Traditional Polish Christmas Eve Dinner (Wigilia)
In Poland, Christmas Eve is a very important night to gather with family, decorate and remember lost loved ones. This night is traditionally called “Wilgilia” (the vigil) and it is a night where people symbolize the expectation of the birth of Jesus Christ (which in effect makes this day more important than Christmas itself). During this night, Poles cook delicious food as part of the celebration.
Polish Christmas Eve traditions
In Wiligia, Poles decorate their houses with evergreen trees, ornaments, apples, lights, nuts, and candles. They also hangPijama(the spider web as decorations) from the ceiling, dozynki (colorful garlands) on the wall and a beamed fir on the ceiling. Perhaps the most important tradition is the preparation of the table. Traditionally, hay is placed under a white linen table to symbolize Jesus’ bed in the manger and Mary’s veil. The grandmother of the family places wafers (oplatki) on the table to symbolize communion. These are usually placed in the best piece of china. At the time of setting the table, an extra is placed in case a hungry person passes by, this is taken from this story of José. Finally, the mother of the family lights candles in the window to celebrate the welcome of the baby Jesus.
After dinner, Santa Claus (the Man with the Stars) accompanied by his singing Star Boys, visits the children and rewards them for being good. He brings gifts from Star Land for the good kids and scolds the kids who misbehaved during the year.
Traditional Polish Christmas Eve food
The food prepared on Christmas Eve consists of meatless recipes. The tradition was adopted from the Roman Catholics. They used to fast during the four weeks leading up to Christmas Eve called Advent and break the fast with meatless meals. They created 13 plates that represented the apostles of Christ and each plate represented foods from the four corners of the earth.
- forest fungi
- orchard fruit
- Lake or sea fish
- field grains
Poles created recipes that incorporated these four elements, such as barszcz wilgilijny z uszkami (Christmas Eve borscht with uszka dumplings), herring, breaded white fish, cabbage rolls, gingerbread cookies, honey-spice cake, and jellied carp.
Continuing the Tradition
We understand how important it is to keep up the tradition, and some of these foods can be hard to find in the US To continue the tradition, you can order these foods at www.polana.com. Polana sells classic Polish gourmet recipes like mushroom and barley soup, honey and spice cake, meatballs and much more.