Mistletoe

Hung over a door, it brings peace, love and happiness into the house.

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First Star

As a memento of Bethlehem star, which when wise men saw, as saint Mathew mentions, were very delighted, we start the solemn Christmas dinner. This custom  is deep-rooted in the Polish culture.

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Christmas Dinner

To Christmas dinner we sit down at nightfall after the first star appears in the sky. We start it with sharing the holy wafer in relation with saying wishes. For children it may be the most beautiful evening in the year when the fabulous atmosphere  realizes for a few hours, when under nicely dressed Christmas tree in the light of colourful lights they find the presents they have dreamt about.

The holy wafer - from Latin 'oblatum' is the sacrificed gift. Sharing the holy wafer symbolizes breaking bread by Christ in the time of Last Dinner. The custom came to Poland  in 15th century. Sharing the holy wafer is started by a householder or the oldest son at home. Everybody shares with each other, just later they can sit at the table .

Sharing the holy wafer is the most important and the most touching moment. The old Polish wafers were coloured and very decorative. Today the holy wafers are white. The holy wafers which we today know (nebula - mgielka) at first were baked by the monks from Benedict monasteries in France. From there that custom got out to all Europe and with Christianity it came also to Poland. 

Until now the Polish Christmas traditions are sharing the holy wafer, and at the same time saying wishes to each other. The  oldest person at the table starts it. According to the custom, a man who shares the holy wafer at Christmas night, is to have no deprivation next year and have a sufficient quantity of bread to share with others. In the Christmas evening  animals also get the wafer; for them there is prepared a coloured holy wafer. In the homes of Catholics Christmas meal is preceded by the reading of the Gospel by saint Luke about the birth of Jesus. Then all householders share the holy wafer and wish each other all the best.

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Christmas table

Under a tablecloth we should find some Christmas hay which symbolises Christ's poverty. On the table we always leave one empty place for an unexpected visitor. On the Christmas table there are usually twelve dishes, in honour of twelve apostles, though earlier it was always an odd number. The dishes ought to contain all agrarian fertiles so that they will grow up next year. Currently, fish rule on the table - Christmas carp, herrings, but we also find the cabbage with peas, kutia, noddles with poppy seeds, red borsch, mushrooms, dublings with cabbage and mushrooms, every kind of cereals served with some mushroom sauce, compote of dried fruit, etc. Traditionally, Christmas menu depends on the region of Poland. For sure you won't find any meat on the table, but this custom starts changing nowadays. Everyone must taste every dish. Some maintain that a dish which we don't taste is the pleasure we will miss next year. Others say that it is a symbol of the next succesful  Christmas Eve.

The hay

A handful of hay under Christmas tablecloth symbolizes manger in which lives the Baby Jesus.

The empty place

At the Christmas table, according to the old tradition there always should be an empty place for an absent and poor man who can knock to our door. This night no one should be hungry and alone.

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Father Christmas

Santa Claus often called Father Christmas was probably born in 3rd century, in about 270, in town Patara in a merchant, quite rich  family. He sacrificed his life for priesthood, and finally he reached the bishop's dignity. He was a bishop of the Asiatic harbour town called Myrrh, the capital of the province. Till now we remember him as a big-hearted person, helping people in need, for whom he got rid of all his property. He helped in a discreet way, usually anonymously.  He also had particularly warm feelings for children, who he willingly brought gifts for. He died in 350 and his holy relics are in Bari.

Santa Claus is also presented as a fairy character of a nice fat man with a white beard dressed in red clothes. At Christmas time he carries presents for kids on a slegde pulled by the team of reindeer. According to many stories he lives together with the group of elfs in Lapland, Grenland, north Canada or the North Pole.

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The  Angel

In some regions of Poland at Christmas time presents aren't brought by Santa Claus, but by the angel. What's more, the character of the angel often decorates the top of the Christmas tree. It is also the character in nativity plays and cribs.

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Christmas Tree

On Chrismas Eve almost every Polish family put in thier houses and decorate the Christmas tree called Chist's tree. As a symbol of Christmas it was the first to appear in Germany in 15th century. The Christmas tree which is thought to be the 'life tree' is the symbol for Christians. It's dressed up on the day when we recollect our first parents - Adam And Eve.

It is one of the youngest Christmas Eve traditions. The Christmas tree can't be short of apples, because just these fruits were on that Biblical tree. Besides an apple symbolises health. Among coniferous twigs twine chains, light, straw and tissue-paper ones, which are the recollection of the snake-tampter. The star on the tree top symbolises Bethlehem's star which led three kings to Baby Jesus. Candles on the twigs are like crumbs of the fire which formerly ablazed in the chamber all night so that coming at this time souls of ancestors could warm up. After some time there were more and more adorments. We hang coloured gingerbread, sweets in garish papers. After that there appeared adorments of glass, coloured glassballs, angel hair, candles were replaced with cold fireworks and electric lights. The alive and odorous Christmas tree exchanged into a permanent product of wire and green plastic. So decorated the Chrismas tree stands in a house till the day of Three Kings. In many Polish regions the custom of dressing up Chrismas tree has been settled only at the beginning of 20th century. Presently, due to highly developed technology Chrismas tree decorations considerably differ from old simple decorations and lighting candles. 

Christmas Eve custom of giving gifts was started yet by the Romans. In later ages by the church it was called the Star, because presents were handed, when the first star was noticed in the sky. That star was identified with Bethehem star. As in this part of the evening mainly children were interested, therefore nothing was odd that it was them who impatiently looked out for the first star in the sky.

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Carols

The inseparable part of the Christmas evening has been altogether singing carols at the table and later in church at the Christmas crib.  In Polish tradition we have a lot of the songs telling about Jesus' birth. The oldest ones date back to the Middle Ages.

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Midnight Mass

The mass taking place at nidnight, at Christmas night, is the main moment of all customs related to the celebration of Christ's birth. It wasn't known until 4th century. For the first three centuries the church had only celebrated the date of Christ's Resurraction. The Gospels don't mention the exact date of Jesus' birth.  Day 25th December as the date of Christmas celebrations is rather the symbolic one.

Midnight Mass opens the celebrations related to the mystery of incarnation, which is taking human nature by God's sou and coming to the world, as we interpret the fact.

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Animals

Christmas night has always had magic properties. It was believed for that one night in a year animals receive the soul and gift to talk so that thay may fully rejoice with the mystery of Jesus' birth. That's why they also get the holy wafer.

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