Croatian Christmas in Germany

Contributions are coming from all over the world about how Christmas is celebrated in Croatian communities and what is typical of these candlelit days that reminds them of Croatia, the land of their ancestors. An interesting holiday story by Mira Calusic comes to us from Germany, which confirms that cakes, the holiday table, cabbage rolls and baking are not only food but also togetherness, memories of childhood, of previous generations and an important part of the Croatian identity that they preserve and pass on to their children.

“I live in Germany, but my heart is in Croatia,” begins the festive Christmas story of Mira Calusic, whose roots are from Lika.

“Only if you can write that I passed on our Croatian traditions and customs to my children and that Christmas is the same here as in Croatia,” was Mira's only request, and we are happy to hear that tradition is preserved and passed on.

“My parents are originally from Lika, and my love for cakes started from a young age when I was 10 years old and made donuts myself at a traditional Croatian pig slaughterhouse... What reminds me most of Christmas is the joyful preparation before those days. I remember, grandpa used to take out the most beautiful apples from the cellar, which we called Christmas apples, and we decorated the tree with them, which dad and I went to the forest to cut down and bring back to the house in the snow. There were also cats, sugar candies wrapped in shiny paper, which we used to decorate the tree with the apples. On Christmas Eve, we obligatorily lit a tricolor candle, gathered around a decorated table and prayed. There was always freshly baked bread and baked beans, nuts, dried fruit on the table, and my greatest joy was when I went to midnight mass with my grandmother. For Christmas, grandma baked a turkey with mlinci, and mom made cabbage rolls... It was a wonderful time! I don't have grandchildren yet, but when I do, I will try with all my heart to instill our Croatian spirit in their lives!” said Mira.

From a large number of Mira's recipes for Christmas dishes and desserts, we have chosen traditional Croatian crispy aromatic black pepper cookies for the Voice of Croatia's Christmas table.

BLACK PEPPER COOKIES:

1 kg of flour, half sharp, half smooth / 45 dg ground walnuts / 25 dg honey / 25 dg sugar / 25 dg butter / 5 dg fat / 2 eggs, 2 yolks.

SPICES - 1 teaspoon of pepper / 3 tablespoons of cinnamon / 1 teaspoon of nutmeg / 1 teaspoon of cardamom.

Mix eggs, fat, sugar and other wet ingredients until foamy, gradually add flour mixed with nuts and spices. Knead, leave for an hour in the refrigerator, then roll out to 5 mm thickness, make shapes with a cookie cutter, bake for 15 minutes at 180 C.

When they cool down, store them in a tin box.

Merry Christmas everyone and good luck!

Source: HRT