Louise C. Gaydos

Christmas traditions passed down
Slovak menu part of the season
By Wendy Mikolos
Streator Times-Press
Date: December 25, 2001

A lone red pillar candle sits on the wooden kitchen table, flickering in the night, welcoming Christmas as guests fill the Streator home of Ronald "Sody" and Louise Elias on Christmas Eve.

The large candle is lit prior to the meal and left burning throughout the evening to represent the light of Christ and the star, explained Louise.

This year, 15 family members from age 6 months to 67 years will gather to dine on the Elias? traditional Slovak menu handed down from generation to generation.

Both Sody and Louise?s families held the same traditions they now are passing onto their children and grandchildren.

"We prepare many kinds of food that were passed on to us from our parents and grandparents, from many generations back to Slovakia where they meant so much to them at this special time," said Louise.

Their families brought the Old World customs with them when they migrated from tiny villages near Kosice in Slovakia to the United States.

Christmas Eve is observed as a day of fasting and abstinence in preparation of Christ?s coming, said Louise. It?s a meatless meal, noted Sody.

Before the meal, hands are folded and a prayer of thanks is led by their oldest son Ron.

The table is set, complete with Louise?s stoneware dishes and Slovakian Crystal wine glasses, brimming with homemade grape wine.

The grapes, like many of the evening?s foods, are homegrown.

?He grows them himself,? Louise proudly said of Sody.

Even the little ones have some wine.

A toast is made to the family and the meal begins with an unleavened bread, oplatky. The thin wafer, much like a large communion wafer, is pink, green or white and has a scene such as the nativity depicted on it. The bread is eaten with honey.

Louise makes the sign of the cross with honey on each guest?s forehead, doing her own last, signifying the love of Christ and the sweetness of life.

?Not in the hair,? family members are often heard saying.

The honey stays on the forehead all night or ?until it sweats off,? Sody said with laughter, noting the room heats up with all the people.

The next course is a mushroom soup, or juha, which Sody cooks in the same manner his father used to do it.

?All I make is the soup,? said Sody. The soup is made with wild dried mushrooms, he explained.

?We go to the wilderness and pick them ourselves,? Sody added. It?s a grass mushroom of some variety; the correct name is unknown to the couple.

Along with the mushrooms are homegrown diced potatoes, parsley, seasoning and sauerkraut juice which is slightly thickened.

He spends all day working on the soup, simmering it to perfection and filling the house with a wonderful aroma.

?It smells delicious,? Louise admitted.

The next course is split peas poured over sauerkraut and served with little tiny biscuits called boblaky. These are tiny balls of sweet bread, baked, buttered and rolled in poppy seed or drizzled with honey, made by Louise.

?They?re really good,? said Louise.

?They?re best with poppy seed,? Sody advised.

Kolach and rozek are also served during the evening.

?Some people laugh and call it Slovak pizza,? she said.

The dough is rolled out like a round pizza. She makes three different types. One is with mashed potatoes and cheese and covered with another circle of dough, baked and sliced. One is filled with fried cabbage and another topped with a dried cottage cheese mixture.

?The family likes the kolach,? said Louise.

Another Slovak tradition is the rozek, which takes many hours to make, Louise admitted. She makes about a dozen rolls, some filled with nut, poppyseed, apricots or raisin mix.

?She makes the best nut roll in Streator,? chimed her daughter-in-law Siobhan Elias.

She shares the rozek with friends and family, who take them home and dine on them Christmas morning.

The meal concludes with a prayer of thanksgiving, given by one of their six grandsons.

?It is wonderful to hear what a child is thankful for,? said Louise.

The family then gathers in the living room after the table is cleared, for conversation, singing and unwrapping of the presents.

They sing traditional carols such as ?Silent Night? in Slovak which is called ?Ticha Noc? and also a Slovak song, ?Povedzte Nam Pastierove.?

?Even the grandchildren know it,? Sody said.

The singing tradition brings back memories for both Sody and Louise of when they were young children and they would gather with their families and sing Slovak songs.

?We?d have a ball,? said Louise, noting they had a musician in the family who played guitars, violin, harmonica and accordian.

The Elias? have added a tradition of their own.

?We read a story of the coming of Christ,? Louise said.

Around 10 p.m. the gifts are unwrapped, and Louise recalls the children saying, ?Oh, how?d you know I wanted this,? with paper flying everywhere.

Some of the family members gather and go to midnight Mass, and spend the night with mom and dad once again.

Sody admits he enjoys the whole evening.

?My favorite part is having my family together, to laugh, and enjoy each other and enjoy the moment,? said Louise.

Some of Louise?s favorite Christmas memories are of when their children, Ron, Kevin and Daniel, were small and the family would visit their parents.

?Now our families are growing and making memories of their own,? she said.