How to Celebrate an Austrian Christmas

People living in different parts of the world have different traditions and customs to celebrate the Christmas holidays. In Austria, the Christmas celebration begins on December 6, during the feast of St. Nicholas. One of the Austrian traditions that has become an international tradition is the signing of the song "Silent Night," which was written after an organ in an Austrian church wasn’t working properly.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

1. Learn about the feast of St. Nicholas, held on December 6. It is believed that during this feast the good saint and the devil consult one another about which Austrian children have been well behaved, and which Austrian children left some room for improvement. The children who behaved themselves throughout the year are rewarded with nuts, fruits and other sweets.

2. Don’t erect a tree weeks before Christmas Day. Instead, wait until you return from church services on Christmas Eve evening to set up your tree. The tree isn’t lit up until after the Christ child pays a visit.

3. Believe that it is the Christ child, not Santa Claus, which places the Christmas gift beneath the Christmas tree.

4. Use bells to announce the arrival of the Christ child into the house. When he arrives the entire Austrian family gathers around the tree and sings Christmas carols.

5. Prepare a dinner of baked carp for Christmas dinner.