Belgium has proven to have a rather interesting Christmas celebration, involving not only the family, but also the whole village community (or town). Decorations start four weeks before Christmas, as the most important part of decorating is the Christmas garland with four candles attached to it. According to Pieter Baeyaert, 22, studying European Business Management, “the Belgium tradition commands each candle to be lit on every Sunday before Christmas, whereby all four candles are already lit on Christmas Day”. Christmas is rather a family holiday, preceded by midnight mass on Christmas Eve and celebrated with a lot of wine, although in the case of Belgians, it is gluhwein – a special hot wine with herbs, berries and cinnamon. What is most interesting of the celebration happens three weeks after Christmas, when everyone burns their Christmas trees in the village centre.

Polish people are just as rich in tradition according to first year student Krystian Szkwarek. On Christmas Eve the traditional meals include Barscz Czerwony, which is a special type of soup, red in colour. Before the meal everybody has a piece from a special type of bread, called “Oplatek”. One of the seats on the table is left empty for any stranger who knocks on the door. After dinner, the family sings Christmas songs like “Bog sie rodzi” (God is being born). On Christmas morning the children receive presents and the whole family goes to church for the Christmas mass.

Bulgarian student Krasimir Chobakov told a different Christmas story. On the 24 December it is a tradition in Bulgaria to serve an uneven number of dishes, usually seven or nine, none of which include meat. Before the start of the dinner the oldest member of the family says a prayer and then the oldest woman and the children go around all the rooms of the house with a float-light in hand, drawing a cross in the air in each room. “People in Bulgaria believe this brings health luck and happiness to the household”. At the end of the evening everybody exchange presents. On Christmas Day the family gathers again for a meal, which this time includes different types of meat. Traditional dishes include “Baklava”, which is a very sweet dessert and a home-made bread, called “Pitka”.

In Finland, special treats are prepared for Christmas for everyone. Even the birds can feel the festive spirit – special bird feeders are made for them. Dinner begins with the appearance of the first star in the sky. The Christmas tree is decorated with candles, fruits, paper flags, cotton and tinsel.

“For Dutch people Christmas is not the biggest holiday of the year, even though it’s still quite important”, says Julia Peeters, 19, studying International Business. The biggest holiday is actually “Santa Claus”, which is celebrated on December 5th. Christmas preparations and decorations start after. The tradition is simple – the family gathers on Christmas Eve and goes to midnight mass. That is the only thing the community celebrates together. Everything else is a close-family-circle celebration, which takes place mainly on the 25th and 26th of December. The holiday starts with a Christmas breakfast on the early morning of the 25th and then continues throughout the next two days with a big feast with a lot of food and wine.



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