Christmas Eve traditions in Poland

Like in many other countries Christmas Eve is usually celebrated with a family dinner at home.

There are a lot of traditions connected to it though. Traditions which were totally new to me.

Waiting for the first star to appear
Many Poles still wait until the first star appears in the sky before sitting down to eat on 24th December. This tradition commemorates the Star of Bethlehem.
Tricky when cloudy though 😉

Sharing an opłatek
This is a wafer made of flour and water embossed with a religious image.
I remember the first time my language teacher gave me one. Made a picture, posted it on Facebook...with baby Jesus upside down in his little crib. I did not even notice that it resembled a religious image.

Whoops

But anyway, every person gets one and then shares pieces of it with everyone else, exchanging good wished to each other. So this tradition is linked to the breaking of bread at the Last Supper. After that we start to eat.

Speaking with animals
According to an old Polish legend, animals are granted the gift of speech on Christmas Eve as a reward for their role in welcoming Jesus on earth. As a result, some children try to have a proper conversation with their family pet. I always wonder what these pets would be thinking then 🤔

Empty place at the table
any Poles still  leave an empty place set at the table in case a person down on luck should show up and ask for shelter. While this rarely happens nowadays, the tradition nevertheless requires that lone strangers be taken in and treated as family. We also have an empty plate and cutlery on the table.

Not eating meat
Most Poles usually do not eat meat nor drink hard liquor on Christmas Eve. However, wine and fish are acceptable.

Hay under the tablecloth

The hay is being put there as a way of remembering that (according to the Bible), the newborn Jesus was put in a manger to rest.

Preparing 12 dishes

A traditional Polish Christmas Eve dinner consists of 12 dishes. One for each month of the new year. Some claim that one should try every dish to secure good luck throughout the upcoming twelve-month period. Classic Polish Christmas dishes include, amongst others, cabbage and mushroom pierogi (dumplings) and the poppy seed cake known as makowiec.

To me that is a bit over the top to be honest. Just a good meal with family is the most important. 

Merry Christmas all.







Source: culture.pl