The origins of Slovak Christmas traditions and customs - Find out more about "Kračún" - Podcast

Christmas are coming. What do we know about this world-wide phenomenon and rituals connected to it? In this episode we focus on origins of Christmas customs in Slovakia and we talk about our relationship with this important holidays. Content: 00:00 Intro 01:08 When do we celebrate Christmas in Slovakia? 01:50 What Christmas meals do we prepare? 04:07 What are the origins of Christmas? 07:05 What is the original name for Christmas? 07:21 How is fire & red color connected to Christmas? 08:52 What are the traditions connected to money? 10:29 What was the Christmas dinner like before? 14:02 Why is Christmas / winter solstice celebrated? 16:02 What about the cake "Kračún"? 20:34 What is the history of Christmas tress? 23:05 Have Santa and Baby Jesus always "brought" presents? 26:04 How do the presents appear under the tree? 29:33 What Christmas means for us as an adults? 31:25 How Christmas looks in other countries? 34:05 What were the decorations before? 35:05 What is the belief behind the "Kračún" and empty plate? 38:18 Outro Other mentions: 18:19 Recipe for Kračún **Ingredients**: 300 g semi-coarse flour, 100 g butter, 2 tbsp granulated sugar, 3 dcl milk, 1/2 of yeast cube, pinch of salt, pressed garlic clove, 2 tbsp honey, poppy seeds. **Procedure**: Work everything together as if you were making sourdough. Let it stand for a little while, let it sour, and at the end brush it with egg. Bake for about 30 minutes at 180 degrees. When finished, brush it with sugar water. 23:30 More on Saint Nicolaus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLGkN6KYE5g You can find Knowledge Empowers on: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/77067312/ Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/3BU23IBjnpvsxXJdNiWlxh Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/knowledge-empowers/id1557801107 Other platforms - https://anchor.fm/knowledgeempowers