12 Things You Should know about Christmas Traditions in Poland

Polish Christmas traditions are something everyone should experience, at least once in their lifetime. It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and literally, everyone is celebrating. When you think about Christmas in Poland the first thought is ‘Family’ and the Poles cannot imagine celebrating Christmas alone.

You can feel the spirit of the festival starting from the end of November, during this time the Christmas markets are opening up in cities across Poland. You will see people enjoying traditional Polish Christmas food, drinks, buying Christmas trees, traditional polish Christmas ornaments and handmade souvenirs. 

The month of December is full of holiday events in Poland, beginning with St. Nicholas Day on December 6th and stretching all the way into the New Year. However, the primary Polish Christmas traditions start with the coming of Advent and culminate with celebrations on December 24th, 25th, and 26th.

Poland is a predominantly Catholic nation, and many traditions revolve around church services, fasting, and other religious customs. Like in most parts of the world, food is an important part of the festive season and the dinner table is filled with traditional Polish Christmas dinner specials.

 

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In this blog post, we will describe to you, 12 things you should know about Christmas traditions before you travel to Poland.

1. Advent

Advent marks the beginning of the Christmas season. During this period people try to be peaceful and remember the real reason for Christmas. They avoid overindulging in anything. Some people abstain from their favourite foods or drinks and parties are kept on a hold.

During this time people visit the church more frequently. There is a tradition of special masses or communion services that are held in the early hours of morning. These are dedicated to Mary for receiving the good news from the angel Gabriel. Furthermore, Advent is the time when people prepare their houses for Christmas. They clean their homes thoroughly and every family member participates and ensures everything is clean for Christmas day. To keep it more personal some people also prepare Advent calendars for their families.

 

2. Decorating the Christmas tree with traditional Polish Christmas ornaments

In any Polish household, Christmas is not complete without a Christmas tree. Decorating a Christmas tree is one of the youngest Christmas traditions in Poland. They appeared in Polish city houses in the 19th century and in villages at the beginning of the 20th century.

As per Polish traditions the Christmas tree should be pine or a fir tree. The green colour of the tree is regarded as a symbol of life and hope. Even the ornaments used to decorate the trees are well-thought-out. In the old days, Christmas trees were decorated with candles, nuts, cakes, apples and handmade paper decorations. Each ornament used had its own meaning for example – apples were a symbol for health and beauty, nuts for strength and welfare and candles for protection against evil and darkness.

In present times, Christmas tree decorations are less symbolic. People are now using electric lights, shimmering chains, glass balls, paper ornaments to decorate their Christmas trees. Finally, what counts is decorating the tree with your beloved ones, and that is why the Christmas tree is still one of the most important elements of Polish Christmas.

 

Also Read: 10 Best Christmas Holiday Destinations in Europe in 2021

 

3. Fasting

Christmas Eve 24th is a very busy and important day. It’s an even more important day over Christmas. Although it’s not a holiday, Christmas 25th and the 26th December are holidays. Traditionally, it is a day of fasting and meat is not allowed to be eaten in any form.

 

 

4. Traditional Polish Christmas Dinner

Christmas Eve is known as ‘Wigilia’. The main Christmas Eve supper is called ‘Kolacja Wigilijna’ and is eaten in the evening. According to tradition, no food is eaten until the first star is seen in the sky. Looking for the first star is also a reminder of the wise men who followed a star to visit Jesus.

Polish culinary traditions vary depending on the region, but traditionally 12 dishes are served to reflect the number of Apostles (Jesus’ 12 disciples). The traditional polish christmas dinner may include : red beetroot soup, fish, carp, jellied fish, pasta with poppy mass, herring in cream or oil, or Kutia – a wheat pudding with poppy seed, honey, and nuts.

The meal is traditionally meat free; this is to remember the animals that took care of the baby Jesus in the manger. 

 

Also Read: 12 Traditional Polish Dishes to Savor

 

5. The extra chair for the unexpected guest 

At the dinner table an extra chair is often left for an unexpected guest ‘Niespodziewany Gość’.

According to the Polish traditions no one should be alone or go hungry on Christmas Eve, therefore if someone unexpectedly knocks on the door they are welcomed.

In some houses, the empty seat is to honour a dead relative or a family member who couldn’t attend the meal.

 

6. Sharing the Wafer

The dinner begins with the breaking down of a wafer (‘Opłatek’). This is symbolic of the family’s union with Jesus. The wafer generally has a picture of Jesus, Mary and Joseph on it, and is passed around the table and everyone breaks a piece and eats it. They wish every single family member Merry Christmas. They also sometimes give wafers to pets and farm animals in the countryside, and mail them to family members living abroad.

 

7. Hay on the Table

This tradition may be on the decline, but there still are families in Poland who put hay on the table covering it with the table cloth. It symbolizes baby Jesus’ cradle and the fact that Jesus Christ was born on hay in a stable.

 

8. Gifts after Christmas Dinner

According to Polish traditions, Santa Claus does not appear on Christmas Eve. The appearance of Santa Claus (Mikołaj) happens instead on the night of December 5th, the eve of the Feast of Saint Nicholas. In Poland, the feast day is part of the Advent celebrations and is an integral part of Christmas traditions.

Given the fact that Mikolaj is the gift-giver in Poland, some children do get gifts on Christmas Eve from baby Jesus (i.e. from their parents). The Polish kids must wait outside the room with the gifts until they hear a bell ringing (i.e. done by their parents), which means Jesus has already left the gifts and they can enter.

 

Also Read: 10 Best Festivals to Attend in Poland

 

9. Singing Carols

The Poles really love Christmas carols. There are thousands of carols and each region of Poland has its own. Families sing carols together before opening their presents. Little children want to open their presents and sometimes more carols are sung just to tease them. The most popular carols are: Within nights silence (Wśród nocnej ciszy), God is born (Bóg się rodzi), Sleep baby Jesus (Lulajże Jezuniu) and Today in Bethlehem (Dzisiaj w Betlejem).

 

10. Carolling on Christmas Eve

In Poland people love singing carols and it’s a continuation of a tradition that began hundreds of years ago. In the countryside, there are groups of carollers who go house to house, carolling or performing short native plays. In cities both adults and children go to their neighbour’s house and sing carols together. Little children are rewarded with money or sweets.

 

11. The Midnight Mass 

As midnight sets in, many Poles attend the Midnight Mass (Pasterka). This is done to honour and acknowledge the prayers of the shepherds on their way to Bethlehem.

The midnight mass doesn’t include a lot of preaching, rather there is lots of spirited carolling. Crowds pack churches across Poland and even spill out onto the snowy pavements.

After the mass, young people play pranks with their friends and neighbours. In Poland Christmas isn’t only a serious affair and also involves lots of fun and games. It’s worth seeing and experiencing the holiday spirit.

 

12. The Christmas Days 

Celebrations don’t end after Christmas Eve, rather it’s the beginning. The 25th of December is celebrated as the birth of Christ.

The Polish people go to church, they sing carols, enjoy themselves, and they wine and dine the whole day. The next day, 26th December they spend time with their family members and relatives and even travel long distances to visit them.

 

We hope you now know a little bit more about Christmas Traditions in Poland and are able to enjoy it as much as we do.

Merry Christmas (Wesołych Świąt)!!

Do you have any questions about the Christmas Traditions in Poland? Feel free to ask us or simply comment below.

 

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