by Katka :)

Christmas holidays are exceptional in Slovakia and their glorification is associated with many traditions. For several weeks before Christmas, the shops, towns and villages decorated with Christmas decorations, trees, lights and various decorations. Shops and commercial - entertainment centers to attract customers buying gifts. A few days before Christmas in several cities held Christmas markets in which to sell Christmas decorations, refreshments, Christmas wafers, honey, various trinkets and household products craftsmen. 

People's home decor a few days before Christmas, in any home during the holidays missing artificial or live Christmas tree. Live trees can be purchased at the City Market. The sales are fir, spruce and pine. People decorate trees, candy, decorations and lights. Christmas always start 12.24 This day in Slovakia called Christmas Eve. During the day, preparing dinner, hell, the Christmas cookies, finishing the Christmas decorations. In the evening, the family meets for dinner, which is the main point of the day. Christian families to pray together before dinner, because Christmas is a major Christian holiday. 

The Christmas dinner is served with honey wafer, in some families eat it with garlic that year health. It is usually given to the fruit, usually an apple for all the broken piece. Followed by soup in the various regions is given a different kind, somewhere is pea soup, cabbage soup Christmas somewhere, somewhere bean or lentil soup, or a combination thereof. Another run festive Christmas dinner consists of fish and potato salad with mayonnaise. Fish is usually served fried or baked, the tables tend to fillet fish or carp.

Many households buy before Christmas live carp, which are sold in stores just before Christmas time. Then given opekance somewhere called pupáčky with poppy seeds or cottage cheese. After dinner, the family members expand to gifts under the tree, which they presented to each other. The greatest joy of this part of Christmas Eve have children. If they are smaller, they think that the gifts under the tree wearing a Santa Claus. When they are bigger, they find that endow their parents and relatives, but the joy of the gift is reduced. After dinner, the family spends time together, eats the fruit, cookies and a variety of Christmas cookies. Typical Christmas cake called štedrák skladaník and, it is a cake consisting of poppy, nut, marmalade and the curd layer. 

Christians begin celebrating Christmas midnight Mass or Holy decorated churches to come on the second day of 25.12, which is called Christmas Day. Boxing Day is 12.26, the family spends time together, to visit family and friends, much to the television monitors because they offer rich sending Christmas movies, especially fairy tales. Many people spend Christmas in Slovakia and in the period between Christmas and New Year in the mountains, the lodges and hotels. Children have during the Christmas holidays, Christmas is a national holiday in Slovakia. 

By Viktoria 

by Vika