1. Christmas in Sveti Ivan Zelina

2. Advent (four Sundays before Christmas)
Advent lasts four Sundays before Christmas
At that time specific are morning Mass at 6.00 am
We go to confession before Christmas to Christmas worthily welcome and celebrate

3. Every Sunday we light the candles on the Advent garland
4 candles symbolize the four Sundays before Christmas

4. Saint Nicholas (6. 12.)
On the eve of the feast of St. Nicholas we put cleaned boots on the window and the next morning we find in it what we deserve
Good get candy, and those who were naughty get wicker
And if we were both we get both 

5. SAINT LUCIA ( )
On the feast of St. Lucia we sown wheat that we put later under the Christmas tree and use to decorate the Christmas table on Christmas Eve.
Wheat is a symbol of prayer for a fruitful and successful year.
When we undecorate the Christmas tree, the same wheat we throw on topsoil (field) or garden and this symbolizes the blessing of the soil.

6. We make cookies and bake cakes
CHRISTMAS EVE ( )
We make cookies and bake cakes

7. Traditional dishes are prepared on Christmas Eve, and most of them are eaten on Christmas because on Christmas Eve we mostly fasting

8. Traditions on Christmas Eve
We clean house.
Female family members prepare meals and cakes to be served for Christmas.
Fine and dry cookies are baked in the week before Christmas.
Male family members find and prepare Christmas tree for decorating.
If someone has a forest, he goes there and cut the Christmas tree and the other buy it before Christmas Eve.

9. Later in the afternoon all family member gather around the Christmas tree and participate in decorating it.
In some families it is the custom to sing or listen Christmas songs while decorating Christmas tree.
Traditional Croatian Christmas songs (or songs we take over from other countries) are: RADUJTE SE NARODI (Church's traditional Christmas song), ZVONČIĆI (Jingle Bells), TIHA NOĆ (Silent Night), U TO VRIJEME GODIŠTA (Church's traditional Christmas song), SVIM NA ZEMLJI (Church's traditional Christmas song), MEHKI SNEŽEK (Croatian traditional song).

10. When the tree is decorated we put wheat and Christ nursery under.
Some also put the old and new Christmas cards.
A very common custom is to put Christmas apples under the tree, and also put the Christmas bread (wearing a sign of the cross) and various farm crops.
All this symbolizes a prayer for blessing to the family in the next year so they will have everything they need for living, and mostly blessings.
There is also a custom to put the coins under the tree and after Christmas they are shared to everyone in the house as a blessing.

11. Some (though increasingly rarely) families are still bring straw in the house on Christmas Eve. The oldest male member of the family in the house carry into the straw and put it under the table. Bringing the straw in house they say the blessing:
DEJ NAM BOG PICEKOV, RACEKOV, TELEKOV, PAJCEKOV, KRUHA, VINA, ŽIRA I BOŽJEGA MIRA!
(God gives us chickens, ducks, calves, pigs, bread, wine, acorns and God's peace.)
On this straw all members of the family sit and eat.

12. There is also a custom that in some families the straw is placed in the middle of the table, and next to it are added Christmas bread, apples, wheat and coins. All this is covered by an antique embroidered tablecloth and it is standing there during the Christmas holidays. All family members eat at that table. Before dinner, head of the family led a prayer.
On Christmas Eve night, carolers walk through the village. Going from house to house singing carols and Christmas greetings to people while saying: DEJ NAM BOG PICEKOV, RACEKOV, TELEKOV, PAJCEKOV, KRUHA, VINA, ŽIRA I BOŽJEGA MIRA! (God gives us chickens, ducks, calves, pigs, bread, wine, acorns and God's peace.)
On Christmas Eve night, all family members going to church midnight mass. After her family members are gather at home and begin the celebration of Christmas.

13. Christmas (25.12.)
On Christmas morning we open gifts under the Christmas tree (if any).
On the feast of Christmas, the family goes to church and hanging out with close family members. It is not customary to make a visit to someone who is not immediate family. Family eat meals that were prepared earlier: soup with homemade noodles, turkey with dumplings, pork, lamb, and all those nice cakes that we talked about before.
By making a phone calls we wish a Merry Christmas to all who are near and dear to us. Few people send greeting cards before Christmas. That custom repressed the every day use of Internet and telephone, especially messages on the cell phones.

14. “ŠTEFANJE” OR FEAST OF ST. STEPHEN(26. 12.)
On the feast of St. Stephen people are going to visit other family members and friends, or visit friends who bears the name of St. Stephen (Stjepan, Štef, Štefica, Štefanija) who are celebrating the name day.

15. NEW YEAR´S EVE (31. 12.) AND NEW YEAR (1. 1.)
On New Year's Eve people are going to Mass of thanksgiving and thanks for all the good in the past year. At the same time, they pray for the blessing of the next.
After that, they go to the celebration , and wait a new year to come. They say that the celebration of waiting a new year should be as cheerful so the next year will be happy and good.

16. SVETA TRI KRALJA (Holy 3 Kings) (6. 1.)
On the eve of the feast of holy three kings, water is carried and blessed in the church.
When people comes to Mass at the feast, they bring the bottles with them in which put the water. After the water is blessed they carry it home.
At the Mass priest bless incense and gold in memory of the three kings (Gaspar, Melchior and Balthazar) that gave little Jesus gold, frankincense and myrrh.

17. After the Mass, it is customary to pray with incense and holy water and bless the entire property - the house and garden. It is the task of head of the family.
On the feast of the Three Kings ends a family celebration of Christmas, and in most families the day after, Christmas tree is being undecorated.
In the church Christmas trees stay decorated until the holiday Candlemas (2. 2.) when officially ends the Christmas season.

18. BLESSING OF THE FAMILY
During the Christmas holidays, in the week after Christmas, the family blessing begins.
Pastor and priests who are helping him, visit the families in the parish, talk to them and bring them God's blessing.
Family frequently thereby give money as a gift for the church, but in our parish, this is not a mandatory part of blessing families.

19. Presentation made:
Pupils of 6th and 8th grade