Traditions can often provide a sense of stability in an ever-changing world. The Church’s Sacred Tradition has endured for upward of 2,000 years.
Thomas and Evelyn Weitzel, students at Dublin St. Brigid of Kildare School, appreciate a tradition their family has maintained for centuries, typically celebrated around Christmas or New Year’s Eve.
The tradition was inspired by their paternal side. Their father, Kevin, has grandparents from Austria and the former Czechoslovakia.
The family rings in the New Year with an old Slovak tradition: a “beige” dinner.
The dinner is so-called by the Weitzels because of its color. “It’s all different colors of beige and brown,” mother Stephanie joked, “but individually represents different things.”
The traditional Slovakian meal includes mashed potatoes, bread, sauerkraut and pierogis.
The Weitzels begin the meal by dipping bread in honey. The bread, Stephanie explained, represents the Eucharist. The honey symbolizes a “sweet year” to come.
Sauerkraut – perhaps because it emphasizes the word “sour” – represents difficult moments in life.
The dinner also includes bobalki bread, a traditional Slovak dish consisting of yeast dough balls baked in the oven. The bread is covered with hot milk and sprinkled with poppy seeds.
Bobalki represents wealth and prosperity for the new year.
Pierogis, Stephanie added, are also part of the meal but simply because of tradition. The filled dumplings made of soft potato-based dough are not symbolic.
Celebrating the family’s traditional dinner at the end of each year often serves as a reset.
“It’s a good reminder that this is what we’re all here for and that we’re going to celebrate for the rest of the year, always keeping the Eucharist and Jesus at the forefront of our minds when we start a meal,” Stephanie said.
Thomas and Evelyn particularly appreciate the Slovak dishes.
“They love it because every year it’s something for them to look forward to,” their mother noted. “I think they always like that there is a special meaning behind the different foods.”
Last year, the family’s New Year’s Eve tradition was featured by the City of Dublin. Thomas, who is in eighth grade at St. Brigid of Kildare, participates in Dublin’s Teen Buddy Program.
The program pairs teenagers with elderly individuals to foster belonging rather than isolation. Teens call their buddy each month, and they attend gatherings and events together.
The City of Dublin reached out to teenagers in the buddy program about an opportunity to feature their New Year’s Eve traditions. Thomas was eager to share his.
He explained in a recorded video that he enjoys New Year’s Eve – not from eagerness to begin the next year or to celebrate in a modern sense – because his family gathers to celebrate their heritage.
Little sister Evelyn, a sixth-grader at St. Brigid, was also featured.
“They had a fun time with it,” Stephanie said of her children’s experience while filming the segment, which was produced by the City of Dublin.
The Weitzels often celebrate Christmas Eve with the meal when visiting Kevin’s parents in Cleveland.
Thomas and Evelyn’s grandparents belong to an orthodox church. A group of women at the church make pierogis each Christmas.
“We always get the pierogis from them,” Stephanie said. “The kids really enjoy having that from the older ladies as a tradition every year.
“My son is more the traditional type. He is very into the same thing – it makes him feel good every year – and Evelyn just enjoys the food a lot.”