MULTICULTURAL CITY
Joy to the world! ALEX FICE LEARNS ABOUT DIFFERENT FESTIVE TRADITIONS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE, AND DISCOVERS HOW THEY’RE BEING CELEBRATED HERE IN CAMBRIDGE CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS
LUCK OF THE DRAW
GETTING READY FOR THE BIG DAY
Preparations begin early in Spain and Turkey, as people rush to secure tickets months in advance of a national lottery draw taking place over the festive season. In Spain, the prizes are announced in songs sung by schoolchildren live on TV on 22 December, while in Turkey the draw is on New Year’s Eve – making a very happy start to the year for a lucky few! For Italy, Spain and Latin America, it’s common to prepare nativity scenes. In Italian schools, children will often create their own ‘presepe’, complete with rivers, trees, sheep and the holy family. It’s customary to visit the presepe in each church of your town before Christmas Day. This is shared with Spain and Latin America, where the ‘pesebre’ is updated through the holiday – for example, adding the baby Jesus on 25 December and the three wise men on 6 January. For Kerstin, pastor at the German Lutheran Church in Cambridge, the run-up to Christmas is especially important. “Advent is an amazing time,” she says. “We go to Thetford Forest to collect greenery for wreath-making. Then, the Saturday before Advent Sunday, we have our advent bazaar, where we sell the wreaths along with German decorations, cookies, cakes and mulled wine.”
Christmas Eve TWELVE DISHES OF CHRISTMAS
In Romania, 24 December is very important; it’s when the Christmas tree is decorated and the food for Christmas Day is prepared. “Food brings family together,” explains Ștefania, a Romanian PhD student at the University of Cambridge. “One person works on the cozonac (a brioche-like bread made with cocoa and nuts), while another chops vegetables for the salads. For me, having the family together doing the same thing is really important – it creates a feeling of belonging.” For many European and Latin American countries, however, Christmas Eve is when the main festivities take place, with families gathering for a feast before midnight mass. This is the case for Polish people, who celebrate with the Wigilia – a traditional supper that excludes meat and typically includes 12 distinct dishes (one for each apostle). “Our family celebrates with a six-course meal that’s evolved over the seven decades since my grandparents moved to England,” says Tom Kruczynski, who lives in Cambridge. “It includes a toast with Wisniowa (cherry vodka), barszcz (beetroot soup) with uszka (‘little ears’ – mushroom dumplings), two types of śledzie (pickled herrings) with rye bread, pickles and salads, fish loaf with roast potatoes and sauces, dried fruit compote, a selection of cakes including makowiec (poppyseed loaf) and a walnut pastry cake.” In Latin America, Papá Noel delivers gifts at midnight – to the delight of the children, who will stay up late for this special occasion. “Adults don’t tend to exchange presents or cards in Latin America,” comments Sebastián, who teaches Spanish at the University of Cambridge Language Centre. “Instead, they ring their friends and family after midnight to exchange season’s greetings personally.”
74 DECEMBER 2022 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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