Only in America would the annual reappearance of the Chia-Pet be considered a holiday tradition. If your version of Christmas feels plastic, why not borrow colorful customs from other countries?
Chicago and suburbs abound with ethnic museums, churches, restaurants and clubs. Many preserve “Old World” Christmas rituals that bring special meaning to this season.
The feast of St. Lucia (Dec. 13) is a big event in Chicago’s Andersonville community. Lucia was a Christian martyr of Italian descent, whose story was carried to Sweden by the Vikings. Sun-deprived Scandinavians envisioned her as a shining figure with a brilliant halo.
On the feast day, a Lucia procession leaves the Swedish American Museum Center (5211 N. Clark St., 773-728-8111) at 4:45 p.m., returns to the museum for a 5 p.m. program and culminates at Ebenezer Lutheran Church (1650 Foster Ave.) at 7 p.m. A girl representing Lucia wears a white gown, crimson sash and a crown of candles upon her head.
Sample Lucia (or Lusse) buns at the museum’s Julmarknad (Christmas bazaar) on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are on sale for “Breakfast With Tomten (Santa)” on Dec. 20 and Julmiddag (Swedish Christmas smorgasbord) on Dec. 21.
At 3 p.m. Dec. 14, the Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center (168 N. Michigan Ave., 312-726-1234) hosts a lecture ($3 members, $5 non-members) explaining Greek Christmas practices such as kalanda. (On Christmas Eve, children go caroling with small drums and steel triangles.)
Also, through Jan. 31, the Hellenic Museum displays children’s holiday crafts; exhibit hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays (admission is $3).
The Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum (1852 W. 19th St., 312-738-1503) sponsors a holiday gift market featuring handicrafts; it’s open to museum members from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Friday and to the public from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Las Posadas is cherished in Mexican neighborhoods. “Posada” means “inn” in Spanish; the custom re-enacts Mary and Joseph’s journey to the stable where Jesus was born. Churches including St. Paul’s (2127 W. 22nd Pl., 773-847-7622) and Providence of God (717 W. 18th St., 312-226-2929) are starting points for processions, between 6 and 7 p.m. on Dec. 16 and continuing nightly through Dec. 23 or 24.
Wigilia (the Christmas Eve vigil) is the highlight of Polish celebrations. When the first star appears in the sky, families share oplatki (blessed wafers) and wish each other luck in the new year. Then they eat a meatless meal of 13 courses (symbolizing the 12 apostles and any poor soul who might wander in from the cold).
Dunn’s Paczki Restaurant (11228 S. Harlem Ave., Worth, 708-448-1580) presents Wigilia dinners at noon and 5 p.m. on Dec. 14 and 21. Guests will hear kolendy (Polish carols) and learn about the art of wycinanki (decorative paper cuttings). Tickets are $29.95 adults, $7.95 for children over 2.
Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture (6500 S. Pulaski Rd., 773-582-6500) teaches how to make Lithuanian straw Christmas ornaments at 1 p.m. Dec. 13; the $8.50 fee includes supplies. Lithuanians also partake of ceremonial wafers (Dievo pyragai) and a meatless dinner called Kucios on Christmas Eve.
The Lithuanian World Center (14911 127th St., Lemont, 630-257-8787) welcomes all to a Kucios celebration at 12:30 p.m. Dec. 21; tickets are $15.
Members of the west-suburban-based Moravian Cultural Society (708-579-5492) will sing carols from the Czech Republic at a 9 p.m. Christmas Eve mass conducted entirely in the Czech language, at Our Lady of the Mount Church (2414 S. 61st Ave., Cicero).
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For other ethnic holiday ideas, check out the Museum of Science and Industry’s “Christmas Around the World” festival.
