with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (leave it to the Roman Catholics to make baby-making an actual feast!), and end late, on January 6, the day of Epiphany when the Magi, or "three wise men," are said to have arrived in Bethlehem.
In between comes Christmas Eve, or La Vigilia, when the Feast of the Seven Fishes is celebrated. Yes, seven different kinds of seafood — just imagine the grocery bill if you feel like a Yuletide jump scare. Then Christmas Day, Babbo Natale, or Santa Claus, brings gifts for the kids, and ANOTHER feast occurs.
As for January 6? Well, what better way to celebrate those three wise men than with a visit from a witch named La Befana, who flies in on a broomstick with gifts and candy. Obviously!
3. Czech Republic: Where Jesus is Santa Claus. And he loves carp.
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If you're one of those overly uptight parents who think Santa Claus upstages Jesus every year, perhaps a relocation to Prague is in order. Because in the Czech Republic, there is no Santa, but rather Jezisek, or the Baby Jesus Himself, who goes house to house bringing presents, aided by the fact that he is invisible. Naturally!
Like the French, the big Czech Christmas meal is on Christmas Eve, and it's all about potato salad and carp — a carp that was caught or purchased alive and lived in your bathtub for the days leading up to the holiday. Once upon a time, anyway. It's no longer standard to share your bathroom with a fish, for reasons that are probably obvious.
Anyway, the big payoff in a Czech Christmas? If you can hold off eating all day long on Christmas Eve until the big carp-and-potato-salad thing, you might be visited by the mythical Golden Pig, who is said to appear to the hungriest and bring good fortune. So just in case carp and potato salad aren't reward enough, there you go!
4. Romania: Where you will decorate for one day and one day only, and you will like it!
Humbugs, you've found your spiritual center. In Romania, home Christmas decor is not a months-long affair like in America; it all goes down on a single day, Christmas Eve. The gifts are already over by then, too: That happens on December 5, when Moș Nicolae, or St. Nicholas, brings candy, fruits, and trinkets for children who've left their boots out for him to fill.
Christmas Eve isn't just about decorating, though. There's also a feast, centered around baked pork steaks and sarmale, cabbage rolls filled with minced meat, rice, and herbs that are slow-cooked in a tangy tomato sauce. For dessert, there's cozonac, a brioche-style bread swirled with walnut and cocoa. And with all due respect to the Czechs, this beats the pants off that whole bathtub carp thing.
5. Poland: A 12-course meal full of beets and more carp.
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Like Romania, Poland starts early, with the December 5 visit of Święty Mikołaj, or St. Nicholas, bringing the kiddies little treats in advance of the big gift-giving extravaganza on Christmas Eve, or Wigilia. But depending on the region, there may be other figures who turn up with presents, like Gwiazdor, or "Starman," a reference to the North Star the Magi used to navigate their way to Bethlehem, or Dzieciątko, the baby JC Himself.
But it's the Christmas Eve feast where the Polish really outdo themselves. It's a full 12-course meal centered around Barszcz, a beet soup, as well as pierogi, fried carp — presumably not from the bathtub, but who knows — and Opłatek, a wafer that is broken and shared with each person along with best wishes for the year ahead.
And perhaps the best European Christmas tradition of all, Polish families are always sure to set a few extra empty chairs at the table, both to honor those who've passed and to ensure any surprise guests have room at the table. Now that's the Christmas spirit.
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.
