THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving is on the last Thursday in November. It is the oldest American holiday. It was first celebrated in the 17th century after the first successful harvest, which helped people to survive the winter. The settlers celebrated their harvest and thanked God for his bounty. Now it is the day when whole families gather and enjoy themselves and good food. There is a stuffed turkey on every table. 

SAINT NICHOLAS DAY

Saint Nicholas Day is on 6th December. On this day, Saint Nicholas, an Angel, and a Devil come to the children. Children have to sing a song, say a poem, or pray. Good children get fruits and sweets, and naughty children get coal and potatoes.

CHRISTMAS

Everyone looks forward to the most beautiful Christian holiday of the year, the holiday of calm and peace. During this holiday, we celebrate the birth of Baby Jesus. It is the time for our family and friends, the time of exchanging some gifts. 

Symbols of Christmas:

• Christmas tree,
• Christmas decorations,
• Christmas lights,
• Christmas wreath,
• Christmas carols,
• sparklers,
• special meals,
• Midnight Mass,
• candles,
• bells,
• Nativity scene,
• contributing to charities, 
• benefit concerts.

In Slovakia, Christmas preparations are connected with cleaning households, baking gingerbread and other pastries, decorating houses with lights, and visiting Christmas markets. 

On 24th December – Christmas Eve, we put up a live or an artificial Christmas tree, sing or listen to Christmas carols, and prepare Christmas Eve´s dinner. The Christmas menu in Slovakia varies from region to region, but generally, it consists of:

• Christmas toast,
• wafers with honey,
• sauerkraut soup,
• fried carp and potato salad, homemade cakes.   

When we finish dinner, we go to the Christmas tree and unwrap the Christmas presents. At midnight we go to Midnight Mass at the nearest church.

On 25th December, it is Christmas Day.

On 26th  December, Boxing day, on this day, relatives visit each other. In the past, servants and salespeople got presents, usually money, from the gentry. These presents became known as Christmas boxes (servants and salespeople carried boxes in the streets to get tips).

CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS IN MY FAMILY

We decorate our Christmas tree in the morning on December 24th and listen to Christmas carols. Before Christmas dinner, we pray together. At the very beginning of dinner, we eat Christmas wafers with honey. Our typical Christmas dinner consists of sauerkraut soup and fried carp with potato salad. When we finish dinner, our father rings the bell to tell us that our presents are already under the Christmas tree. After that, we go carolling to our relatives’ houses, and at midnight, we go to our local church for Midnight Mass.

IMPORTANT FAMILY CELEBRATIONS AND MEETINGS

WEDDING

At a wedding, two people who are getting married are the bride and the groom. The bride has the bridesmaids and the groom his best man. A few days before the wedding ceremony, the husband-to-be gives a party for his male friends. It is called a stag party /a stag night. The wife-to-be gives a party for her female friends, and it is called a hen party/a hen night. A wedding ceremony is a formal act that can be religious – in a church. It is a church wedding / white wedding with a priest. It can also be a civil wedding – in the town hall at a registry office with the mayor. The engaged couple exchanges their wedding rings and promise to live together in good and bad times.  After the wedding, friends and relatives are invited to a wedding reception with a layered wedding cake. Then the newlyweds go on a honeymoon.

FUNERAL

Sometimes families meet at a very sad occasion. When someone dies, the body is put into a coffin. At the funeral, the body may be cremated or buried in a cemetery /graveyard. The grave is marked with a gravestone. The widow or the widower together with close relatives are mourning for their beloved who R.I.P.(Rest In Peace)