CROATIAN TRADITIONS

• Borna Dorontić • Petar Lukačević About St Nicholas

• Christmas for most people starts on December 5, the eve of St. Nicholas • Children clean their shoes and leave them on the window St Nicholas vs. Krampus

• Those who have been good will wake up and find shoes filled with sweets and gifts • Those who have not been good fear the arrival of Krampus, who will bring them sticks to beat them with Adventski vijenac – Advent wreath

• 4 weeks before Christmas Croatians prepare a wreath and 4 candles are placed in churches, main squares and people homes Sowing of PŠENICA- WHEAT SEEDS

• Old tradition is sowing wheat seeds in a bowl of water, usually on st.Lucy´s day 13th December • The wheat will grow until Christmas and is then used to decorate the table on Christmas • It is usually wrapped with red, white and blue ribbon from the Croatian flag -

• The main celebrations starts • We decorate the • This day is a fasting day and we eat fish (cod fish called BAKALAR) • Many people like to go to a Midnight Mass to the church –we call it POLNOĆKA BOŽIĆ-CHRISTMAS DAY

• In the morning the presents are waiting for us under the Christmas Tree • You will not be hungry in Croatia for Christmas • We traditionally prepare : turkey-purica , roasted pig-pečenka , -minced meat wrapped in cabbage CHRISTMAS COOKIES AND CAKES

• We have: fritule-something like small donuts, strudel, walnut (orahnjača) and poppy-seed cakes (makovnjače) , honey cookies • CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS

• Christmas eve and Christmas day are mostly celebrated with close family but on 26th December friends and extended family visit each other • There are also many Croatian Christmas songs CHRISTMAS IN POŽEGA CHRISTMAS IN OUR SCHOOL