Polish customs, especially at Christmas time, are both beautiful and meaningful.
The preparations for Christmas begin many days before the actual celebration. Nearly everywhere women are cleaning windows in apartments and houses just before Christmas. The insides of the houses are also cleaned thoroughly. It is believed that if a house is dirty on Christmas Eve, it will remain dirty all next year.
The Breaking of the Oplatek
One of the most beautiful and most revered Polish customs is the breaking of the oplatek. The use of the Christmas wafer (oplatek) is not only by native Poles in Poland but also by people of Polish ancestry all over the world.
The oplatek is a thin wafer made of flour and water. For table use, it is white. In Poland, colored wafers are used to make Christmas tree decorations. In the past, the wafers were baked by organists or by religious and were distributed from house to house in the parish during Advent. Today, they are produced commercially and are sold in religious stores and houses. Sometimes an oplatek is sent in a greeting card to loved ones away from home.
Polish customs, especially at Christmas time, are both beautiful and meaningful.
The preparations for Christmas begin many days before the actual celebration. Nearly everywhere women are cleaning windows in apartments and houses just before Christmas. The insides of the houses are also cleaned thoroughly. It is believed that if a house is dirty on Christmas Eve, it will remain dirty all next year.
The Breaking of the Oplatek
One of the most beautiful and most revered Polish customs is the breaking of the oplatek. The use of the Christmas wafer (oplatek) is not only by native Poles in Poland but also by people of Polish ancestry all over the world.
The oplatek is a thin wafer made of flour and water. For table use, it is white. In Poland, colored wafers are used to make Christmas tree decorations. In the past, the wafers were baked by organists or by religious and were distributed from house to house in the parish during Advent. Today, they are produced commercially and are sold in religious stores and houses. Sometimes an oplatek is sent in a greeting card to loved ones away from home.
Christmas In Poland
The presentation was prepared by the students from Anna Vasa school in Golub-Dobrzyń as a part of Comenius Project We Guide Our Partners
Christmas In Poland
The presentation was prepared by the students from Anna Vasa school in Golub-Dobrzyń as a part of Comenius Project We Guide Our Partners
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2. CHRISTMAS EVE
We start the dinner when the
first star appears on the sky.
Everybody waits this moment
anxiously.
There is always a thin layer of
hay under the white
tablecloth.
3. CHRISTMAS WAFER
Before sitting down at the table, everyone
breaks the traditional wafer (opłatek) and
exchanges good wishes for health, wealth and
happiness in the New Year. The coloured wafer is
for animals. It’s believed that animals can talk
during this special night. But only the innocent of
heart may hear them. During the night farmers go
to stables and give wafers to their animals.
5. The Wigilia is a meatless meal.
Items that would normally be
included in a traditional Wigilia
menu include mushroom soup,
boiled potatoes, pickled herring,
fried fish, dumplings, beans and
cabbage, a dried fruit compote,
assorted pastries, nuts and
candies.
6. There is always extra place at the table for the unexpected guest. This belief
stems from the ancient Polish adage, "A guest in the home is God in the
home”.
7. The Polish people have a number
of other traditions that they
practice throughout the
Christmas season.
Polish Christmas Carols are
numerous and beautiful,
especially when sung in Polish
churches at the Christmas Eve
Mass at midnight.
9. CHRISMAS CAROLS - KOLĘDY
After the meal the members of the family sing Polish Christmas Carols while
the children wait impatiently around the Christmas tree for the gifts to be
exchanged.
10. SZOPKI
Christmas Day itself is spent in rest,
prayer, and visits to various
Members of the family. In Poland,
from Christmas Day until the twelfth
night, boys trudge from village to
village with an illuminated star and a
ranting King Herod among them to
Sing Carols. In some districts, the
boys carry on puppet shows called
„szopki”. These are built like a little
house with two towers, open in the
front where a small crib is set.
