Sixth Grade
Worksheets
A Slovak Christmas Eve
A Slovak Christmas Eve
Reading Comprehension for December 24
Dear Son,
Ever since I can remember, my family has celebrated Christmas Eve in a unique way. Your great-grandparents were from Czechoslovakia, so my mother incorporated many Slovak traditions into our Christmas Eve celebration.
Through the years I added to the fun and made some modifications. I wanted to write them down here so you can appreciate why we do the things we do on Christmas Eve. Some of these ideas are particular to Slovaks, but the additions we have made make the holiday even more meaningful. Perhaps you can take some of your own traditions and make this event uniquely yours.
First of all, we plan a very simple meal. The items for the meal should represent food from the land and nature. We usually have peas, tuna, poppy seed bread, kielbasa and cold cuts, in addition to Christmas pastries. We sometimes have mushroom soup. As you can imagine, most of these items are simple to fix and part of our normal pantry. This symbolizes the simplicity of the manger and the need to keep Christmas stress-free.
We set the table with simple dishes, perhaps even decorated paper items. Under one corner of the tablecloth, we place a bit of hay to represent the nativity. Under another, we place some coins to represent our prayers for prosperity in the New Year. We choose to also include an advent wreath and four candles, which we have been lighting each week prior to the holiday.
