Polish Christmas Customs
by Robert Strybel,
Warsaw Correspondent
If you are a bit rusty on your Polish
heritage, read the following item for self-edification. Share it with kids and
grandkids. Send a Xerox copy to a relative, friend or neighbor. If your group is
holding a Christmas bazaar, oplatek dinner or other such function, feel free to
include any of the information below in your spoken or printed program. But,
above all, see if you can incorporate some of these hints into the Christmas
celebrations of your family, club or parish.
READING UP ON POLISH CHRISTMAS: ‘Treasured
Polish Christmas Customs & Traditions’ from the Polanie Club of Minneapolis,
Father Czeslaw Krysa’s ‘A Polish Christmas Eve’, Sophie Hodur-Knab’s ‘Polish
Customs, Traditions & Folklore’, World Book’s ‘Christmas in Poland’ and this
author’s modest booklet ‘Christmas the Polish way’ can all help provide a better
insight into our Polish Christmas heritage. Read them for your own
self-edification, share them with your kids and grandkids, give them as gifts,
sell them at fund-raisers or donate copies to school and public libraries.
CHRISTMAS ONLINE: If you have Internet access and are interested in Polish
Christmas things, be sure to visit website: www.polishtraditions.com All the
traditional yuletide customs, carols, foods, lore and artifacts come alive on
your screen in full color. It was created and continues to be developed by
Chicago college professor Ann Hetzel-Gunkel who can be contacted at: agunkel@colum.edu
The site also inlcudes Polish Easter and Corpus Christi traditions.
THE TRUE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT cannot be bought at the mall and does not come out of
a bottle. It is a time to pause, reflect and give some thought to what is really
important in life. It is a time to prepare for the coming of Christ and the best
way to do that is through human kindness — helping the less fortunate and simply
displaying more patience and understanding towards fellow-family members. A
smile, good word or friendly gesture can mean much more than the most expensive
present. The true meaning of the season can be instilled in pre-schoolers
through such practices as the hay and tree of good deeds (see below).
ADVENT (Adwent): Rather than just a period of house-cleaning, decorating and
Christmas shopping, this just over three-week period should help to spiritually
prepare us for Christmas. Giving up loud entertainment and favorite foods, not
to mention nicotine and alcohol, also provides health benefits to mind and body.
It is a time to meditate, pray, help those less fortunate and encourage your
youngsters to do likewise. If Roraty (Polish Advent Mass) is held in your area,
try to attend at least once during Advent.
ADVENT IS ABOUT GOOD DEEDS: At the start of Advent tell your youngster to set
aside one strand of hay each time he or she does a good deed or makes a
sacrifice: helps someone, feeds the birds, puts toys away without being told,
shares something with others, gives up a favorite TV program, etc. The more good
deeds, the softer the bed Baby Jesus will have on Christmas Eve. This spiritual
practice is called the hay of good deeds (sianko dobrch uczynków). In the tree
of good deeds (drzewko dobrych uczynków), each good deed should be written on a
piece of paper which is folded up into a small square and tied with a ribbon.
These are hung on a small Christmas tree throughout Advent. The more good deeds
— the more beautifully decorated the tree will be.
CHRISTMAS COLORING: Your youngtsers at their kindergartens or schools will
probably be given pictures of holly wreaths, candy canes, Santas, reindeer,
snowmen, elves, fireplaces hung with stockings, etc. to color. Show them the
real meaning of Christmas by introducing them to the coloring pictures like the
one on page 19.
SZOPKA KRAKOWSKA, the Kraków Christmas crib, is a shimmering cathedral-like
rough structure patterned after that city’s Kosciól Mariacki (St. Mary’s
Church). Crib-making contests are held each year at the start of December and
are displayed in the Main Marketplace round the Adam Mickiewicz Monument.
Chicago’s Polish Museum has exhibited and promoted this unique urban art. Making
your own could be an interesting project for a craft circle, art class or other
group. Visit website www.polishtraditions.org to see some full-color examples.
ST NICHOLAS (Swiety Mikolaj) is a good way to teach children the true meaning of
the season: helping others and sharing. Hold a St. Nick celebration (Mikolajki)
on or around his feastday (December 6th). The kindly old bishop has youngsters
say their prayers and quizzes them on their good deeds. Have St Nick visit other
events throughout the holiday season and leave that old Santa outfit in
mothballs this year. Instead of writing to Santa this year, have your youngsters
send a letter or e-mail to: St. Nicholas Workshop, c/o American-Polish
Assistance Association, Box 16, Eastpointe, MI 48021; e-mail: KROLEWSKIM@aol.com
or APAAMI@yahoogroups.com
POLISH CHRISTMAS BAZAAR (kiermasz gwiazdkowy) can enable your group to raise
funds while enriching the Polonia mainstream with ethnic items which may not be
widely available in all areas. Especially in areas where Polish goods are hard
to come by such a bazaar could save many people a lot of time and effort by
bringing it all together in one place. Ideally, such an event should feature
Polish gift items (books, recordings, amber, crystal, folkcrafts, etc.) as well
as Polish holiday artifacts and fixings: oplatek, hay (for placing under the
table-cloth), wigilia foods, holiday baked goods and imported sweets. The bazaar
should be widely publicized well in advance (local media, Internet, parish
bulletins, posters in store windows, etc.).
HOME-MADE TREE ORNAMENTS can be an interesting family or club craft project that
will beautify any Christmas tree and serve as a good fund-raiser as well.
Detailed instructions on how to make them are found in “A Polish Christmas Eve”
and “Treasured Polish Christmas Customs & Traditions”. In Polish tradition, the
tree is set up on Christmas Eve and left up at least until January 6th or,
better yet — February 2nd.
CHOINKA means Christmas tree in Polish and is also the name of a Christmas party
for children and their families, usually held some time between Christmas and
New Year’s. It features a Christmas tree, round which carols are sung, games,
refreshments, possibly a Christmas play and a visit from St. Nicholas. Why not
hold one this year at your parish, lodge or school?
PODLAZNICZKA or SAD is a Christmas decoration that pre-dated the imported German
Christmas tree in Poland. It is the peak of an evergreen, suspended upside down
from the ceiling or rafters point-side-down and decorated with fruit, nuts and
sweets in shimmering wrappings, decorations made of straw, oplatek, gold-painted
spruce cones, etc. This year, why not try displaying one at home, in a
classroom, clubroom, wherever?.
CHRISTMAS EVE or Wigilia should be strongly emphasized to ensure a truly
Polish-style Christmas. Rather than making a big fuss about “that big Christmas
Day dinner with all the trimmings”, make Wigilia the main event. Read up on it,
share its traditions and lore with your loved ones. Recalling that how you are
on wigilia is how you will be all year long is a good way to ensure mutual love
and kindness. After supper (seek next entry) sing koledy (along with a CD-player
if your gang is not that familiar with the words). Before going to Pasterka
(Midnight Mass) gifts are usually exchanged. Remind your kids how lucky they
are, because their non-Polish friends have to wait till the following morning to
get their presents.
CHRISTMAS EVE SUPPER (wieczerza wigilijna) is the single most important family
gathering for Poles and Polonians world-wide. Begin the festivities when the
evening’s first star appears (about 6 PM). Have some hay scattered beneath the
pure-white table cloth and leave one empty place-setting in memory of an absent
or deceased family member. Start with grace (see below), share pieces of oplatek
(see below) and extend holiday wishes to all present one by one. Be sure to
serve only the traditional meatless dishes (see Wigilia Foods - below), no
kielbasa, ham or golabki at this celebration! Traditionally an odd number of
meatless dishes are served, although in some parts of the country 12 dishes are
specified.
GRACE (modlitwa przed jedzeniem) suitable for wigilia might go as follows:
“Panie Boze wszechmogacy, poblogoslaw wszystkich nas tu zebranych przy tym stole
wigilijnym oraz te Twoje hojne dary, które spozywac bedziemy na pamiatke
radosnych narodzin Twego Syna Jednorodzonego, Jezusa Chrystusa, który zyje i
króluje na wieki wieków. Amen.”
OPLATEK, a white unleavened wafer imprinted with nativity motifs, is sometimes
referred to as “angel bread” or “the bread of love”. It is the single most
important artifact of a Polish-style Christmas, without which the celebration
would be unthinkable. Traditionally it is broken and shared at the start of the
wigilia supper by all present as a sign of love and reconciliation.
OPLATEK (2) is also the name of a Christmas get-together which involves breaking
and sharing oplatek at church (after or during Midnight Mass and other Christmas
Masses), with colleagues at work or among club members and their guests. Often
carols are sung and light refreshments may be served, but usually not a full
meal. The Oplatek Dinner is another story (see below).
WIGILIA FOOD is 100% meatless. Typical dishes include: herring (pickled,
creamed, in oil, in salads); soups (clear beet with mushroom-filled dumplings,
clear mushroom with noodles, cream of mushroom, creamy fish, custard soup); fish
(fried carp, walleye polonaise [with chopped hard-boiled egg topping],
cream-baked pike, fish in aspic); sauerkraut dishes (sauerkraut & mushrooms,
sauerkraut & peas, sauerkraut and potato dumplings); mushrooms (pan-fried,
batter-fried, creamed); pierogi (filled with sauerkraut, cabbage, mushrooms,
cheese & potatoes); sweet dishes (poppyseed noodles, wheat pudding [kutia],
dried-fruit compote, noodles and fruit, rice & apples) and cakes (poppyseed
roll, nut roll, fruit cake, yeast-raised egg bread).
OPLATEK DINNER is a term commonly used by Polonia for a community wigilia, held
in a parish, clubroom, restaurant, etc. Usually it takes place before December
24th. In places where the home wigilia is not widespread, it might be a good
idea to hold it on Christmas Eve itself and then, following an appropriate
Christmas program (koledy, nativity play, etc.) go as a group to Midnight Mass.
WIGILIA POTLUCK STYLE is a good way for members of families and clubs to
actively rediscover the wigilia tradition. Get together with relatives, friends
or club members and either let everyone declare what they plan to bring or have
them pull dishes (and the printed recipes) out of a hat. This makes wigilia a
culinary adventure and relieves the host of much of the time, effort, cost and
mess entailed by preparing the entire meal.
CHRISTMAS EVE LORE includes various folk beliefs, many having to do with the
matrimonial prospects of the family’s eligible girls. They would draw strands of
hay from under the table-cloth: a yellow one meant marriage by spring, a green
one predicted a longer wait and a withered one foretold spinsterhood. A barking
dog in the distance meant that a suitor would come from that direction. It was
also said that farm animals spoke with human voices at midnight and the water in
wells turned to wine. But only those who had never sinned could taste it.
SHEPHERDS’ MASS (Pasterka) is a fitting culmination for the most beautiful day
in the year. The faithful lift up their hearts to God Almighty as the church
resounds with the majestic strains of Polish koledy. They experience a rarely
encountered sense of oneness with fellow-worshipers as they receive Holy
Communion together and feel that, at least this one night a year, all is right
with the world. A visit to the parish’s Christmas crib is part of the overall
experience. Attending a genuine Polish Pasterka is well worth the effort, even
if you have to drive across town or to a neighboring community.
CHRISTMAS DAY, December 25th (Dzien Bozego Narodzenia, pierwsze swieto, pierwszy
dzien swiat) is anticlimactic in Polish tradition, because everything of
importance has already taken place on Christmas Eve. Following morning Mass
(Poles who attend Pasterka usually go to Mass and receive Holy Communion again
on Christmas morning), it is a day of feasting and visiting with relatives.
Unlike wigilia, there is no special food — simply typical company fare: cold
meats and other appetizers, salads and relishes, roast fowl, pork, veal, bigos,
etc.
ST. STEPHEN’S DAY, (swietego Szczepana, drugie swieto, drugi dzien swiat)
December 26th (known as Boxing Day in English-speaking countries except the US)
commemorates the first Christian martyr who was stoned to death. Polish
parishioners in the countryside symbolically mark that event by throwing oats at
one another and at the priest in church. Later in the day, it is customary to
invite or visit good friends for Christmas refreshments, fellowship and good
cheer. It is on that day that Polish carolers start making their house-to-house
rounds (See next entry.)
KOLEDNICY (Polish carolers) could best be described as caroler-masqueraders. One
carries a large illuminated star on a pole, another comes carrying a Christmas
crib and the others are dressed as King Herod, death, an angel, devil, soldier,
priest, peasant, beggar, gypsy and/or Jew (or couples). As the season wears on,
the religious figures disappear and a wild ox, bear and stork are often added.
This year why not get together such a Polish caroling party and visit friends, a
school, kindergarten or nursing home, or perform at a shopping mall or your
parish oplatek-dinner.
ST. JOHN’S DAY, December 27th (swietego Jana, trzecie swieto, trzeci dzien swiat)
is the day people bring wine to church to be blessed. This commemorates the time
St. John was served poisoned wine but blessed it before drinking it and
survived. After the blessing, consider holding a Polish wine-tasting party that
could include Polish imported mead and fruit wines, that Old Polish favorite
Wegrzyn (Hungarian Tokay) and other white and red, sweet and dry, still and
sparkling wines of US and other origin.
JASELKA is the traditional nativity play, staged by children at church, school
or a community hall. The play invariably tells the story of shepherds going to
Bethlehem to honor the new-born Savior. Often, the youngest shepherd has no gift
to give so he sings or plays a musical instrument for Baby Jesus instead.
Usually, the shepherds are dressed in the góral attire of the Polish Tatra
highlands. Sometimes couples in the folk dress of different Polish regions come
to pay homage to Baby Jesus. An easy way to stage a Nativity play is to act out
the words of favorite koledy.
HERODY is a humorous Christmas skit often acted out by caroler-masqueraders
making their house-to-house rounds. It shows how the Grim Reaper and Devil
argued over the soul of the wicked King Herod. They tug at him with shouts of
“He’s mine!” — “No, he’s mine!” and chase after him when he tries to run away.
This skit is usually considered too boisterous to present in church and is
better suited to a club, school or community hall. See Kolednicy (see below).
SYLVESTER’S DAY BALL (Bal Sylwestrowy) is the Polish name for a New Year’s Eve
ball. Dancing usually starts at 9 or 10 p.m. with the Polonaise, and at the
stroke of midnight, champagne corks pop and merry-makers kiss, wish each other
‘Szczesliwego Nowego Roku’ and often sing ‘Jak szybko mijaja chwile’. Food is
served at intervals throughout the ball (from 9 p.m. until 5 or 6 a.m.). The
final dance is traditionally a spirited Mazurka and zurek (a tart rye-meal soup
said to cure hangovers) is sometimes served as an early morning eye-opener.
NEW YEAR’S DAY, January 1st (Nowy Rok) usually starts with Holy Mass celebrating
the Mother of God, and (for obvious reasons) late-morning, afternoon and evening
masses are the best attended. New Year’s Day dinners usually feature roast
turkey, bigos and various holiday cakes.
FEAST OF THE THREE KINGS, (Swieto Trzech Króli), celebrated on January 6th, has
always been widely celebrated by Poles. On this day figures of the Three Wisemen
are added to Christmas cribs in churches and homes alike. At Holy Mass, the
faithful receive blessed chalk, sometimes also a piece of incense, juniper berry
and gold leaf to symbolize the gifts of the Magi. The chalk is used to inscribe
the initials of the Three Kings over the entrance to the home: K+M+B - 2003. A
party known as Almond Night (migdalowy wieczór) was once very popular. The host
would place a single whole almond in one portion of cake. The one who found it
got to be the Almond King (Migdalowy Król) or Queen (Migdalowa Królowa). The
monarch and his or her chosen partner would preside over the festivities and all
present had to obey their orders. Some people take their Christmas trees down on
this day, which happens to be Christmas for Eastern Orthodox believers. Others
keep their trees standing until Candlemas (see next entry).
CANDLEMAS, (swieto Matki Boskiej Gromnicznej), on February 2nd, marks the end of
the Christmas season in Polish tradition. Up till then, koledy are sung in
churches and Christmas parties are held. In churches, candles which the faithful
light during severe storms or at the bedside of the dying are blessed.
