Christmas in Poland  By Pani Magdalena Gdanska

Many Polish Christmas traditions started in some form with winter practices of the pagan Slavs, who lived in the area.  Poland was Christianized in the tenth century, so some traditions began prior to that time.  Let us not get bogged down in dating the traditions, and just enjoy them for what they are; deeply rooted traditions from pagan times that have survived to this day.

In the country, there is a tradition of unthreshed wheat being placed either in all four corners of the room or just the east corner.  Another custom is to spread hay on the table, which will be covered with a clean, white tablecloth.  The hay is used in fun for predicting the future.  You reach under the tablecloth and pull a blade of hay.  If the piece is long and green, it means good luck.  Good crops for a farmer; finding a husband and a good marriage for a girl.  A short darkened piece means bad luck.

It is a noble Polish tradition that no one should be alone on this holiest of nights.  The lonely are to be invited to dinner.  An empty place may be set for the traveler who could stop on their way or for a recently departed loved one.

First and foremost is the Christmas Eve dinner itself.  It has a special name in Polish, Wigilia - the Vigil.  Part of the Wigilia tradition is to have 12 foods to signify the 12 apostles.  Preparations for the meal would start early in the morning.  Food would be prepared and the house cleaned.  Christmas Eve is a meatless day.  No meat would be served, but plenty of fish dishes were permitted.  Either borscht or mushroom soup with dumplings (Perozki), and dessert cakes would be served.  One sweet is Polish gingerbread, which is a spiced honey cake.  This is very different from the highly spiced gingerbread of today.  Poppy seeds were eaten in some form to ensure abundance in the next  year.  They could be baked in bread or dessert, or sprinkled on noodles as a side dish.

The Polish Christmas Eve celebration would begin with the sharing of the Christmas wafer or oplatky (still available through some churches).  Old time wafers were multicolored.  Most modern wafers are white and sometimes embossed with pictures.  Sharing a wafer is the most solemn part of the evening.

In my family, the sharing of the wafer begins with the oldest person present.  They hold a corner of the wafer while offering most of it to the next oldest.  As the wafer is broken, the oldest person makes a wish for the next person and the wafer is snapped.  This can be a time of grief for missing loved ones as well as a time of hope for the future.  All wrongs are to be forgiven and reconciliation is sealed with a kiss (167 Lemnis & Vitry).

While St. Francis of Assisi began the tradition of the first Christmas Crèche, the tradition took hold in Cracow.  There is a competition held every year in Cracow for the best crèche.  Nowadays you may find a bus or airplane next to the Magi!

Poland also has some of the most beautiful Christmas carols that remain relatively unknown in the west.  They also have a tradition of caroling.  But beware, some carolers dress up in the fashion of mummers and cause mischief.

The meal would be timed to end so the family could go together to midnight mass, sometimes called the Shepherd’s Mass.  There is a rumor that at midnight in Poland, the animals speak, but no one has heard them because to do so is bad luck!

 

Works Cited

De Gorgey, Maria.  A Treasury of Polish Cuisine.  Hippocrene Books:  New York, 1999.

Lemnis, Maria and Vitry, Henryk.  Old Polish Traditions.  Hippocrene Books:  New York, 1996.