Santa now embarks on the last part of his journey, traveling through Kosovo, Georgia and Estonia. The volunteers enable us an insight into their Christmas traditions once more.
But see on your own and realise the magic of Christmas enchantment…
Santa seen in Kosovo – lakror (byrek) me arr, buzmi and Christmas gifts
A traditional Christmas dish:
Faze: In Kosovo, one of the most traditional Christmas dishes is lakror (byrek) me arra, prepared with thin pastry sheets and finely grounded walnuts, served with red wine.
Another popular dish is pumpkin lakror, and fish is a must-have at the Christmas dinner table.
A typical Christmas tradition:
Faze: Buzmi is an ancient and unique tradition in Albanian culture, especially celebrated on Christmas Eve.
It involves burning a large log or piece of wood in the hearth on Christmas Eve.
The burning of the buzmi symbolizes warmth, light, and spiritual cleansing for the family.
People gather around the fire, share stories, sing songs, and enjoy traditional food together.
Christmas Eve:
Faze: On the evening of December 24th, Albanian families come together to celebrate.
Amid shared dinners, games, and songs, the atmosphere is filled with joy.
A special tradition is visiting the church for the Christmas Eve midnight mass, where believers celebrate the birth of Christ.
What is your favorite part about Christmas?
Faze: Exchanging secret Christmas gifts, we’ve prepared for each other and placed under the Christmas tree, decorating the house, and the joy and happiness that the Christmas spirit brings to our families.
Santa in Georgia – Georgian wine, Alilo procession and magical feelings
A traditional Christmas dish:
Mariam: In Georgia, Christmas is all about family and delicious food. The table is filled with favorites like Satsivi it is a turkey or chicken in walnut and garlic sauce, Gozinaki which is some kind of candy with honey and walnut, Khachapuri a bread with cheese and more – but the main part is Georgian wine.
Erekle: The Georgian Christmas table is lavish, reflecting the country’s famous hospitality and love for food. Traditional Dishes are: Mtsvadi (grilled meat skewers), Churchkhela (a sweet made by dipping nuts in grape juice and hanging them to dry, resembling candles) and Lobiani (a bean-filled bread often eaten during the festive season).
A typical Christmas tradition:
Mariam: In Georgia, a beautiful Christmas tradition is the Alilo procession, a centuries-old custom where people walk through the streets singing carols and chanting prayers. Participants often dress in traditional attire.
Christmas Eve:
Mariam: At Christmas, we have a tradition where, on Christmas Eve, every family lights a single candle and places it in front of the window. This symbolizes hope, peace, and the welcoming of Christ’s light into our homes. It’s a simple yet meaningful way to honor the season.
Erekle: Georgians celebrate Christmas on January 7 (following the Julian calendar), not December 25. The night of January 6 to January 7 includes a midnight liturgy. Churches are beautifully decorated, and people gather for prayers and hymns. Georgian families come together to celebrate. Sharing meals, toasting with wine, and telling stories are important parts of the day.
What is your favorite part about Christmas?
Mariam: My favorite part of Christmas is the feeling of togetherness with family, sharing special traditions, and the excitement of something new on the horizon. It’s a time when everything feels a little more hopeful and magical.
Santa’s last stop: Estonia – blood sausages, the challenge of picking the best Christmas tree and Santa Claus
A traditional Christmas dish:
Triinu: Our traditional Christmas dish is blood sausages with lingonberry jam (yes, they complement each other nicely), pork, potatoes and sauerkraut. Delicious!
A typical Christmas tradition:
Triinu: My family has a tradition to go to our forest and pick out the Christmas tree – spruce. Picking out the tree means finding the tree that has a good reason for taking it from the forest, for example it is growing in the way of another tree. The tree also needs to pass the criteria of being a beautiful one, which could have 5 different meanings in our family. So we take our time in the forest.
Christmas Eve:
Triinu: Christmas Eve for me is about being together with family. The evening starts with us visiting the graveyard and putting candles to graves of our close ones. Then we get together with relatives, have dinner and exchange gifts.
What is your favorite Christmas memory?
Triinu: It is the good little fear about Santa Claus coming. Now, when we don’t have any small children in our family, we are celebrating Christmas without him, but years ago Santa Claus coming meant hiding under a bed, even when being embarrassingly too big for that.
Now, Santa has been to all our volunteers’ countries, in which Christmas is celebrated. Exhausted, but fulfilled with joy, he now heads back to the North pole, to come back to his comfy armchair and take a big nap. Thank you, Santa! And a really big THANK YOU to all the volunteers again, who enabled us these amazing insights into their Christmas traditions and favourite memories. Santa is proud of you!
Have an amazing Christmas everyone and a happy New Year!!