Christmas wishes for in-laws USA families love to send at the holidays carry warmth, gratitude, and a little American cheer. Whether you are writing to your mother-in-law in Texas, your father-in-law in Ohio, or your brother-in-law and sister-in-law across the country, the right words can make the family dinner feel even closer. This list brings together heartfelt, funny, and short messages made for American homes, snowy mornings, and long drives home for Christmas. In-laws become family in the truest sense at Christmas. They welcome you to the table, share treasured recipes, cheer for the same football team, and help trim the tree. A thoughtful wish thanks them for that welcome and tells them how much their love means through the year. Use these 45 wishes in a card, a text, a holiday letter, or a toast at the table. Pick one that fits your family, add a personal line about a shared memory, and send it early so it arrives before the turkey is carved and the eggnog is poured. Last up...
Christmas traditions in Latvia blend ancient pagan rituals with Lutheran, Catholic and Orthodox customs into one of Europe's most fascinating winter festivals. In Latvia, Christmas is called Ziemassvētki — literally "winter festival" — a name revealing its deep roots in pre-Christian solstice celebrations. Families drag a Yule log through Riga's streets, costumed mummers go door to door, and the Christmas Eve feast can stretch through the whole night. Latvia even claims Christmas history's biggest prize: the first decorated tree in a town square, raised in Riga in 1510. These 15 traditions define a Latvian Christmas.
Last updated: September 19, 2026
Jump to: Yule Log · First Tree · Mumming · Christmas Eve · Advent · Midnight Mass · Pirts · Nine Dishes · Grey Peas · Piparkūkas · Karstvīns · Poem Gifts · Straw Ornaments · Riga Market · New Year · FAQ
1. Drag and Burn the Yule Log (Bluķa Vilkšana)
Groups drag a heavy oak log — the bluķis — through streets and fields with folk songs, then burn it in a great bonfire. The fire drives away evil and strengthens the sun in the darkest days. Modern processions run in Riga's Old Town and at the Ethnographic Open-Air Museum.
2. Stand Where the First Christmas Tree Stood
In 1510, Riga's Brotherhood of Blackheads raised a decorated evergreen in the town square, danced around it and set it alight. A memorial plaque on Dome Square draws thousands of visitors every December.
3. Go Mumming: The Ķekatas Tradition
Ķekatas — costumed mummers dressed as animals, the sun or spirits — roam neighborhoods singing and performing blessings at each house, driving away evil spirits and wishing hosts luck. They are repaid with sweets, food and drink.
For families
Kids love spotting the masked processions at folk festivals.
4. Celebrate Christmas Eve as the Main Event
Christmas Eve, December 24, is the main event: the big meal, gift exchange and tree lighting all happen that evening, while Christmas Day is quiet family time. Orthodox families may also celebrate on January 7.
5. Light the Advent Wreath, Sunday by Sunday
For the four Sundays before Christmas, Catholic and Lutheran families light candles on a handmade evergreen Advent wreath. Orthodox Latvians instead observe the 40-day Nativity Fast until the first star appears on Christmas Eve.
6. Attend Midnight Mass in a Riga Cathedral
On Christmas Eve, churches fill for midnight services of hymns and candlelight — St. James's Cathedral for Catholics, the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ for the Orthodox. Visitors are warmly welcome.
7. Warm Up in the Pirts Before the Feast
A cherished custom is cleansing body and spirit in the wood-fired sauna — the pirts — on Christmas Eve, whisking each other with birch branches.
8. Feast on Nine Dishes, Nine Blessings
Old belief holds that you must eat nine times on Christmas Eve to be rich and happy in the coming year — a living link to the winter solstice promise of plenty.
For food lovers
Riga restaurants offer Christmas tasting menus built around the nine-dish custom.
9. Grey Peas with Bacon (Pelēkie Zirņi ar Speķi)
No Latvian Christmas table is complete without pelēkie zirņi ar speķi — large grey peas boiled soft and tossed with fried bacon and onions, traditionally eaten with kefīrs.
10. Piparkūkas: Spicy Latvian Gingerbread
Latvian piparkūkas are thin, dark, richly spiced gingerbread cookies — crisp and peppery from centuries of German influence. Their scent of cinnamon and cloves is the smell of a Latvian Christmas.
11. Warm Up with Karstvīns and Black Balsam
In the deep cold, Latvians reach for karstvīns — mulled wine steaming from market stalls all December — or Riga Black Balsam, the herbal liqueur made since 1752.
12. Recite a Poem to Earn Your Gift
In Latvia, each person must earn their presents by reciting a poem, singing or dancing beside the tree. The gift-bringer is Ziemassvētku vecītis (the Christmas Old Man); Orthodox children may also know Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost).
13. Decorate with Straw Stars and Natural Ornaments
Latvian décor favors the natural: woven straw stars — a Baltic specialty — joined by dried flowers, nuts, apples and paper snowflakes. Fresh balsam firs are the norm.
14. Wander the Riga Old Town Christmas Market
The market on Dome Square is the country's festive centerpiece: wooden stalls of mittens, amber jewelry, ceramics, smoked meats and piparkūkas around Latvia's largest decorated tree — redesigned yearly after a city competition. Open late November through early January.
For travelers
Combine the market with the bluķa vilkšana Yule log procession and a concert in Riga Cathedral for a perfect Baltic Christmas day.
15. Welcome the New Year with Tin Pouring (Blešana)
Festivities continue into New Year's Eve (Vecgada vakars), when Latvians practice blešana — pouring molten tin into cold water and reading fortunes in the shapes it forms. New Year's Day means cabbage soup and leftover pīrāgi bacon buns.
FAQ: Christmas Traditions in Latvia
How do you say "Merry Christmas" in Latvian?
"Priecīgus Ziemassvētkus!"
Do Latvians celebrate Christmas on December 24 or 25?
Christmas Eve (December 24) is the main event — feast, gifts and tree lighting; Orthodox Latvians also celebrate on January 7.
What food is eaten at a Latvian Christmas?
Grey peas with bacon, piparkūkas gingerbread, pīrāgi bacon buns, roast pork or goose, rye bread, honey cake and karstvīns mulled wine.
What is bluķa vilkšana?
The Latvian Yule log ritual: an oak log is pulled through streets with folk singing, then burned to drive away evil and welcome back the sun.
Who brings Christmas presents in Latvia?
Ziemassvētku vecītis (the Christmas Old Man). Orthodox families may also tell of Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost).
When is the Riga Christmas market open?
The Old Town market on Dome Square typically runs from late November through early January.
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