WTH Employees on Christmas and New Year’s Eve
Christmas Eve sounds like “apple”
(mud) – People celebrate Christmas and the turn of the year in many different ways, almost all around the world. They do so despite the fact that, firstly, not everyone is Christian, and secondly, the New Year does not begin on the same day everywhere. WTH Managing Director Gero Thieme says: “Some of our employees were not born in Germany or came here later. We wanted to know from them how Christmas and New Year’s Eve are celebrated in their home countries – and how they approach these holidays today. They shared their stories with us.”
For some, the last weeks of the year are primarily family time across borders. Others find this period particularly colorful and long. However, for everyone, it is always associated with traditions and customs. WTH employees Natalia Ceglarek shares about Poland, Natalie Thunig recalls Belarus and the Czech Republic, Cutian Wolf-Jusuf reports on Indonesia, and Nan Li speaks about customs and traditions in China.
Fish on Christmas Eve
“In Poland, the holidays are strongly based on tradition, culture, and religion,” says Natalia Ceglarek. In Polish households, families sit down for the Christmas Eve dinner. At the table, a place is left for a lost wanderer, and hay is placed under the tablecloth. The family sings Christmas carols, and in the evening, they all go to the Midnight Mass together.
Twelve dishes are expected on the table: According to Christian tradition, the dishes on Christmas Eve represent the twelve apostles who were present at the Last Supper with Jesus. On Christmas Eve, no meat is eaten, only fish dishes, sauerkraut and mushroom dishes, pierogi with sauerkraut and mushrooms, trout in aspic, herring in cream, fried carp, red borscht, mushroom soup, vegetable salad, noodles with poppy seeds and dried fruit, kutia, cheesecake, poppy seed cake, and dried fruit compote.
The family spends the entire week before Christmas cooking and baking. On the first and second days of Christmas, meat dishes are also served. Natalia Ceglarek adds: “The Advent season is not very significant in Poland. Advent wreaths are rare but are becoming more common, as are Advent calendars. In recent years, Christmas markets have started appearing in larger cities.” New Year’s Eve in Poland is similar to Germany; it’s either celebrated at home or at big parties.
Carp in the Bathtub
For Natalie Thunig, the Christmas season begins on December 1st and only ends on January 14th. She was born in Belarus, raised in the Czech Republic, and started her family in Germany. To her, the Christmas season is particularly colorful and long.
In Belarus, there are even two Christmas days: December 24th for Catholics and January 6th for Orthodox Christians, according to the Gregorian calendar. The New Year, according to the old calendar, falls on January 14th. The time in between is called Kaljady, the Christmas festival celebrated from January 6th to 14th. During this period, evil spirits are driven away with joyful songs. People wear costumes, masks, and traditional Belarusian clothing. Groups go from house to house in villages, singing songs, dancing, and eating mainly kuzzja, a sweet grain dish with honey, nuts, raisins, or poppy seeds.
Christmas is unfortunately rarely celebrated in Belarus nowadays, but New Year’s Eve on December 31st is widely celebrated. Then comes Ded Moroz (Father Frost) with his granddaughter Snegurochka (Snow Maiden), bringing gifts. Dressed-up children dance around the decorated Christmas tree. On the table, there is potato salad “Olivje” and beetroot salad with herring “Pod Shuboj.”
“In the Czech Republic,” recalls Natalie Thunig, “shortly before Christmas Eve, fish vendors can be seen on the streets with tubs full of live Christmas carp. Many people buy the carp and keep them alive in the bathtub until Christmas Eve.” On Christmas, Czechs traditionally serve fish soup, potato salad, and carp. Some keep carp scales in their wallets, believing it will bring financial luck.
“Selamat Natal dan Tahun Baru”
Cutian Wolf-Jusuf’s homeland is Indonesia. In the world’s largest island nation with 277 million inhabitants, the largest Muslim population resides. Officially, there are five recognized religions, including Christianity.
“I got to know the Christmas service during my Catholic elementary and middle school years in Jakarta,” she recalls. Cutian Wolf-Jusuf experienced her first Advent season and Christmas celebration during her student years with a German family in Leer, East Frisia.
She came to Leer through a program of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). This service is the largest funding organization for international student and scholar exchange (supporting over 2.8 million academics worldwide).
From her current perspective, Christmas in Germany and Indonesia is quite different. “For my family, both holidays today represent ‘Unity in Diversity’,” concludes Cutian Wolf-Jusuf. “We celebrate both – one festively with gratitude and love. The New Year’s celebration is cheerful and lively, with great joy for what the new year will bring.”
In memory of her homeland, she wishes everyone “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year” in Indonesian: “Selamat Natal dan Tahun Baru.”
Christmas is Popular Among Young People
“Christmas was brought to China long ago as a Western religious festival and is now mixed with Chinese culture,” says Nan Li, adding: “It’s an international celebration that is especially popular among young people.”
In Germany, the Christmas holidays last from Christmas Eve until December 26th. Family members and close friends exchange gifts. In China, Christmas is not a national holiday, but shopping centers are decorated with Christmas ornaments, and there is Christmas gift advertising. Young people buy and exchange gifts, dine out, and enjoy the holiday as a commercial highlight.
Interestingly, a new tradition has emerged in China on Christmas Eve: people give “Ping An Guo,” such as apples, as gifts, which symbolize good health. This is because the pronunciation of “Christmas Eve” in Chinese, Ping An Ye (peaceful, healthy night), sounds similar to the Chinese word for apple, Ping Guo. Thus, people in China exchange apples on Christmas Eve.
New Year’s Eve is an international holiday celebrated both in Germany and China. People welcome the New Year together with family or friends.
