Christmas Eve in the Znojmo District of South Moravia
A Slovakian pattern I embroidered for Christmas
Christmas Eve is not only the culmination of the Advent season and the vigil of the Christmas feast, but also the beginning of Koleda (12 Days of Christas) and one of the peaks of the folk rituals of the winter season, which remains even today the most significant and most anticipated festive moment of the whole year.
Christmas Eve customs and traditions follow on from ancient celebrations of the winter solstice and the rebirth of the sun, which were gradually overshadowed by the Christian holiday of the birth of Jesus Christ established in Rome during the 4th century.
The oldest written sources related to the Christmas season in the Znojmo countryside date back to the 1880s. However, even these are enough to give us an idea of Christmas Eve in our region. Although everything mysterious began after dark, this day was literally filled with magic and enchantments from the morning dawn. Housewives sprinkled all the walls in the room with holy water, fumigated every corner with incense. The stables and chambers on the farm were also ceremonially cleansed, and the rest of the holy water and incense was finally thrown into the fire. This was supposed to protect the house and its inhabitants from misfortune throughout the year, the cattle from witches, and the deified fire was supposed to prevent fires or lightning from damaging the farm in any way, as a small offering.
Nothing was borrowed on this day, which was how the farmer and the housewife tried to prevent the witchcraft of unwelcome people. In the vicinity of Moravský Krumlov, they threw the garbage from their house to the neighbors and with it, figuratively got rid of everything unclean that had accumulated in their house throughout the year.
In the past, a strict fast was in force throughout this day, and those who observed it were to be rewarded with seeing a golden pig, or in German a golden sheep or “goldene Lampl” running across the roof of the house in the evening. However, for small children, the mother usually hid a slice of bread from the previous day or cooked them some porridge.
Christmas Eve 2022, the last time I did a full Czech Christmas Eve dinner
Real Christmas in the Znojmo countryside began with festive Christmas Eve kneeling and shooting. As long as the village had its own shepherd, the atmosphere was further enhanced by the cracking of his carabao and the blowing of horns. The festive dinner always began after dark. It was expected that someone would light the lamp first or that the first star would come out. An early start would bring misfortune. Moreover, the house where the lamp was lit first was supposed to have the most fleas for the entire following year.
Young men also looked for the first star - they expected the arrival of their future chosen one from the direction where it appeared. After lighting the lamps before the Christmas Eve dinner, people looked for their shadows on the walls. Whoever did not have a long one immediately was said to have a short life. Then everyone sat down at the table. The number of people present had to be even. If there was not, someone would die within a year.
My Christmas Eve hubník (mushroom pudding)
The selection and varied composition of dishes on the Christmas Eve table was guided by the associative idea of abundance and wealth that they evoked. Their abundance was especially important, as is the case with poppy seeds and lentils, but also their easy availability - for example mushrooms. In the Czech and German environment, honey was also a part of the festive dishes, which was supposed to bring cohesion to the family and ensure good health to all present.
The Christmas Eve dinner had nine courses because nine was considered a magical number bringing success, prosperity, abundance and fulfillment of wishes for the coming year, symbolizing health and fertility and was associated with pagan customs. More courses, even if they were simple dishes of legumes, groats and mushrooms, meant a greater harvest and ensuring prosperity.
Magic nine: The number nine was supposed to ensure happiness and the fulfillment of dreams.
Abundance and health: Dishes made from mushrooms, legumes, honey and garlic were supposed to guarantee health and wealth.
Connection with nature: Dishes made from available ingredients were a symbolic tribute to nature and its generosity, whether from pagan or early Christian traditions.
Prosperity for the next year: A rich dinner with many courses, even if made from ordinary ingredients (like a piece of bread, porridge, wafers), was supposed to bring prosperity for the next economic year.
In the Czech villages of our region, the first course was lentil soup with plums, noodles or mushrooms, we also have a groat soup and in Znojmo also milk soup with noodles. The second course was most often mushroom sauce or lentils with bread. The third course was traditional semolina porridge sweetened with honey or sprinkled with gingerbread. Reports also mention millet porridge with syrup and sugar. Fruit was also an indispensable part of the dinner, either dried or preserved. Prunes were eaten just like that, or cooked and eaten with muffins. Apples and nuts were mainly used as a means of divination.
Muzika, or St. Thomas’ compote, because it is prepared from dried fruit prepared on St. Thomas’ Day (December 21) so the flavors are well combined by the big day and Vánočka (braided Christmas bread)
Among the holiday drinks, coffee and tea are most often mentioned, but the oldest sources are silent about them. On the table, however, there always had to be water from a home well, and in wine-producing villages, of course, there was also a bottle of good wine.
People in the Znojmo region also knew the Christmas bun. It was probably originally called houska (nowadays Vánočka, though here in the USA in many paces it is still caked by the older name because that is what it was called the time period mass emigration took place), but later, under the influence of German neighbors, it became known more as "Žemlička", "Žemla", "Žemlovica" or "štrycla". However, the Christmas buns were smaller than we know them today, and were knitted from three strands. For Christmas Eve dinner, each member of the family received one small braid, while the Christmas bun over the entire sheet was intended for breakfast on Christmas.
Another regular Christmas Eve dish was soon added to the traditional Christmas bun, namely milk, poppy seed or apple strudel. Buns with poppy seed and jam filling were also baked from the pastry. In later years, the bábovka also appears, which is demonstrably the last developmental type of large ceremonial pastry documented in our environment.
My catfish marinated in black beer, our typical Christmas Eve fish dinner since carp is unavailable in our area.
Many will be surprised that Christmas carp is missing from the list of delicacies. However, fish began to enter the established ceremonial menu of Christmas Eve relatively late. First, we encounter their imitation with pastries prepared in clay molds in the shape of fish, then their cheap varieties, especially salted fish, came into play. Only under the increasing influence of the urban environment did people also start cooking fish soup in the countryside and preparing one or two courses of fish meat. It was mainly blackened fish with dumplings or fried with cabbage. The type of fish was not established, so in addition to carp, catfish, tench, zander or pike were also sold. In general, fish did not appear on Christmas Eve in our country until around 1945 or shortly before.
Garlic and straw were lucky at the Christmas Eve table, leftover apples from divination as offerings at the creek
The leftovers from dinner were used for divination and magical-protective practices. In Plavč, for example, they threw the most beautiful apple into the well so that there would be enough good water in it all year round. Walnut shells were usually taken to the orchard so that the fruit trees would bear fruit, sometimes they were burned to ashes and sprinkled with them the future vegetable patch so that the caterpillars would not harm them.
My traditional Czech Christmas Eve dinner in 2022
The leftovers from dinner were brought to the fruit trees and bushes on Christmas Eve. This was the case, for example, in Vysočany, where in the mid-20th century they still put fish bones in particular on the trees. The cattle also had their own Christmas cake prepared for the festive dinner. So that the cows would milk well, they often also received nuts and a piece of bun. For the rooster and the cockerel, the housewife hid a piece of bread with garlic, supposedly so that they would peck well. In Trstěnice, they gave the poultry a piece of Christmas cake.
Some of my homemade Christmas ornaments in the Czech style
After dinner, Baby Jesus brought the children a tree and gifts. Christmas trees appeared relatively late in the Znojmo countryside, the very first ones only from the last third of the 19th century. When they did exist, they were usually decorated by older children with dried fruit, apples, nuts and gingerbread bought at the market and candles. There were not many gifts and in poor families they often prepared only a decorated tree for young children, so it is not surprising that they ate all the treats from it shortly after Christmas.
A section of my authentic cutout Czech nativity (available for free)
The Znojmo region has never become as famous for its nativity scenes as the nearby Třebíč or Jihlava regions. While in churches they were dismantled immediately after Epiphany, in families the nativity scenes remained standing until Hromnice (Candlemas).
People usually stayed up together until midnight on Christmas Eve. At this hour, even the smallest children would wake up to pray. At midnight, the nightingale blew his horn throughout the village, while the lights were still on in all households, which gave the entire village an inimitable festive atmosphere. In Morašice, people sang together at the church "Christ the Lord is Born". The evening vigil was also filled with various magical practices associated primarily with guessing the future.
Last year I did all the major types of divination during Koleda: sliced apples, walnut boats, lead (in my case wax) pouring, and the seven cups
Red apples were most often sliced. A healthy core or an asterisk predicted long health to the lucky ones, while a rotten core or a cross predicted illness or even death. Walnut shells were floated on the water like boats. When they approached each other, the young people could think about getting married. If the shell floated away from the edge of the container, the girl was supposed to go out into the world. If it remained in place, the girl remained at home. A sunken shell predicted death. If they sailed away from each other, the hopes of a lasting relationship were not to be fulfilled.
Lead was poured and apple peels were thrown over their heads. Depending on the signs they made on the floor, boys and girls would guess the initial letter of their bride or groom. A slipper was also thrown over their heads. If it landed with its toe towards the door, the girl was married. Girls in particular were eager to learn as much as possible about their beloved, so they went out into the yard to knock on the chicken coop. If a rooster crowed, they would be married within a year. However, if a hen crowed first, the unfortunate girl could not even think about getting married. The girl also listened to which direction the first dog would bark from. His voice foretold the arrival of the groom. After dinner, young girls would run out into the garden, shake the fence, and say:
“I shake, I shake without,
where my beloved is having dinner tonight.”
The girls would also randomly pull a log out of the piles of wood. If it was straight, it promised a handsome man, if it was crooked and knotty, a hunchbacked and lame man. Another time, she would pick up a pile of logs and dump them in the living room. When their number was odd, there was no thought of marriage. On the contrary, an even number was supposed to fulfill any wish.
Seven cups were also covered and something was placed under each one. Usually clay, a ring, bread, a rosary, money, a picture of a child, and the seventh remained empty. Whoever uncovered the cup with clay died; the ring foretold marriage; bread predicted plenty of food and a good harvest; money, wealth. Whoever uncovered the empty cup let go of the misery that then stuck to him for the whole year.
