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18.12. EAN National Societies – Christmas Traditions Part 2

December 18, 2018

 

Did you know that 47 European National Neurological Societies are full institutional members of EAN? Each society is represented by one delegate to the EAN Assembly of Delegates and has one representative in each EAN Scientific Panel.
If you are Member of any one of these national neurological societies, you are automatically member of EAN and have access to various benefits.

 

Click on the images below and activate information by clicking on “i” in the bottom right, to learn about our member countries’ diverse and unique holiday traditions.

 

The majority of Kazakhstan’s population is Muslim, so Christmas is not very popular. New Year’s Eve however is the biggest celebration of the year. There is a New Year’s tree and a Snow Father who brings presents. During the USSR, religion was banned, and the New Year’s celebrations were emphasized.
Kyrgyzstan has a majority Muslim population and Christmas is not popularly celebrated, New Year’s Eve however is a big event.
Latvia claims to be the home of the first Christmas tree. The first recorded use of an evergreen tree at Christmas and New Year’s celebrations is in the town square of Riga in 1510.
In Lithuania, Christmas Eve requires a lot of preparations. The entire house is cleaned, the bedding changed and everyone washes and puts on clean clothes for the Christmas meal. Many people go to bathhouses. Some believe, that being clean will protect them from evil or diseases during the coming year.
Luxembourg is famous for its Christmas markets. For the entire month of December, large markets are opened on city squares, attracting many visitors, local and foreign alike.
In Macedonia, most Christians belong to the Orthodox church, so Christmas is traditionally celebrated on the 7th if January. Christmas celebrations start two days before Christmas, when especially children go carol singing in their neighbourhoods to receive fruits, nuts and coins. When the singing has finished, people gather around big bonfires. These can be large events with several hundred people, or smaller, local community events.
Moldova’s population is split between followers of the Russian Orthodox Church, following the Julian calendar, and the Bessarabian Orthodox Church, following the Gregorian calendar. This means, Christmas and New Year’s are celebrated twice!
In Orthodox Montenegro, Christmas is celebrated on the 6th of January. Traditionally, people bring a log from an oak tree home on Christmas Eve, to burn through the evening and night. Outside churches, there often are bonfires in the early evening of January 6th.
Saint Nicholas’ Day is an important event in the Dutch pre-Christmas time: on the 5th of December, Sinterklaas, together with his servant Zwarte Piet (Black Peter), arrives by boat from Spain, where he is said to live. Every town has a few people who dress up as the two and help hand out gifts to children. In recent years, Zwarte Piet has been the subject of controversial debates, because many consider his personification to be racist and would like to change his role towards a less offensive one.
Polish people clean their homes thoroughly to prepare for Christmas. Traditionally, no food is to be eaten until the first star appears in the sky. Christmas Eve dinner is usually meat free and consists of 12 dives, representing good luck for the next 12 months as well es Jesus’ 12 disciples.
Portuguese people traditionally attend mass after Christmas Eve dinner, where during the service an image of Baby Jesus is brought out and everyone queues up to kiss it. Afterwards it is put in the nativity scene that the church has. Presents are handed over after people have returned home.
In Romania, the christmas tree is decorated on the eve December 24th.  On this day, children go carol singing and get sweets, fruits, traditional cakes and sometimes money. Adults too go carol singing on Christmas Day. In many parts of the country, someone dresses up as a goat with a colourful mask and goes around the carol singers. This person jumps and dances around and causes lots of mischief.  Another tradition is a drumming band. It is made up of un-married men and often includes other instruments as well. The bands start practicing a month before Christmas and go around the city, collecting gifts.
The festive season in Russia: during the USSR, Christmas as a holiday was banned. So were Christmas trees, until they were re-introduced as New Year’s trees in 1935. Today, Christmas is still a much smaller celebration than the popular New Year’s Eve.
During Serbian Advent, which lasts from 28th of November through to 6th of December, many people fast and do not eat animal based foods like milk, eggs and meat. In Serbia too, a Yule log is brought into the home and burned throughout the evening and night and bonfires are lit on Christmas Eve outside many churches.
Advent time is very busy in Slovakia, as people clean their homes thoroughly, bake, do their shopping and buy their Christmas tree. Carps are sold in the streets in large water tanks. Slovak Christmas trees are decorated with coloured lights, fruits, hand-made decorations of wood and baked goods with honey in the shape of angels and other religious symbols, as well as sweets. The trees are kept until the 6th of January, when the children are allowed to eat the decorations.
In some regions of Slovenia, people practice the pre-Christmas wish custom. On December 13th, they write down twelve wishes and then cut the paper into twelve small pieces and crumble them up. Each night until Christmas, one of the pieces is thrown into the fireplace. The last remaining piece is the wish that will come true in the following year.
Like in Portugal, Spanish people attend the Mass of the Rooster at Midnight on Christmas Night, after they eat dinner at home. Children receive some presents on Christmas Day, but most of them on December 6th, Epiphany. They believe that the Three Kings bring the presents. Instead of Santa, they write letters to the Three Kings. Some cities even have Epiphany Parades.
One of the biggest celebration around Christmas in Sweden is St. Lucia’s Day on the 13th of December. St. Lucia was a young Christian girl who was killed for her faith in 304. She was said to have secretly brought food to the prosecuted Christians in Rome, who were hiding in the catacombs. She wore candles on her head to have both her hands free to carry things. Her name translates to ‘light’. In the old Julian Calendar, December 13th also marks the winter solstice. The pagan festival of lights was turned into St. Lucia’s day when Christianity was brought to Sweden.
Advent calendars are very popular in Switzerland. In some villages, there are ‘real’ advent calendars: different houses decorate one Advent Window. When it’s their turn to decorate the window, the family hosts a party for the villages with food, mulled wine and music.
Turkey is a Muslim country; therefore Christmas is not celebrated. However, Turks believe that Santa, or Baba Noel as he is called, was born in Turkey in 300 BC. The son of a rich merchant, he was christened Nikoalos. There are many stories about the miracles he performed as well as his generosity. He is thought to have died on December 6th at the age of 65. To this day, it is customary in many countries to celebrate Saint Nicolas’ Day.
The Christmas tree tradition was brought to the UK by Prince Albert, Queen Vicotria’s husband. He was German and did not want to miss out on this tradition in England. Boxing Day, celebrated on December 26th, however did originate in the UK: it was started in the UK over 800 years ago, when the alms boxes for the poor were opened and distributed to the people. Traditionally servants got this day off to celebrate with their families. Today, Boxing Day is a public holiday in Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and a few European countries.
Ukraine is an Orthodox country and whence, Christmas is celebrated on the 7th of January. Like in Poland, traditionally the Christmas Eve meal has to start after the first star has been spotted in the night sky. The star represents the journey of the wise men to find Jesus. The meal traditionally contains 12 dishes, that represent the 12 disciples. After the meal, charols are sung. The Ukrainian ‘Shchedryk’ is where the popular ‘Carol of the Bells’ came from.
Uzbekistan is predominantly Muslim and Christmas does not receive much attention. Albeit Christmas decorations and trees exist, they are rather used in the context of New Year celebrations. This is rooted in the country’s long period of atheism during the USSR, as well as the small percentage of Christians.

 

Contact EAN Headoffice today and gain access to eBrain, the European Journal of Neurology or benefit from a reduced fee at the Oslo congress! Find out more here.

 

Meet our members in Oslo and register for #EAN2019! Use XMAS10 at checkout for a 10% discount off the registration fee – valid until 24.12.2018.

 

 

 

 

18.12. EAN National Societies – Christmas Traditions Part 2 was last modified: December 12th, 2018 by Editor
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Brain Innovation Days announces theme and subtheme for 2025 edition!

March 29, 2025

World Federation of Neurology announces election candidates and theme for 2025 World Brain Day

March 7, 2025

Brain Health Plans Summit: Towards the Establishment of National Brain Plans in Europe and Beyond

February 18, 2025

New article charts history of the European Neurological Society ten years after dissolution

September 23, 2024

New WHO publication on ‘Improving access to medicines for neurological disorders’

August 23, 2024

EBC-led EU Health Policy Platform Thematic Network Webinar “Towards and EU Coordination Plan for Brain Health”

August 19, 2024

Submit an Expression of Interest for the EPND research Call

July 26, 2024

In Memoriam Gregor K. Wenning (1964-2024)

March 21, 2024

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12:45 am eSleep Europe 2025: Neurology
eSleep Europe 2025: Neurology
Mar 13 @ 12:45 am – Dec 11 @ 12:00 am
eSleep Europe 2025: Neurology
  eSleep Europe 2025 is a year-long virtual congress by the European Sleep Research Society (ESRS), dedicated to advancing sleep research, medicine, and technology. Building on the success of its…
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12:00 am eSleep Europe 2025: Mental Health
eSleep Europe 2025: Mental Health
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eSleep Europe 2025: Mental Health
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The conference of the European Stroke Organisation for 2025 will take place in Helsinki, Finland. This event offers a valuable opportunity to gather, exchange insights, and explore the latest advancements…
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  The European Society of Human Genetics promotes research in basic and applied human and medical genetics and facilitates contact between all persons who share these aims. The hybrid conference…
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