How Slovakia Celebrates Christmas

“Veselé Vianoce“ or Merry Christmas!

Christmas in Slovakia was so unique and interesting! We want to bring some of these traditions back with us, well, except the Christmas carp.

We had no idea that Christmas traditions would be so different from America to Europe.

It all starts four weeks prior with the Roman Catholic celebration of Advent. Originated from the Latin word Adventus which means the “coming” of Jesus Christ. They have a pine wreath and light the tallest candle the first Sunday and the last one the Sunday before Christmas. We saw a lot of Advent wreaths and candles for sale in the outdoor Christmas markets. We even had four candles burning in our home.

December 5th is when children put their shoes out on the window sill and hope St. Nicholas

puts some sweets in them. On December 6th there are visits from St. Nicholas in the village square as he visit the children along his way. He wears a long beard and a long red robe with white fur along the edges. We noticed he was accompanied by an angel and a devil characters. At least St. Nicholas is based on a true person who lived hundreds of years ago and secretly gave gifts to others.

One day, outside a grocery store we noticed a medium tub with fish swimming inside.

Several men bought one or two carp and left with their catch. They supposedly take them home and place them alive in the bathtub full of cold water. We actually had an opportunity to watch a couple guys put a carp in their tub. On Christmas Eve morning you are to kill it and fix it for dinner.

The drawings are Josef Lada, one of the most celebrated painters and illustrators in Czech history.

All businesses are closed for three days. Nothing was open from December 24 - 26; as we are near the town square and it was like a ghost town. 

No bars, restaurants, or stores were open for any reason, so all the employees were home with their families. Very little traffic was on the roadways. We really appreciated the peace and serenity over Christmas holidays with snow on the ground.

Throughout Slovakia we noticed lights in the town squares and villages and along streets and roads.

The simple lighted Christmas displays hang from lamp posts and strung across the roads. Each shaped like candles, wreaths, bells, and angels. Although, there are not Christmas decorations on homes, only in the town squares did we see lights.

Because churches are always in the center of towns we did notice several Christmas mangers displayed. No stores had big Christmas sales or even mad rushes to buy everything, but we did noticed the shopping carts full of seasonal food and drinks.

The most special Day of Christmas is December 24th, and here is how it works. One parent keeps the kids occupied while the other puts up and decorates the tree placing presents underneath. A bell is

rung telling the children Jesus has visited, and they run to see him. Then they are told Baby Jesus left gifts under the tree and they can open them. One grown woman stated she still loves to think of baby Jesus bringing gifts to all the children.

Christmas day is for the family to gather. The “bounty” of this special evening lies in the wide assortment of traditional festive dishes,

while the whole family gathers around the dinner table. A paper thin wafer known as oplasky with honey is always the first course served followed by “kapustnica” or cabbage soup, potato salad and other traditional dishes. After dinner, the family goes into the living room to open and exchange small wrapped gifts. Before retiring to bed, the Catholic families may attend midnight mass service.

St. Stephen’s Day is celebrated on December 26th – the time is spent similar to Christmas Day with family finishing Christmas Eve dinner leftovers.

Later in the evening St. Stephen parties are organized and the streets are full of party-goers.

Three Kings Day is January 6th - the day the Bible mentions that the Tree Wise Men visited baby Jesus with gifts.

Children are allowed to eat the treats hanging from the branches of the Christmas tree before it is taken down until next Christmas. Christmas time to Slovak people is indeed a very special time of the year. When the Christmas tree is lit, some of the almost forgotten customs and rites of their ancestors come to life once more, their thoughts return to their family friends and to love.

Just for fun, I re-wrote the popular Christmas carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas, to fit our holiday experience in Slovakia. And it goes something like this:

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me ...

twelve missionaries skyping, eleven angel ornaments, ten Elders in one apartment, nine bottles of Kofola, eight donated children’s toys, seven blocks of walking, six plates of cookies, five church bells ringing, four Advent candles, three hours of train rides, two stockings hanging, and A star atop our artificial tree.

We Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

We finally heard the bells on Christmas Day here in Slovakia. Actually, every Sunday we hear church bells ringing through our window. We love the sound of church bells ringing. We have two churches nearby so we hear the sound of bells ringing through the air both near and far.

But after all these years, it is the first time we both can say “I heard the bells on Christmas Day”. We love this song and look forward to singing it in following Christmases to come.

We hoped to have twelve missionaries at our home for the Christmas holiday. They began arriving at our apartment for breakfast at 8:30 hours. Some traveled as far away as Banska Bysterica, about a four hour train ride. 

We enjoyed the company of so many great young men and women joining us for breakfast and the Christmas holiday. After breakfast, we revealed our “secret Santa” where each had bought a $5 gift for another.

Sitting in a large circle we watched each person present their gifts one by one; ties, socks, candy, souvenirs etc. Everyone also brought a $5 white elephant gift which involved swapping and trading. This was a lot of fun and a wonderful morning laughing together.

In the afternoon, plans were made to visit an Elder Care facility to sing carols and visit with widows and isolated elderly. A visit to an Orphanage where more carols were sung to some of the children inside the facility. Next, a visit to a Roma(gypsies) community where the missionaries had obtained some donated gifts and handed them out to the children. They truly spent a few hours trying to make the day a little brighter for those in the community.

Christmas is one of the occasions missionaries take time to Skype (video call) with family. We had made sure to set up two Skype accounts to ensure all missionaries time to talk with families back home. We had to accommadate for the eight or nine hour time difference between Slovakia and Utah.

Calls were also made to Canada, Czech Republic, California, Idaho, Florida, Colorado, Washington and other places. Talking with family, when you are away from home, is one of the great joys in life.

A day earlier we were surprised by a group of missionaries singing Christmas carols outside our apartment. We

certainly appreciated it and so did the gentleman in the apartment below ours on the second floor. He listened to the caroling and was making thankful comments and even walked out the front door and left them a bottle gift. We checked to see a full bottle of Vodka which we set aside but appreciated his gesture.

We also stopped to sing carols at the home of a wonderful family. We presented them a small gift and she invited us all in and thanked us. Upon leaving, we learned their daughters were arriving home on a bus and so we stopped at the bus stop to sing some more. As they exited the bus, all the other passengers were treated to a Slovak Christmas carol and it was much appreciated.

As we were walking home past the large church in the center of town square we had snow falling gently in our face. We love being here in Slovakia for these holidays and the winter of 2017.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

We are in full swing of the Holiday season in Slovakia. The Christmas season starts with the first Sunday of Advent. A tradition where a pine wreath with four candles is displayed. The candles are varying heights and the tallest is lit the first Sunday and it burns until it is the height of the second. On the second Sunday, the two tallest candles are lit. Each Sunday another candle is lit, then Christmas is here.

We recently celebrated St Nicholas Day or Mikuláš as it is called in Slovakia.

On the evening of December 5th, children put their shoes on the window sill hoping for overnight treats from St. Nicholas. Then, on December 6th, St. Nicholas is seen walking the main square greeting and posing with children. He wears a red robe and may appear similar to make believe Santa Claus.

St. Nicholas, was a real person, a 4th century Saint and Greek Bishop. He gained his popularity by dropping bags of coins through open basement windows of poor families and leaving coins in pauper’s footwear. He was especially kindhearted to village children.

Legend says that if you leave your shoes or boots out on the windowsill the night before, St. Nick will come and leave coins or pieces of coal in your boots.

The next morning children find the shoes filled with little presents. Naughty children won’t get sweets; they get black coal, onions, or hard potatoes.

Who gets to determine if the children have been naughty or nice? Well,

St. Nicholas has two helpers who accompany him – the angel and the devil. They go about town square with St. Nick and ask children if they “have been good this past year.” Of course, no one will say no, but if by chance they would, the devil will carry the naughty little child to hell in a bag.

This explains the phrase I’ve heard many times, “going to hell in a hand-basket.” Needless to say, Mikuláš acts as a strong incentive to be good throughout the year.

In America, our preference has been “Santa Claus” with sleigh and eight reindeer

who lives at the North Pole and delivers presents on Christmas Eve. This fairy tale has been told for decades in our families and all the malls are decked out with fake Santa’s for the children to visit, and the stores are plastered with Santa Claus stuff. The business aspect of Christmas is all about parties, gifts, and spending or making money.

Our concern is that America, and the world is forgetting what Christmas is all about - the birth of Jesus Christ. May we all slow down and look around for kind acts of service we can do for others. A lot of people are lonely, struggling, ill, or needing a helping hand. May we be aware of opportunities to reach out in kindness to lift another this Christmas. #LightTheWorld

President David O. McKay said, "It is a glorious thing to have old St. Nicholas in our hearts and in our homes today, whether he enters the latter through the open door or creep down the chimney on Christmas Eve. To bring happiness to others without seeking personal honor or praise by publishing it is a most commendable virtue... 

Good old St. Nicholas has long since gone the way of all mortals, but the joy he experienced in doing kindly deeds in now shared by millions who are learning that true happiness comes only by making others happy - the practical application of the Savior's doctrine of losing one's life to gain it. In short, the Christmas spirit is the Christ spirit, that makes our hearts glow in brotherly love and friendship and prompts us to kind deeds of service.

Merry Christmas!

Czech It Out!

This week we took a ten hour train ride to Prague, Czech Republic, sleeping along the way. Many trains have sleeper “wagons” so you can get some rest along the journey.

We attended a conference with our Mission President and four other senior couples. Each of us have different responsibilities like we do - Humanitarian projects, another couple support local leaders. One couple collects millions of family history records to preserve them. We enjoyed some traditional Czech food, and spent time learning about other couples, where they live and the work they are doing.

With over two hundred (200) missions in the world there are often just a handful of senior couples in each country. Some missions will have doctors, nurses, engineers, or a variety of technical specialist serving for 18 or 24 months.

President and Sister Pohorelicky moving the work forward. We sure welcome any seniors who wish to come and serve here in Czech/Slovak mission or really anywhere in the world.

We are all smiles as we are lined up in front of the Vltava River on a rainy day. Couples from left to right, Schultz's from Nevada, Hardwick's from Australia, Scott's from Utah, Walker's from Australia, and our President Pohorelicky and wife from Czech Republic. 

Prague is a gorgeous, well-preserved medieval city and this time of year the Christmas markets were just opening up in the town squares.

The downtown booths were full of many handcrafted items,

like 100% goat wool mittens, decorative wool socks, wood carvings, wooden nativities, tree ornaments, and other useful items.

The food booths included "Prague Pork", sausage and sauerkraut, cabbage soups, and Trdelnik. There is even "hot wine" sold here.

We noticed food was cooked over an open fire. The firewood is meticulously stacked in front of the booths.

One of the places we visited was a Christmas Ornament factory. We actually watched glass blown into Christmas bulbs then dipped and hand painted. It was amazing to watch the patient employees create beautiful glass Christmas ornaments.

We toured the Josef Ladá art exhibition. He is the most popular Czech artist depicting traditional Czech landscape scenes. He concentrated on the simple things in life. Most notable are his winter and Christmas drawings.

How Will You Light the World?

This past Thursday was Thanksgiving, a major holiday in America and it kicks off the holiday season. It's one of the few holidays where you have four days off in a row. But in Europe, of course, no one celebrates this holiday.

Although, I would have loved to spend time with my family for Thanksgiving, instead we invited over seven young men and women.

Our American holiday was spent with others away from their home as well, a Czech, a Canadian, Slovak, Hawaiian, and 3 others from America. We shared family holiday traditions and things that we are personally thankful for and dinner.

At first, I didn't think I could find traditional Thanksgiving food in Slovakia, but I was pleasantly surprised that almost everything I needed was found, or at least a close substitute.

Can you believe, I couldn't find pumpkin puree, canned cranberries, cream cheese,evaporated milk, brown sugar, raspberry jello, or a whole turkey. I had to substitute all of these ingredients for something close, like whole chickens instead of turkey. So, I want my friends and family to know I was able to enjoy all the regular Thanksgiving dinner items with all the trimmings.

It's amazing how resourceful Google and Pinterest are when trusted recipes need adjustments due to lack of regular ingredients. It's one of the great things about the internet. Like how to make jello from unflavored gelatin and raspberry jam.

As we enter the Christmas season, I would like to turn your attention to the Savior. During His ministry on the earth, Jesus Christ spent His time serving and helping others. True disciples of Jesus Christ do likewise. The Savior said, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." (John 13:35)

Each Christmas, we celebrate the life of Jesus Christ, the light of the world.Light the World. By following His teachings, we let His light shine - in our lives and in the lives of others. This year, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a Christmas service project called "Light the World, in 25 ways over 25 days." Join me in giving time, talents, and resources during the month of December. Share the Light of Christ by doing little acts of kindness for someone each day. It's an invitation to serve others as the Savior did. I will be watching for opportunities to serve others each day in December. I hope you will join this great cause to bring Light to the World.

Clay, Water, and Hands

We visited an organization in Giraltovce, Slovakia. The staff cares for 121 disabled children and adults who cannot care for themselves.

The clients are people with physical and mental disabilities or serious behavioral disorders or a combination thereof. the organization provides 24 hour accommodations, meals, nursing, rehabilitation, recreation, and educational activities for clients.

The ceramic workshop involves preparing and sharing raw clay using the pottery wheel, then baking and painting the clay created items.

Working with clay allows clients with mental challenges to overcome fears and anxiety and gain self-confidence. It is also a place to work cognitive and creative abilities, fine motor skills and dexterity also improve when involved with hands on projects like clay ceramics. These are monumental tasks for many of the clients but help improve life skills.

Their hope is to encourage clients to work together by taking steps to accomplish multiple tasks, creating a finished clay artwork requires several steps to follow over a period of time with planning and follow through to complete.

Clients will be taught by a certified instructor on how to work with ceramics. The organization promised they would locate and provide an instructor to assist teaching the clients in working with clay. Items produced from this pottery workshop will be presented for cultural and social events in other cities and regions, and for Christmas and Easter events. These will also be viewed by the public including some family.

During a tour they showed us the designated room where a ceramic workshop will hopefully be placed. They were extremely appreciative that we would even consider helping them out with this request, and stated they have been trying to get a ceramic workshop for more than ten years.

A few weeks later, when the equipment arrived we returned to visit. There was a great excitement as staff realized this pottery workshop was a reality. We met the instructor, from a non-profit organization, who gave a demonstration to us and the other staff members who will be helping the clients.

We also met some of the clients who were excited to see new faces visiting them and we could see children of God with earthly disabilities.

Isaiah 64:8, "But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand."