reddit swap : /u/09cjones1
Dear Carlee,
thank you for the lovely card. I really likes the Christmas traditions you included in the card. About the Christmas traditions in Macedonia, since you asked, I’ll tell you some interesting things too.
We celebrate Christmas on 7th January. But we actually start the celebrations on the day before Christmas. Early in the morning, children sing and go from house to house where they get gifts such as walnuts, chestnuts, apples, oranges, candies and coins. This symbolizes the announcement of the birth of Christ. On Christmas day, the eldest woman in the house bakes a Christmas pie. It is a piece of bread, in a shape of a pie, and it has a coin inside. The eldest man breaks and shares the bread with the family, and the one who will find the coin is believed to have luck, health and wealth and will guide the family through the new year. The coin is usually kept in a glass of wine until the following year as a protector of the house. Legends say that the coin represents luck but should also remind us of the hard work we should put in if we want to have a successful and fruitful year.