Christmass in Poland

Christmas in Poland

The Christmas rush in Poland begins already a few weeks before December 24th. The housewives start cleaning their houses, the supermarkets start selling Christmas-tree ornamentation, various kinds of producers start advertising their products as perfect Christmas gifts. The peak of the frenzy comes on December 24th. That is when most Poles (excluding those, who like frozen food) go hunting for a fresh carp. That is also when real Christmas starts for me. Driving around the city, visiting large shopping centers, smaller shops and market places, wishing "Merry Christmas" sometimes even to strangers, getting cold and looking for wrapping papers after figuring out in the last minute that the gifts cannot just lie there under the Christmas tree unwrapped; it all brings me closer to the evening.

Ah, yes! The Christmas tree. The tradition says it should be brought home right on the December 24th. Some people do it earlier as it is sometimes more convenient, but if you don’t want to spoil the Christmas atmosphere you have to stick to the tradition and bring it on that day. In some cases it means bringing the artificial Christmas tree from the cellar, in some it means choosing the best tree on the Christmas-tree Market, in some cases it means going to the woods and cutting of a little spruce. This was, however, limited due to the necessity of permissions. After bringing the tree home, there comes the tradition of making it beautiful. The colorful glass balls, the paper chains, small apples, nuts and sweets (they disappear quickly throughout the time of Christmas!) are hung on the twigs. After that the tree is decorated with the lights. Traditionally, these were candles, but nowadays the fire alarms would go off to frequently, that is why the lights are electric.

When the tree is ready, and the housewife is frying the carp, the youngest members of the family usually keep staring at the sky through the frozen windows. Why? They are looking for the first star to appear. The star they are looking for is a symbol for the star that led the Three Kings to Bethlehem on the night Jesus Christ was born. When the young observers finally spot it, it is the sign that the Christmas supper is about to begin.
In Poland, it would be a big lie to say that Christmas is only a religious holiday. It is also, or maybe even first of all, a family holiday. That is when the closest families gather around the table, to share their wishes, their hopes and one more thing. It is a Christmas Eve wafer ("oplatek"). It is a Polish tradition to bring it blessed from the Church and share it with the family and friends while wishing them all the best, peace and love. The wafers are crispy, paper-thin pieces of bread, the most often white or colored. The most interesting thing about the Christmas Eve wafer happens in the villages, away from the cities. The farmer takes a piece of it and goes to share it with the animals. They were the first to greet Jesus after he was born. That is why on December 24th, at midnight, while sharing the Christmas Eve wafer with their keeper they talk. It is interesting what animals say when they can, but it is said to be a secret between the animals and the keeper.
After having shared the Christmas Eve wafer the supper can begin. The meal is the most important part of these family holidays. There is a beautiful tradition in Polish houses. There is always one more set piece on the table. The tradition says that any lost wanderer can knock on every door and he or she will be welcome. There are also other various traditions concerning the Christmas table. There should be some straws underneath the table cloth to remind that Jesus was born in a stable and to ensure prosperity in following year for all the participants. The family sits down around the table and enjoys the traditional Christmas cuisine. According to the tradition there should be 12 dishes on the table during the Christmas Eve. And everyone should at least taste each of them. In some houses it is a real art. The dishes include fried carp, "pierogi" - the dumplings filled with sauerkraut and mushrooms, herrings in oil or cream, "barszcz" soup, "kutia" made of poppy seeds and many, many more. The dishes have to be as on fast-days. In between the dishes Poles talk and sing carols. Carols are very important as far as the tradition is concerned and there is a wide variety of them. Among the international ones like "Silent Night" there are also traditional Polish carols sung during the Christmas Eve.
There can be someone else knocking on the door. It’s Carol Singers (Kolêdnicy). Unfortunately, this folk tradition has almost faded away, especially in the cities. In the villages you can still sometimes meet a colorful group carrying a puppet which is meant to scare the others. The most popular is "Turoñ" - a head with snapping jaw on a stick. Sometimes they carry a Star made of colorful paper or a Christmas crib showing the scene of birth of Jesus Christ. The Carol Singers were dressed as various characters: a country woman, a country man, Three Kings, a Gypsy woman, a Jew etc. Their wishes of luckiness in the following year and carols were welcome in every house and awarded with little gifts. If the Carol Singers had omitted any house it was a bad sign for the inhabitants.
When all is eaten and all the carols are sung, the favorite time of Christmas for all the children (or maybe not only for them?) comes-the presents. In some families there comes someone at that very moment to visit the family. It is Santa Claus. Sometimes it is a "Gwiazdor" (in Poznan) or an Angel (in Silesia). He asks the children if they were good or bad, and gives the presents. In some families Santa Claus (or the Gwiazdor or Angel) comes earlier, when the kids are in the bathroom or helping in the kitchen and leaves the presents under the Christmas tree. The tradition is: the youngest member of the family (provided he or she can read) crawls under the Christmas tree and reads the notes attached to the gifts. "From Santa Claus for Daddy" it says on one of them and "From Santa Claus for Ala" on the other. If the kids were good throughout the year they get presents, if not they get a rod. In fact, even if the child hade made some trouble, most often the rod is attached to a beautiful present.
The Christmas Eve ends around midnight with the Midnight Mass ("Pasterka") in the nearest church. People come together to sing carols and celebrate Christmas in the church. The streets are quiet, covered with snow and it is really a nice experience to attend this midnight mass.

Next two days are most often devoted to visits of family members who live further away, to exchanging wishes and having Christmas dinners together. The king of Polish traditional cuisine "bigos" appears on the second day of Christmas .
If you choose to spend Christmas in Poland it will surely be a calm, peaceful experience full of fried fish and "pierogi" aroma, full of snow and sounds of traditional carols.
Merry Christmas!