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ety” (pancakes with mushrooms or/
and cabbage, in breadcrumbs, fried
on oil or butter).
Carp is the main dish of the meal. The
fish itself is traditionally bought a few
days earlier alive and it swims in the
bath until it’s killed by the lady of the
house! Now most people just buy a
fillet of carp instead (especially if you
only have a shower and not a bath in
your house!). The carp’s scales are
said to bring luck and fortune and by
some are kept for the whole year (e.g.
in wallets) Some older ladies put them
in their bras for the time of the supper
and give them next day to the guest
for good luck!!!
“Bigos” is a dish which can be eaten
either hot or cold. It’s made of cab-
bage, bacon, sometimes dried plums
- so it is saved for Christmas day or
the 26th as it has meat in it. It is made
about a week or so before Christmas
Eve, because with each day it gets
better.
Herrings are very popular and usually
are served is several ways: in oil, in
cream, in jelly. Each household has
their own recipe that that say is ‘the
best in the whole wide world’!
In most houses there is also “kompot
z suszu” that is drink made by boiling
dried fruits and fresh apples.
The most popular desserts at Kolacja
wigilijna are “makowiec”, a poppy
seed roll made of sweet yeast bread,
“kutia” mixed dried fruits and nuts
with wheat seeds, “piernik”
a moist cake made with
honey (that’s like gin-
gerbread) and ginger-
breads (which are
usually dry and
very hard).
At the beginning
of the meal,
a large wafer
biscuit called
an ‘Oplatek’,
which has a
picture of Mary,
Joseph and Jesus
on it, is passed
around the table
and everyone breaks a piece off and
eats it. Sometimes a small piece may
be given to any farm animals or pets
that the family may have. A place is
often left empty at the meal table, for
an unexpected guest. Polish people
say that no one should be alone or
hungry, therefore if someone unex-
pectedly knocks on the door they are
welcomed. In some houses, the empty
place is to commemorate a dead
relative or for a family member who
couldn’t come to the meal.
Sometimes straw is put on the floor of
the room, or under the table cloth, to
remind people that Jesus was born in
a stable or cow shed.
The worst part about the Christmas
Eve supper is that you can’t open the
presents before it has finished! Older
members of the family (who tradition-
ally begin and end this meal) always
make it last a long time. In most of
the houses, before the presents are
opened, the family sings carols togeth-
er. Children really want to open the
present and sometimes more carols
are sung just to tease the children!
There are very many carols sung
in Poland and each region has own
carols. The most popular ones are
“Wśród nocnej ciszy” (Within nights
silence), “Bóg się rodzi” (God is born),
“Lulajże Jezuniu” (Sleep baby Jesus)
and “Dzisiaj w Betlejem” (Today in
Bethlehem). The oldest carols are
from medieval times, but the most
popular ones are from the baroque
period.
Presents are
brought by “Święty
Mikołaj” (St Nicho-
las/Santa Claus),
but in some parts
of Poland there are
different present
bringers (because
during the 19th
century the borders
of Poland were
different, so people
had different tradi-
tions). In the east
(Podlasie) there
is “Dziadek Mróz”
(Ded Moroz), in
western and northern Poland “Gwiaz-
dor”, the Starman. The starman is not
always all-good - if someone was bad,
he can give him “rózga”, a birch-rod
that should be used on bad person!
The Christmas tree is also often
bought in and decorated on Christmas
Eve. It is decorated with a star on the
top (to represent the Star of Beth-
lehem), gingerbreads, lights (previ-
ously candles) and “bombki” which
are baubles and glass ornaments in
different shapes (though most often
they are spheres). They are usually
hand-made, painted or decorated in
other way. You can see some bombki
at: In the east
of Poland the decorations are tradi-
tionally made of straw and are very
beautiful. In some houses there is also
a custom of breaking one of the Christ-
mas Tree decorations (e.g. breaking s
glass bauble) to scare the evil out of
the house for the whole next year!
Christmas Eve is finished by going to
Church for a Midnight Mass service.
The days after Christmas are often
spent with family and friends.
People in Poland also like kissing
under the mistletoe!
In Polish Happy/Merry Christmas is
‘Wesołych Świąt’.
Polish Children also often get dressed
up and go carol singing on Epiphany,
January 6th.