Kosly Family Christmas Traditions

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Christmas is a special time for me and my family. We still do many of the Slovak customs my grandpa and his family have been doing for over 113 years. His parents began the traditions with their marriage in 1909 and we have followed the traditions ever since then.

Every year on Christmas Eve, we would get up early to “Vinchovats (sp?)” with Grandpa. We’d get up at 5 or 6 am and drive to Grandpa and Grandma’s house. We’d ring the doorbell and when they both got to the door we’d say a Christmas blessing in Slovak.

When we were young, we would say a shorter prayer and Grandpa would give us a silver dollar for “Vinching (sp?)”.

When we were old enough, we would say the following blessing in Slovak (Phonetic / with Diacritics):

VĪNCHUĚM VĪNCHUĚM NĀ TŪ SVATŪ VĚLĚJŪ
ŽĚ PĀNBŪ DĀL TOTŪ ROKŪ PRĚŽIT AJ DRŪHŪ DOŽIT
PRĚ CHĚSTŪ, PRĚ DRĀŪ, ĀJ PRĚ HOJNĚM BŌSKOM
ĀJ CHŌ SĚTZĚ LOSMIOSTI PĀNÁ NĀJ VĀM DĀM
ĀJ YĀ VĪNCHUĚM VĀM ZŌ MOJŪM MĪĽOSTI SCĚRDSŌM

This is an old (late 1800’s / early 1900’s) Eastern Slovak dialect (specifically from the Šariš region) as my grandparents were from Kuková and Hradisko.

This translates to:

I wish and pray for you on this Holy Day
That God gives you this year to live and the next year too
In cleanliness, In good health, but in the sight of God
And the things you need of, the Good Lord may give to you
And I do wish and pray this from all my heart

After we finished saying the blessing, grandpa would give us a shot of Pálenka (pronounced pah-len-ke ; any distilled spirit or “hard water.” – while it was often fruit brandy in Slovakia (like Slivovitz), we typically had shots of whiskey).

We would cheers with Na zdravie (pronounced Nah ZDRAV-yeh)!

After taking the shot, we’d tell each other Daj Bože i tebe (pronounced Di Boja E Teba) or Daj Bože i vam (pronounced Di Boja E Wham) which is a Slovak (Šariš) phrase for “God bless you” or “God be with you.”. My grandpa would say the phrase “Daj Bože i tebe” which is informal and used for a cousin, a younger brother, a close friend, or a grandson. I would say the phrase “Daj Bože i vam” which is formal and used for an elder (Grandpa, Uncle), a group of people, or someone you wish to show high respect to.

After that, we’d have a quick breakfast with Grandpa and Grandma.

As soon as we finished breakfast, Grandpa would go house to house with us saying this Christmas blessing. At each house, we’d say the blessing, take a shot, and have a kolache, cookie, or a couple pieces of candy. We’d talk for 10 or 20 minutes and then move on to the next house.

After we finished saying the blessing at all of the houses, we’d usually go Christmas shopping with Grandpa for Grandma. He loved getting her Wind Song, her favorite perfume, or a good box of caramels, her favorite candy.

In the afternoon, we would help cook and get everything ready for Christmas Eve dinner with Grandpa’s family.

Around 4 or 4:30 we would start to make our way over to the Polka Club for a happy hour where we would drop off Christmas cards at the “Post Office” and then we would talk with all of the Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins, and try to remember who everyone was; which wasn’t always easy when your Grandpa was 1 of 20 kids!

Somewhere around 6 pm, someone would announce that the food was done and that everyone should make their way to their seats. All 70, 80, or sometimes 150 or more of us would hold hands, say the Lord’s prayer, and take communion before dinner.

Traditional Slovak foods like Bobalki/Bobalky, Koláče (pronounced Kolache ; a Slovak cookie), almond bread, halupki (stuffed cabbage rolls), and more were served.

When we all finished eating, we would all sing Silent Night by candlelight because that was Great Grandma Kosley’s favorite Christmas song.

Soon after that, parents and kids would make their way to the front of the hall and sing Christmas Carols while others took down tables and cleaned dishes.

When all of the dishes were done, someone would queue the carolers to sing Here Comes Santa Claus and low and behold Santa Claus would bang on the door. The kids would let him in and he’d have a big bag full of stockings for all of the kids full of fruits and nuts and a few little toys.

The adults would exchange gifts while the kids ran around in their socks, sliding on the hardwood floors or playing on the carpeted steps.

Around 8:30 or 9 we would make our way back to Grandpa and Grandma’s house for some ice cream and Grandpa’s fudge before we went to the midnight Christmas Eve service at the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church.