This document describes Christmas traditions and celebrations in Finland, Hungary, Spain, and Slovenia. It discusses how in Finland, Christmas dinner is eaten on Christmas Eve and typically includes dishes like ham and beetroot salad. Families in Hungary decorate their trees on Christmas Eve and have a large family dinner. In Spain, families get together for dinner and exchange gifts and sing carols, while in Slovenia people decorate trees, attend midnight mass, and open gifts in the morning.

1. Christmas Celebrations in
Finland, Hungary, Spain
and Slovenia
YES for Future - Erasmus+ Christmas 2014

2. Christmas in Finland
As you may know Santa
Claus lives in Finland.
Normally Santa Claus
comes to our homes on
Christmas eve, gives some
presents and maybe sings
a song with the children.
www.flickr.com/photos/visitfinland

3. Christmas dinner in Finland
In Finland, the Christmas dinner is eaten on
Christmas Eve, December 24th. The good old
traditional dishes appear on the Christmas dining
table year after year. Casseroles containing different
vegetables including, rutabaga, carrot and potato are
common. The main dish is usually a large oven-baked
ham. Traditional food is also Rosolli. It is salad from
boiled beetroots, carrots, potatoes, apples and pickled
cucumber. It's sometimes served with herring. Dessert
is usually either alcoholic or non-alcoholic Christmas
beverage glögg (mulled wine) and mince pie.
Hyvää joulua! (Merry Christmas!) wish
Kaisa & Roosa & Dora & Aava

4. Christmas presents in Finland
At Christmas we give presents to our
friends and relatives. Little children
are excited waiting for Christmas
eve. On Christmas eve comes Santa
Claus who gives the presents to
everyone. Sometimes Santa Claus
won’t come and then the presents
just appear somehow outside the
door.
Kaisa & Eve

5. Finnish Christmas traditions
In the old town of Turku, the former capital of Finland, a
special ceremony is held to declare the beginning of
"Christmas peace" period, starting at 12 o'clock noon on
Christmas Eve and lasting for twenty days. Traditional
Finnish Christmas songs are hymns that are sung in the
church.
Christmas Day is usually spent quietly at home, relaxing
and resting, with some people perhaps attending the early
morning church service.
Sauna is one of the most important traditions. Many
Finnish families go to sauna on Christmas Eve. It's so
relaxing and makes you feel good.

6. Christmas in Slovenia
We decorate Christmas tree on
Christmas Eve, have an amazing
dinner and go to Midnight Mass. In
the morning, Santa puts presents
underneath the Christmas tree
and we open them with our family.
- Vesel božič(Merry Christmas), Eva B. :)
Christmas in Ljubljana, our capital city.
http://www.ljubljana.si

7. Christmas in Hungary
In Hungary we decorate the Christmas tree on
Christmas Eve, December 24th. We have a great
traditional christmas dinner, and after that we open
the gifts, which the Baby Jesus brought us. We go to
Midnight Mass, visit our family, eat and drink a lot,
and have fun.
In the winter holiday the whole family is together.
We bake a lot of delicious christmas cookies, play
winter sports like ice skating and skiing, and visit
the advent Fair.
Boldog karácsonyt! - Merry Christmas! Advent Fair in
Budapest
Haszon Luca

8. Christmas dinner in Hungary
In Hungary the families usually have
a big Christmas dinner. The whole
family sits around the table. Firstly
we eat fish soup, secondly stuffed
cabbage, finally the dessert is beigli.
Fábián Csenge

9. Christmas in Hungarian schools
In the Hungarian schools we always celebrate
Christmas with our class, also we have a joint
meeting too. We give a present to one of our
classmates based on a previous random
choice. We bring cookies and drink to the
classroom and eat there together . During the
joint meeting the headmaster or headmistress
talks about the holiday and some students give
performances too. At the end we sing a
christmas song together.
Fábián Csenge

10. New Year’s Eve in Hungary
The goals of the New Years Eve traditions are that in the
following year you have good health,luck,happiness and
abundance.
In Hungary, the people are very superstitious.For example,
we eat pork because it is grub our luck but we never eat
poultry because it is scrape away our luck. On this day you
should not go to the doctor or you will have illness in the
whole next year. If the first day of the new year, the first
visitor is girl, it is means your bad luck but if a man ring on
the first day of the week, you will be lucky.
In the New Year’s Eve the fireworks are very popular.
According to some people the loud noise can chase the evil
and bad spirits of the last year but a very simple explanation
is that it’s just fun and it’s the sign of frolic.
Terényi Kitti

11. Christmas in Spain
In Spain, we decorate the Christmas tree and Nativity
scene two weeks before Christmas Eve. This is our
way to welcome this beautiful time of the year. At
Christmas Eve, families get reunited to have dinner, all
together. Grandmothers usually are hours cooking for a
lot of people, that is always delicious. Our dinner is
divided in three parts: starters, like ham, prawns,
cheese, shellfish… ; the second part is when we eat
heavier food, is usually turkey or chicken but we can
eat fish too; and desserts like turron or “polvorones”.
Also ,we sing carols and we tell every good experience
we have had this year, and thank to God to gave us the
chance to live them.
At Christmas, we open some presents Santa put neat
to our shoes we put near the tree to what presents are
ours. Although, this is not a tradition, because some
families don’t have presents at Christmas, because we
have another tradition here in Spain that is related with
presents this dates.
After opening presents, we go to the church and we
have lunch again with our family.
Cristina Parra Álvarez
Polvorones

12. New Year’s Eve in Spain
-New Year’s Eve is a really special day in Spain
because we have dinner with all our family
reunited and it’s really nice to be altogether
even if it’s once a year.
-The most typical thing is ‘’The grapes’’.I think
we only do that in Spain, when the clock strikes
12, we eat 12 grapes with every clock strike
and is really hard because we don’t have
enough time to swallow them, so you kind of
turn a little bit red.
-Talking about red, another typical thing is that
we have to wear some red underwear if we
want to start the new year with good luck!
By Pilar Fernández-Cortés

13. Epiphany Day in Spain
This is the favourite day of the year for children. On
the afternoon of 5th of January there is a parade in
all cities around Spain. Every year it is inspired in a
different theme (children’s stories, toys…). The
Three Kings, as we call them, or the Three Wise
Men go on special “floats’’ and they throw candies
to the children. Also they are accompanied by their
pages. There are other floats decorated with the
chosen theme. The next day children,and also
adults receive their presents. It is a very amusing
and emotional day and I think that this is the best
day of the year to be with your family.
¡Feliz Navidad! - Merry Christmas
Olga Hierro

14. PREPARING FOR CHRISTMAS IN SLOVENIA
Christmas is the oldest and the biggest
Christian holiday celebrated within our families.
We start preparing for Christmas very soon in
advent time which starts 4 weeks before
Christmas. In this time we make beautiful
decorated wreaths with 4 candles and every
Sunday we light one.Our traditional cake is
potica (nut roll). It is made from flour &
yeast,sugar,milk,salt,butter,eggs and walnut
filling.
Hana Pačnik