Christmas cooking is an important part of the celebration. In the old villages kichen table was always the center of the houses, which was covered and decorated only for holidays. The Christmas table-cloth had a magic meaning of power: health and abundance. People put straw under the table remembering to the manger in Betlehem. Main dishes were: turkey and brioche with walnut and poppy-seed, which is called 'beigli.' Almost all Christmas food had magic meaning: poppy-seed and pear brought abundance, honey made life sweet, galic brought health, apple meant beauty and love. Another common dish of today's Christmas-dinner is fried fish, which is a tradition mostly in towns. The scale of fish means money, wealth. The leftover morsels from Christmas table were kept in the next 12 days,then were spread over the fields believing in good harvest in the next year. In some places they were burnt and the ash and smoke was used to cure sick children and animals. Most of these traditions originate in the pre-Christian history, since Christmas is about the shortest day of the year, which was the end of the year for long. These traditions include superstitious predictions for future health, wealth, harvest and family life. Ginger-bread has been an important part of Christmas baking usually made weeks before the holiday. Gingerbread figurines are used to decorate house or the tree. Please, watch these pages for Christmas recipes. Christmas main Hungarian Santa Christmas Folk Customs Christmas Links My Christmas Webrings E-mail me HOME | Hungary | Genealogy | Traditions | Learn Hungarian