As Christmas is here and we are celebrating, we wanted to share how different the festive can be within Sponge Hammer. We are working from four different countries where the traditions around the festive season are different.
This time of the year is an especially exciting time for us as we are open to each others’ culture and history. We asked individuals in the company about their traditions, and the way they celebrate.
Gábor
We put the tree up on the 24th morning, and the presents go under the tree which we give to each other on the same eve. The menu contains stuffed cabbage, fish, and what we like. After Christmas, we go to our parents and celebrate together.
László
We decorate the tree on the afternoon of 24th. We all give presents on the same day to each other. The menu is Hungarian fish soup, deep-fried fish -always freshwater fishes-, walnut and poppy seed cake.
Jhannon
We have mixed festive traditions in our family. The tree goes up on the 6th of December, and the celebration starts on the 24th through 25th. The kids are getting half of the presents on the eve of 24th and the rest on 25th’s morning. The cuisine is a mixture of Polish and St. Lucian.
Rudolf
The Christmas tree is ready on the 24th of December. We put all the presents underneath it, and when the evening comes, we sing Christmas songs together. Later on, we open the gifts one at a time to see the emotional reactions and joy on everyone’s face. The menu always has the following: smoked, homemade sausage grilled with smoked bacon, stuffed cabbage, deep-fried freshwater fish along with Hungarian fish soup and chicken soup with homemade noodles.
Robert
We have mixed traditions too. We usually decorate the Christmas tree during December, and the primary date is the 24th. On that eve we put the gifts under the tree and open them one-by-one. On 25th and 26th we spend time together with the family. The menu contains stuffed cabbage, Hungarian fish soup, breaded, deep-fried fish, poppy seed roll ‘bejgli‘. On the 6th of January, we also celebrate the ‘Dia de Los Reyes‘. On the eve of the 5th of January, we put the shoes by the door and leave some grass and a bowl of water for the camels/elephants/horses.
Janos
We always visit our parents in the countryside, and we put the tree up on the 24th, and we move the gifts underneath. When we open them, everyone needs to find his/her own. The menu is always Hungarian fish soup, stuffed cabbage and tons of delicious other stuff.
Oleg
Well, we celebrate the Orthodox Christmas. We decorate the tree ten days before New Year’s Eve. New Year’s Eve once the clock hits midnight, we listen to the presidential speech, drink champagne and give the presents to each other. We have another celebration date which 7th of January. Russian ‘Olivier‘ Salad, Champaign, red caviar sandwich – to mention a few from our festive menu.
Csaba
We put up the tree on the night of the 23rd which we decorate using glass ornaments, lights and Hungarian Christmas chocolates. We then start preparing for the 24th, when we open the presents and have family over for a feast. It involves a lot of cooking. Hungarian cuisine tends to be meat-based. We usually have my dad’s fish soup and sometimes he prepares duck as well. My wife has her special chicken stew she prepares on the day and I tend to make some form of meat or vegetarian dish. When dinner is finished we exchange gifts and have a conversation, living in different countries has this effect on people. We then eat more in the form of pastries and cakes and end up playing a game of our invention where people need to guess a film based on its music.
I hope you liked our summary of how different Christmas celebration can be within a company. Please comment on the article with your opinion, we want to hear how you celebrate!
