ORF-E
English
1 x 45 min or 1 x 52 min
Worldwide

Baroque Christmas traditions and their culinary specialties are revived with reenactments in historical clothing at the palaces of Hof and Niederweiden in Marchfeld, Lower Austria. On Saint Catherine’s day, November 25th, Advent began with the St. Catherine’s dance. The farmers had to pay their taxes to the landowners – partly in kind, such as with poultry or eggs. The aim was to prepare the noble estates for winter by preserving food. Merchants from the south brought precious citrus fruits and spices into the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. December 24th was a tough fasting day until the hour of matins, but afterwards, you could feast – just like on the following public holidays. In the baroque era, there was no Christmas tree and no cookies. Rich households indulged in fine lemon donuts, marzipan cakes or the latest fashionable drink: a “hot chocolate”, boiled down thick with sugar. Everyone received a piece of the stollen Christmas cake. However, stollen with a sugary, buttery topping was reserved for the “rulers”.