Christmas+in+our+countries


 * CHRISTMAS IN DENMARK **

In Denmark, we celebrate Christmas on December 24 with our family and loved ones. We celebrate Jesus’ birth. We decorate the Christmas tree, and put gifts under it. The food we eat on Christmas Eve is pork roast, sausage and duck. We have a girl in the class that doesn’t eat any of it [Isabel]. We also eat potatoes. There are two sorts of potatoes that get served. Normal potatoes and caramelized potatoes. There is brown sauce for the meat and the potatoes, and also red cabbage and potato chips as a side dish. For dessert there is Ris a’ la Mande [pronounced as in French]. It’s like porridge with rice in, which tastes really good! It takes a long time to cook the food, so sometimes we start early in the morning with the meat, to get it really nice and tender. We watch Christmas cartoons meanwhile waiting for the evening, and it starts in the morning, which is lovely ;-) Then we eat, and after that we relax our full tummies. When we feel ready for more food, the dessert gets served. When we have been eating all the food there is to eat, we relax again. After that we open our gifts, and eat confect and candy. In some families the youngest kids brings in the gifts to the others. We hope this was good for you girls and guy, if not – Google is your best friend ;-) Greetings from Isabel, Trine, Sara J, Troels and the rest of the class.


 * CHRISTMAS IN POLAND **

During Advent the Poles prepare themselves for Christmas: they buy a Christmas tree and prepare dishes for Christmas. Special carol singers called ‘kolędnicy’ wander through the towns and villages. They sing carols and show short nativity plays. They dress themselves as creatures from the Christmas stories. They wish people all the best and play tricks The most important day is 24 December. When the first star appears in the sky, people sit at the Christmas table. There is always a free chair for an unexpected guest or wanderer. First, people share a wafer (called opłatek) and wish one another health, lots of money and luck. Then they eat a traditional Christmas meal. There should be 12 dishes as a symbol of the Twelve Apostles. The most popular dishes are beet soup, dumplings with mushrooms or cabbage, fish and poppy seed cake. People don’t eat meat or drink alcohol. After the meal people open presents which are under the Christmas tree. Then they sit around it and sing carols. At midnight many people go to church for a special mass called ‘pasterka’. It commemorates the arrival of the Three Wise Men to Bethlehem. Greetings from Ewelina B.