POLISH CHRISTMAS

TRADITIONS

Polish customs, especially at Christmas time, are both beautiful and

meaningful.

Christmas Day, called the first holiday by the Poles, is spent with

the family at home. No visiting, cleaning, nor cooking are allowed

on that day; only previously cooked food is heated. This is a day

of enjoyment, for Jesus was born.

Poles are famous for their hospitality, especially during

Christmas. In Poland, an additional seat is kept for somebody

unknown at the supper table. No one should be left alone at

Christmas, so strangers are welcomed to the Christmas supper.

This is to remind us that Mary and Joseph were also looking for

shelter. In Poland, several homeless people were interviewed after

Christmas. Some of them were invited to strangers' houses for

Christmas; others that were not asked inside the homes but were

given lots of food.

The preparations for Christmas begin many days before the actual celebration. Nearly

everywhere women are cleaning windows in apartments and houses just before Christmas. The

insides of the houses are also cleaned thoroughly. It is believed that if a house is dirty on

Christmas Eve, it will remain dirty all next year.

Weather-forecasting is quite popular during Christmas. Only a white Christmas is considered a

real Christmas; therefore, everybody is happy when there is fresh snow outside.

Everything that happens on Christmas, including the weather, has an impact on the following

year. On Christmas Day, people start to observe the weather very closely. It is believed that

each day foretells the weather for a certain month of the following year. Christmas Day predicts

January's weather, St. Stephen's Day impacts February's, etc.

It is still strongly believed that whatever occurs on Christmas Eve has an impact on the coming

year. So, if an argument should arise, a quarrelsome and troublesome year will follow. In the

morning, if the first visiting person is a man, it means good luck; if the visitor is a woman, one

might expect misfortune. Everyone, however, is glad when a mailman comes by, for this

signifies money and success in the future. To assure good luck and to keep evil outside, a

branch of mistletoe is hung above the front door. Finally, old grudges should end. If, for some

reason, you do not speak with your neighbor, now is the time to forget old ill feelings and to

exchange good wishes.

Advent

During Advent which precedes Christmas, Catholics, who are in the majority

in Poland, are expected to abstain from dancing and frolicsome partying . But

there are at least two exceptions to this rule that often occur during Advent --

St. Andrew's Day, on Nov. 29-30, which is also known as a day of magic, and

St. Barbara's Day the patron saint of miners, on Dec. 4. Miners' Day was

always celebrated with big balls. Another break in the fasting of Advent is St.

Nicholas Day on Dec. 6 when the Saint visits children on the evening and

through the night of his name day.

Gift Giving

The custom of gift giving can be a little confusing, especially for children,

since St. Nicholas / Santa Claus gives presents approximately three weeks

before Christmas. So who is responsible for the gifts received on Christmas

Eve? In the region of Lesser Poland and in Silesia, it is the baby Jesus or his

messenger, a small angel, that brings the presents and, since they are invisible,

their presence is signaled by the ringing of a bell. The children are supposed to

remain silent during Christmas Eve dinner so that the gift givers would not be

afraid to enter the house.

Christmas Tree

The Christmas tree is usually brought to the house just a couple of days before Christmas

and since the adults are busy with work and Christmas shopping, children are commanded

to help with the Christmas tree decorations -- long chains of colorful paper and other

shapes.

How Poles Decorate

Preparations begin early on Christmas Eve. Years ago, it was traditional for country families

to cut boughs of evergreen from the forest to be tucked behind holy pictures in the home or

above the entryway. A fir tree top was hung upside down from a beam in the ceiling. The

children and women of the household decorated the boughs with red apples, nuts and

ornaments made of paper and bread. City families decorate with lights, apples, nuts,

candies, and hand-blown glass, crystal and paper ornaments. In Krakow, there are szopki –

miniature Krakowian puppet theaters. These elaborate creations are made of tin foil and

entered into competition each year on the square of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Krakow.

The Table Is Prepared

Straw or hay, a reminder of Christ’s birth in a stable, is placed under a white linen

tablecloth, which symbolizes Mary’s veil, which became the Babe’s swaddling cloth. The

mother of the family places a lighted candle in the window to welcome the Christ Child.

The eldest woman of the house places the blessed Communion - like wafers – on the finest

plate she owns. Today, in a concession to tradition, many people place straw and evergreen

sprigs on a serving platter covered with a fine white napkin on which the wafer rest.

The Star Supper

After sunset, the youngest child is sent to watch for the first star. This is why the

Christmas Eve dinner is also known as the Star Supper. Only then are the candles on the

table lit and the dinner begun. But not a morsel is eaten before the "breaking of the

wafers."

The eldest family member takes the wafer, breaks it and shares it with the next eldest with

wishes for good health and prosperity, and a kiss on each cheek. Each person then

exchanges wafer with everyone else at the table. It can be a very emotional time as

grudges are forgotten and deceased family members are remembered.

Some Poles share a pink - colored wafers with the household (and barnyard) animals

because they were the first to greet the Baby Jesus at midnight. The animals also receive a

taste of every course of the meal mixed in with their feed.

Instead of sending Christmas cards to friends and family not present, Poles send wafers,

first tearing off a small corner to show that the donor has broken it with them as a token of

affection.

Christmas Eve - The Vigil

For Poles, Christmas Eve is a night of magic when animals are said to talk and people

have the power to predict the future. It’s a time for families to gather and reconcile any

differences, and to remember loved ones who have gone before them.

Christmas Eve, which literally means "vigil," or waiting for the birth of Baby Jesus, is

considered more important than Christmas Day itself.

The Christmas Eve Meal

Christmas Eve is a meatless meal because, years ago, Roman Catholics fasted for

the four weeks of Advent, including Christmas Eve. In the past there were

thirteen main dishes (representing the Apostles and Christ), but, these days, many

families have replaced this tradition with a twelve-fruit compote for dessert.

The foods are to represent the four corners of the earth -- mushrooms from the

forest, grain from the fields, fruit from the orchards, and fish from the lakes and

sea.

Meals vary from family to family but usually include a special soup followed by

many elegant fish preparations, vegetables, and dumplings.

Typical dishes include Christmas borscht with dumplings, carp in aspic, herring ,

breaded whitefish, meatless cabbage rolls and noodles with poppy seed . Desserts

might include nuts, tangerines, chocolates, poppy seed roll, a jam-filled flat

pastry, honey-spice cake, gingerbread cookies, fruit compote, cognac, liqueurs,

mead and a honey-spiced vodka. Kutia , a kind of gruel with cracked wheat and

honey, is also eaten in some parts of Poland on Christmas Eve.

The Starman Makes an Appearance

In some regions of Poland, at the end of supper, Father Christmas, known as The

Starman, accompanied by singing Starboys, pays a visit. He brings rewards to good

children from Starland, and scolds the naughty ones, who eventually get their reward, too.

Christmas carols – are sung and presents are opened by all. Then the family prepares for

Midnight Mass known as Pasterka or Shepherds' Mass because they were the first to greet

the Baby Jesus.

Christmas Day

Christmas day is spent visiting family and friends. Starboys go caroling from house to

house carrying the crib , a miniature puppet theater that recreates the Nativity story.

New Year's Day

While customs vary from region to region, many families celebrate New Year's Day with

roast turkey dinner.

The Epiphany

On Twelfth Night, Jan. 6, Poles take small boxes containing chalk, incense and a piece of

amber in memory of the gifts of the Magi, to church to be blessed. Once home, they

inscribe "K+M+B+" with the blessed chalk above every door in the house. The letters,

with a cross after each one, stand for the the Three Kings -- Casper, Melchior and

Balthasar. They remain above the doors all year until they are inadvertently dusted off or

replaced by new markings the next year.

Merry Christmas…

…and Happy New

Year!