As we start to wind up work and studies for the year and enter the Christmas festive period, we wanted to find out how the holidays are celebrate by people from all over the world who call Govanhill home.

The Christmas display at the Transylvania Shop and Coffee

By Jack Howse

The streets of Govanhill have been busier than ever in the past few weeks as different communities from the area have celebrated their respective holidays. In early November, the South Asian bakeries of Victoria Road were busy with shoppers picking up gulab jamun and mithai sweet for Diwali. From 28 November to 6 December, the Jewish community celebrated Hanukkah.

The Transylvania Shop and Coffee, never to be outdone, have had their Christmas display up since early November. And Govanhill’s very own Christmas market is running in the space outside the shop until 4pm on Christmas Eve. Expect the Transylvania ponies to be making an appearance on the last day of the market.

Read more: Behind the Portrait with Daniel Radu of the Transylvania Shop and Coffee

Santa Claus delivering for Romano Lav | from Romano Lav Instagram page

However, for many residents of Govanhill who celebrate Christmas, the wrapping paper will already be stowed away. This is because for many communities, Saint Nicholas Day is when families and friends (and the man himself) will deliver gifts. Saint Nicholas Day falls on either 5th or 6th December, and is celebrated by many Eastern European countries. Romano Lav, a Roma community organisation based in Govanhill delivered presents to children around Govanhill on Saint Nicholas Day this year.

Yet the festive season is far from over. The Bees Knees Cafe recently hosted a ‘hedgehog-bauble’ making workshop, a traditional festive activity in Poland run by Marzanna Antoniak. As well as making Christmas decorations together Marzanna shared that in Poland they put hay under the tablecloth, await the first star in the sky on Christmas eve, go from house to house singing carols, share a oplatek Christmas wafer and enjoy a kulig – a horse-pulled sleigh party.

Read more: Q&A with Anna from Bees Knees Cafe

For the workshop, Marzanna asked many of the participants what they would traditionally do in their country for Christmas and recorded some of their traditions and memories in this lovely audio clip:

Most people spoke fondly of the food that they eat at Christmas time. Basia from Poland mentions that she loves “cooking into the night when everyone is going to sleep and it is very relaxing”. She says they make poppyseed cake, dumplings, fish and “cabbage, lots and lots of cabbage”.

Marisa from Slovakia spoke about how before the Christmas they clean all the house. And then on Christmas eve, all her extended family will have a huge meal on before going to Midnight Mass to sing and pray. Alena from Belarus shared how she celebrates Christmas twice as she has friends who are Catholic and Protestant while she and her family is Christian Orthodox.

Maria from Romania shared a memory of when: “It started to snow when we were still at school. We’d go outside and play with snowballs and then come back in wet from the snow. We’d stay stuck by the radiator to try and get dry!”

For Catherine from Glasgow Christmas is all about a massive get together: “All the family, all the in-laws, all the random chairs from the household, tables shoved together with a bedsheet thrown over it! Everyone together and everyone improvising.”