Christmas in Georgia

For Georgians, Christmas is the time for family gatherings, enjoying traditional foods, and attending church services. Most people strictly observe the Nativity Fast, believing that celebration is impossible without penance.

Some Georgian Christmas traditions are similar to those in other countries with a prevalently Orthodox Christian population, but many are peculiar to the region.

If you are ever in Georgia for Christmas, take a walk through Tbilisi streets to admire magical decorations and visit local restaurants to try local cuisine.

When Do Georgians Celebrate Christmas?

Georgians are a prevalently Orthodox Christian nation, so they don’t celebrate Christmas on December 25 like Americans or Europeans. Instead, they celebrate it on January 7, following the Julian calendar.

Georgian Orthodox Church belongs to the Eastern Orthodox Church, which didn’t accept the reform when Pope Gregory Xlll introduced a revised calendar in the 16th century.

Some Orthodox Church branches later accepted the reform, but the Eastern branch remained devoted to the old calendar.

Consequently, many Orthodox Christians celebrate religious holidays 13 days later than Catholics, including Russians, Ukrainians, Latvians, and Georgians. Christmas Decorations in Georgia

Nothing embraces the festive spirit like fairy lights, Christmas character displays, and Nativity Scenes.

Georgians are pretty creative and generous with holiday decorations, so strolling the streets of Georgian cities at Christmas time is never boring.

Giant Christmas trees tower above central city squares, fairy light chandeliers hang above avenues, trees glisten in tinsel, and magical reindeers walk in local parks.

Christmas in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital city, resembles a real-life winter wonderland, although snow is uncommon in the region.

Gift Exchange

Georgians sometimes exchange Christmas gifts with their loved ones, but the tradition is nowhere as important as in the west. For Orthodox Christians, gift-giving is unrelated to Christmas, and some even believe it dangerously commercializes the holiday.

Instead, Georgians exchange gifts on New Year’s. However, kids always get gifts both for Christmas and New Year’s, the same as kids in the U.S. and Europe.

Alilo Tradition

The annual Alilo march marks the beginning of Christmas celebrations in Georgia. On January 7 morning, after the church service, thousands of locals participate in the parade, singing traditional Christmas carols and playing musical instruments.

Children dress like angels and adults like shepherds, paying homage to the angel Gabriel who told Joseph about Mary’s immaculate conception and the shepherds who came to witness Christ’s birth.

People carry icons, crosses, and seven-point stars representing the star of Bethlehem that guided Mary and Joseph during their journey throughout the streets.

Parade participants collect food from locals and later distribute the donations to people in need, such as the homeless and kids in orphanages. The march is free to join, and many locals consider participating their duty.

Children marching in the Alilo parade often get sweets and other treats from passers-by. However, they typically donate the treats to poorer children instead of eating them themselves.

The parade makes a circle around the town, bypassing the Parliament building, where the President and Members of Parliament address participants with speech and make donations, and return to the main church in Tbilisi – the Holy Trinity Cathedral.

Chichilaki Christmas Tree

Georgians decorate the Christmas tree like most Christians worldwide, but their trees are pretty peculiar. Forget about fragrant firs and fluffy spruces – Georgians have Chichilaki, traditional trees made from dried hazelnut or walnut branches.

The branches are shaved, forming thin curly strips of wood, and gathered to resemble a coniferous tree. Chichilaki can be as small as five inches and as large as three meters tall.

At some point, Chichilaki’s popularity rapidly decreased because western Christmas trees were taking over. However, in recent years, the Georgian Chichilaki tradition has experienced a rebirth.

Perhaps, the reason is Georgian love for their culture and concerns about the environmental impact of chopping down firs and pines every year. To make Chichilaki, Georgians only chop branches, but to put up a Christmas tree, one must chop an entire fir.

A few years ago, the Georgian government imposed massive fines, three times the average monthly salary in the region, for chopping down trees for Christmas, thus promoting the Chichilaki tradition.

Although the form factor of Georgian Christmas trees is different from western ones, the decorations are pretty similar. Georgians adorn their Chichilaki with baubles and ornaments with holiday symbols made from felt or wood.

Nativity Fast

Since Georgians are Orthodox Christians, most of them strictly observe the Nativity Fast. The Nativity Fast is essentially the Orthodox equivalent of the Advent season.

Although the traditions are different, the objective is the same – it’s the season of penitence and hopeful anticipation.

In fact, the customs have the same origin, but the Catholic Church later changed the tradition from fasting to daily praying and lighting candles and shortened the period to four weeks. The Orthodox Nativity Fast begins 40 days before Christmas.

Nativity Fast rules differ by day of the week, but meat and alcohol aren’t allowed throughout the entire period. On Saturdays, Sundays, and certain feast days, people can eat fish and oil and drink wine.

However, the purpose of the Nativity Fast is merely spiritual cleansing than physical. People should free their minds from negative thoughts and dedicate their time to prayer.

Christmas Eve is the strictest day of the Nativity Fast when Georgians don’t eat any solid food until the first star appears in the sky. Typically, people wait until they return from the Midnight Mass to start the feast.

Georgian Christmas Dishes

Georgian Christmas feast traditionally starts late in the evening and can last until the early morning. Devoted Orthodox Georgians go to church service, but even those who stay home strive not to eat anything solid until the sky becomes dark.

Because meat is way too heavy food for someone who hasn’t eaten anything fat or savory for 40 days, most Georgian Christmas dishes are fish-based. Thankfully, Georgia has access to the Black Sea and numerous lakes, so there’s never a shortage of seafood.

Perhaps, the most exquisite Georgian Christmas dish is fresh oysters, typically served as an appetizer. Snappers and groupers are plentiful in Georgian waters. The fish is usually fried and served with rice, potato, barley, or vegetables.

Shrimp dishes are popular in Batumi, Poti, and other coastal towns, while people in the eastern part of the country typically eat white fish. Fish stew is the favorite dish of locals throughout the winter because of how warming it is.

A Georgian feast wouldn’t be complete without Khachapuri, a traditional dish beloved worldwide. In case you’ve never tried Khachapuri, it’s a molten canoe-like bread with cheese, butter, and egg. The recipe is simple but delicious.

Ajapsandali is a traditional Georgian version of ratatouille with eggplants, bell peppers, tomatoes, and herbs. Another popular vegetarian dish on the Georgian Christmas table is Lobio, kidney beans with onions, cilantro, vinegar, and chilies.

Although most Georgian Christmas food is fish-based, some people serve Khinkali, Georgian dumplings with lamb or beef, topped with butter and sour cream and flecked with black pepper.

Georgian Christmas Desserts

While Americans and Europeans have desserts they only make for winter holidays, like Christmas pudding and gingerbread, Georgians don’t really have a particular Christmas dessert. Instead, they make several varieties of traditional desserts popular year-round.

One of such desserts is Pelamushi – a grape-based pudding often garnished with nuts and seeds. Another traditional treat is Churchkhela, a string of chopped nuts dipped in grape pulp and dried in the sun. It’s akin to Snickers but much healthier.

Georgians would choose nuts and fruits over chocolate and toffee any day, so the ingredients of another traditional treat, Gozinaki, won’t surprise anyone. Gozinaki is made with walnuts, hazelnuts, and assorted dried fruits with honey.

Georgian Christmas Beverages

Drinks, more often than not alcoholic, are integral to Georgian Christmas celebrations. Chacha, a strong Georgian brandy from pomace, and honey vodka are usually in the spotlight, mixed with juice or drunken undiluted.

Of course, Georgian Christmas dinner is always plentiful in wine. Georgians usually drink plain wine rather than mulled wine because concealing the flavor of local wine with spices and citrus would be a sacrilege.

Georgians don’t get drunk just for fun, though. Toasts are a crucial element of any Georgian feast – people tell long speeches, wishing others well and recalling important moments from the past year before clinking their cups with others and drinking.

Georgian Santa (Tovlis Papa)

Georgian Santa Claus is known as Tovlis Papa or Grandfather Snow. He didn’t originate from Saint Nicholas but from an old Slavic mythological figure Morozko (Frostman).

Tovlis Papa wears an all-white robe with a traditional Georgian cloak from sheep’s wool. Local kids believe that he lives in the Caucasus mountains.

Unlike Santa, Tovlis Papa doesn’t enter the house at night through the chimney but knocks on the front door and only gives gifts to children who recite him a poem.