In Poland 25 December is calmer, with celebrations continuing through 26 December (a public holiday).

🎶 The season comes with music too: from classics like “Cicha noc” (Silent Night) and local favourites (including songs in regional dialects) to radio hits.

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🍽️The #Wigilia menu is usually meat-free and includes twelve dishes, such as barszcz with uszka (Red borscht with dumplings), pierogi, carp or herring.
After dinner, families sing kolędy (traditional carols), open gifts under the tree, and many attend Pasterka (Midnight Mass)
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Before the meal, people share opłatek (a thin Christmas wafer), exchange wishes and often reconcile after disagreements. Many homes keep an extra place at the table for an unexpected guest: a gesture of hospitality and remembrance.

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🏛️ Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies traditions bring the season to campus too: the elegant Christmas Ball in Jelgava Palace, a student- and staff-led Christmas market, the Winter Solstice greeting, and the formal session of the #LBTU Convent.

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On 24 December (#Ziemassvētki), families gather for a calm celebration. Many still follow the tradition of nine symbolic dishes, believed to bring strength and luck – like grey peas with bacon for prosperity.

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🏫 At South East European University (#SEEU), the season also brings creativity and sustainability. The Max van der Stoel Library invites students to join RECYCLE, REUSE, RENEW – make a decoration, take a book!

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🍽️ Holiday tables feature favourites such as roasted chicken or turkey, flija, pogacha (sometimes with a hidden coin), sarma, byrek/pite, tavche gravche, and traditional baked lamb dishes like tavë me mish or tavë kosi.

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🎶Albanian children often sing “Drenushat vrapojnë” (“The Does Are Running”), while “Po vjen Buzmi Bujar” (“The Generous Buzmi Is Coming”) is performed on the night of Buzmi. Among Macedonians, koledarski pesni (Orthodox Christmas carols) are sung around Badnik and Christmas

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Burning the buzmi log expresses hopes for prosperity and good fortune, while Kërshëndellat are linked to të këndellunit e ditës së re – “the awakening of the new day.” Macedonian families observe #Badnik (6 January) and Orthodox Christmas (7 January).

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New Year’s Eve (31 December) is widely observed as a family celebration, with festive meals, visits, and gifts for children.
Among Albanians, the season includes Buzmi and Kërshëndellat – pre-Christian solstice rituals symbolising renewal and the rebirth of light.

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The graphic shows the building of Universidade Europeia, flag of Portugal and title 'winter holiday traditions'.

✨Join our winter traditions journey across the #ChallengeEU Alliance! ✨

In #Portugal, festivities centre on Christmas Eve (24 Dec) and Christmas Day (25 Dec), followed by New Year’s Eve (31 Dec) and Epiphany/Three Kings (6 Jan).

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