,
(English: 'The Infant') or
(English: 'The
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
ers') is a
Christmas tradition
Christmas traditions include a variety of customs, religious practices, rituals, and folklore associated with the celebration of Christmas. These traditions are diverse in their origins and nature, with some having an exclusively Christian charac ...
within the
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
communities of
Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
where a troupe of young men visit the homes of their neighbors and perform recitations and songs to commemorate
the story of the birth of Jesus Christ.
The performers are dressed in costumes said to represent shepherds or angels
and carry staffs and a
creche.
They often accompany
Christmas carol
A Christmas carol is a Carol (music), carol on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas and holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French or ...
ers.
[
]
See also
*Koledari
Koliadari or koliadnyky () are Slavic traditional performers of a ceremony called ''celebration of Koliada'', a kind of Christmas caroling. It is associated with Koliada ( Calends), a celebration incorporated later into Christmas.
This type ...
*Wassailing
The tradition of wassailing (also spelled wasselling) falls into two distinct categories: the house-visiting wassail and the orchard-visiting wassail. The house-visiting wassail, which traditionally occurs on the twelfth day of Christmastide ...
* Polaznik
*List of Christmas carols
This list of Christmas carols is organized by language of origin. Originally, a "Christmas carol" referred to a piece of vocal music in carol form whose lyrics centre on the theme of Christmas or the Christmas season. The difference between a ...
References
Slavic Christmas traditions
Christmas music
Winter traditions
Slovak traditions
Cultural depictions of the Nativity of Jesus
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