Christmas - past and present

From the bottom of our hearts, we wish you all to find Love, Joy, Peace and Hope along with whatever makes you happy, wrapped as gifts under your pine tree. Once upon a time as well as today, love was and is, we believe, the best and most beautiful Christmas present!

Times are changing! My grandmother used to start many stories by saying „when I was a young girl...“, and now I catch myself doing the same, following her footsteps. Customs from the past rarely live in our homes today, but they do have a special charm. Especially at Christmas time.

Here in Croatia, meaning is given to almost everything, everything has its own story and its own history. From village to village, place to place, homeland to the homeland. And it’s nice, from generation to generation to retell and pass on the tradition. So in those twelve Christmas days all over our beautiful country from generation to generation, we try to pass on customs who knows how old.

From interpreting how much wheat was sown on St. Lucia Day and what the harvest will be, all the way to blessing the tree that enters the house, special food preparations. Symbolism is in almost everything that we do in those days - like the nativity scene that is placed under the pine tree and represents the symbolism of the birth of Jesus, going to Holy Mass, blessing wine, blessing houses, carols… and so on until January 6th, when Christmas ends at the Holy Three Kings Day.

Christmas today, in the midst of a pandemic, has a slightly different outline than the one described above. In fear for all those we love, in fear of illness and, to a lesser extent, of the future itself, we are looking forward to Christmas morning. But regardless of all this, Christmas comes into our hearts, it brings smiles, gratitude and gentleness.