I was raised by my two Croatian parents and spoke Croatian as my first language. Croatians in the United States proudly and regularly celebrate their culture, heritage, and traditions with their families and with other Croatians, particularly on Catholic holidays and feast days at their local Croatian church.
After gathering for mass, we celebrate the feast day with lots of traditional foods: janjetina (whole roast lamb), ćevapčići sausages, sarma (stuffed cabbage leaves), lots of potatoes, and pastries, all so delicious you can’t stop eating them. Besides catching up with your relatives and friends, there is traditional Croatian music and folk dancing, in traditional costumes, of course. Croatians sing at the drop of a hat, and no Croatian gathering, large or small, is complete without groups breaking into song.
For me, Christmas has some of my most cherished traditions and memories. The holiday season would start with the first day of Advent. I always got a chocolate advent calendar and looked forward to enjoying my daily treat after dinner. Then came St. Nikolas Day on December 6, when I would hang my stocking on my parents’ dresser, borrowing my mother’s nylons because they were the biggest stockings. Of course, they were never filled to the top like I hoped! We repeated the stocking hanging on St. Lucia Day on December 13 and lit candles as well as put our holiday lights up on the house. Santa Claus did not bring presents on Christmas Eve, but baby Jesus did.
Christmas Eve was a big day! For Catholics, it’s a day of fasting in preparation for the birth of Jesus, which traditionally means no meat or sweets, and no feasting like the Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes. Fish, in particular dried cod, is also traditional for most Croatians—and less expensive than fresh fish. Three days prior, my mother would take a whole dried codfish, called bakalar in Croatian, and soak it in water in the garage, refreshing the water every day. It smelled terrible, but by Christmas Eve, the smell was mostly gone. She would then make a stew from the cod, potatoes, garlic, and parsley.
While it was cooking, my father and I would go out and cut down the Christmas tree. We always argued over the size—I wanted the biggest and fattest, and my father wanted the smallest. One year I got my wish, and the tree was so fat we could barely get it through the door. We put it on the stand, but the tree was so wide and heavy, it kept falling over. We solved that by nailing the tree to the floor. I realized that Christmas Eve why my father wanted a small tree—applying cotton “snow” to each branch took forever!
When I was very little, my parents tried the Croatian tradition of putting sparklers on the tree. The sparklers were curved at end so you could hang them from the outermost branches. One year, one sparkler was not securely attached to the tree, and it fell onto the carpet and burned a hole in it. That was the last time we hung sparklers!
By the time the tree was decorated, my mother would be making fritule, a traditional fried treat that you couldn’t eat until Christmas Day, resembling donut holes with rum-soaked raisins, but so much better! After thoroughly enjoying the bakalar stew at dinner (which sure didn’t feel like fasting!), I was allowed to stay up until Midnight Mass. Then I could open one present and eat one fritula before going to bed.
Christmas Day consisted of presents, mass, then a feast of roast duck or goose. We kept our tree up not just for the twelve days of Christmas but at least through January 17, my baka’s (grandmother’s) birthday.
It is truly a most wonderful time of the year, and keeping our Croatian traditions has brought me and my family great joy while remembering my parents and passing my traditions onto the next generation.
Sretan Božić! Merry Christmas!
Baka’s Bakalar
Recipe by Tatjana Grgich
Ingredients
Olive oil
1 medium-large yellow onion, sliced
5–6 large Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
6–12 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon sweet Hungarian paprika
1-2 teaspoon Vegeta (or vegetarian powdered bouillon)
1 bunch parsley, finely chopped
1 box salted cod, cooked according to directions (Note: it’s hard to find the true dried salt cod, which takes three days prep, but the salted wet cod that you can find now in wood boxes is faster and just as good)
Preparation
In a pot, brown onion in olive oil until translucent and golden. Add potatoes and sauté for a few minutes. Add garlic. Once the garlic becomes fragrant, add a 1/2 inch of water to the pot.
When the potatoes are al dente, add tomato paste, paprika, and Vegeta and enough water to make a broth—not too much! Cut the bakalar into cubes and add to the broth. Cook until stew-like.
Season with salt and pepper to taste. In the last 5 minutes of cooking, add parsley. The potatoes and bakalar should be falling apart, with lots of chunks remaining.
Serve immediately with your favorite chardonnay.
Violet Grgich is a member of the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage advisory council and president of Grgich Hills Estate Winery in Napa County, California.
