Witamy! Welcome! Perhaps the grandest of holidays, Christmas in Poland is a time of great celebration. Polish Falcons of America invites you to explore below some of the elements that combine to make "A Polish Christmas."
Wigilia
The most widely cherished of Polish Christmas festivities is the Wigilia, or Polish Christmas Eve dinner.
The table is set with a thin layer of hay under a white tablecloth, in memory of the Godchild in the manger, and the dinner begins with the sharing of Oplatek.
The number of courses is 12, representing the 12 apostles and 12 months of the year, though in the past dinner consisted of an odd number of dishes.
The meal is meatless. Most menus include mushroom soup, carp and herring, pierogi, boiled potatoes, braised sauerkraut, fruit compote, and Piernik - Polish gingerbread.
An empty space is often left at the table for an unexpected visitor in need of food and shelter.
Following dinner, guests sing Koledy, or Polish Christmas Carols, and gifts are exchanged.
Koledy
Christmas caroling is an ancient and important tradition in Poland. The first Christmas carols in Poland, known as koledy, originate from the middle ages, but it wasn’t until the 17th century that caroling gained immense popularity. Hundreds of carols were written in that time period, and today Polish carols number in the several thousands. Poles boast that no other country has as many carols as Poland.
Christmas carols are rooted deep in Polish history and still resonate in modern Polish Christmas celebrations, whether being sung at the Wigilia dinner table or performed in skits by Polish children wearing elaborate costumes. Christmas time in Poland is a joyous occasion that is always bursting with song and hymn.
Desery
Polish Christmas Desserts
Polish Christmas Mass
Shrine Church of Saint Stanislaus
Cleveland, Ohio