The most wonderful time of the year is filled with delicious food, family gatherings and some unique traditions.
Spending time in Croatia during the most popular holiday of them all is truly an amazing opportunity to experience authentic national food and rituals.
Advent traditions
As December rolls in, households all over Croatia start preparing for the holiday. As a country with predominantly Catholic population, during Advent we celebrate popular saints of the Catholic Church: St. Barbara, St. Nick’s and St. Lucia.
Either on St. Barbara (December 4th) or St. Lucia (December 13th) people plant a grain of wheat in a small bowl. The wheat serves as a symbol of fertility and prosperity, and when Christmas comes and it grows to its full potential, we say that it predicts the upcoming year. If the wheat is dense and tall, you and your business will prosper. If not… Well, there’s always next year!
St. Nick’s is especially important for kids. They put their boots by the window on the eve of December 5th, and in the morning find their present in it. If they were good, they get a gift from St. Nick, and if they were naughty, they receive a birch twig from a scary demon known as Krampus!
Christmas rituals
Croatians call the day before Christmas Badnjak, referring to the old tradition of burning a yule log sprinkled with holy water or spirits and keeping it burning throughout the night.
In Slavonia, people traditionally have a toast with their friends and family in the morning, drinking a sweet, honey-infused rakija known as medica.
In the evening, a miniature of the nativity scene is placed under the Christmas tree, and families go to a special Christmas Mass served on midnight, called polnoćka. Christmas day is reserved for presents, loved ones and of course, lots of food!
Christmas food
It is common that you don’t eat meat on Badnjak and choose fish instead, saving some room for the abundance of food that follows the day after. The traditional Badnjak meal of Slavonija and Baranja is the spicy fiš-paprikaš (fisherman’s soup) with red pepper and carp, while coastal parts of Croatia use cod fish and prepare it either as a stew (brudet), or with potatoes (“na bijelo”).
The real feast comes on Christmas Day, with the star of the dinner table being a huge roast with side dishes. The favourites are roasted pork with Olivier (or “french”) salad or turkey/duck with mlinci, a typical flatbread doused in the leftover sauces from the meat. Another typical meal is sarma, a rich stew with cabbage rolls filled with meat and rice. Safe to say that dieting on Christmas day is not an option in Croatia!
The sweet side of Christmas is not so shabby either, with vanilla cookies, poppy seed rolls, fig cake, gingerbread cookies and plenty of other authentic holiday desserts. The most famous one is probably fritule, sweet dough shaped in tiny balls with raisins, sugar or chocolate syrup. It is originally a recipe from the coast, but now it’s a popular street food enjoyed all over the country.
If you want to experience our Christmas traditions and try all the delicious winter recipes, book you stay at Camping Village Šimuni and visit Croatia during the holiday season.