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Christmas in Vienna

Published by:  AmandaO

Hey guys! Sooooo this year I wont be able to fly back home due to Covid, which is very sad considering my entire family is there  anyways…. This will be my first Christmas away from Canada and I really want to celebrate it as otherwise I will be so depressed as I love the holiday season. Can you guys share with me some tips on how Austrians are celebrating Christmas and Christmas Eve and basically what are their most common traditions during this period. I am also planning on making an evening meal for me and my roommates and I would really need some ideas for that. Can anyone share any recipes?

15.12.2020 4 Answers

MaximilianL commented on 15.12.2020

Im born in Austria and I can tel you that we loooove this time of the year here. It is a very important time of the year full of customs and traditions. The whole period before Christmas is called Adventszeit or Advent in English and it basically marks the four Sundays before Christmas or the period from 1st of December onwards. What you need to do is light a candle on each Sunday, usually they should be all in the same colour. Another tradition that I know from my grandmother is on the 4th of December when Catholics celebrate Barbaratag. On this day we honor Saint Barbara and cut branche form cherry of apple trees and put them in a vase until Christmas Eve. If the flowers on the branch blossom then you will have good luck in the next year. I think you can do this if you really want to get closer to the Austrian way of celebrating this time of the year.

LillyC commented on 15.12.2020

Austria is known for its Christmas markets this time of the year. You can find them in most of the cities around the country and I personally think this is the best part of December. I love going to these markets. You can buy very nice decoration for your house there and also good quality food for your Christmas meal. In the major cities these markets are huge although I dont know how things will be now with the virus and everthing… might not be as massive as previous years

GeraldineT commented on 15.12.2020

My mother prepares every Christimas several things. My favourite is Gebackener Karpfen or fried carp with vegetables and potatoes. She also make stollen which I love and can never get enough. If you dont like fried food then you can prepare roasted turkey or goose these are also quite popular. I think you can basically prepared anything you want as long as it is made with love… your roomates will surely appreciate it.

AmandaO commented on 15.12.2020

Thanks everyone for the tips! I will look for recipes, I can wait for Christimas.