Christmas in poland
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Transcript of Christmas in poland
CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS IN POLANDIN POLAND
MIKOLAJKI – SANTA CLAUS DAY
BEFORE CHRISTMAS
CHRISTMAS TREE
It is decorated with tinsels,
lights and glass balls. Gold,
silver gold and white chains resembling
long, silver and glittering hair is
also hung on the tree and a star is placed on the top.
EMPTY PLACE HAY
We put it under the white
table-cloth on the table where we have
Christmas supper. It is a symbol of a place
where Jesus was lying after his birth, a shed
and hay.
We also leave an an additional seat for any stranger that
would come to ask for shelter on that
day and commemorate the members of family who passed away.
FIRST STARIt is the symbol of the first star, which appeared when
Jesus was born.Thanks to it, the
shepherds and Three Kings could reach the place of
the saviours' birth.
We wait for the first star which will
appear in the sky at Christmas Eve.
When it shines, then, according to
tradition, we can sit down
at the Christmas table and share the
wafer.
WAFERThis is just a thin piece of crunchy wheat flour and
water. There are Christmas
scenes on it.
The tradition of sharing bread derives from pagan
traditions.
Now it is a Christian custom, and we share the wafer before
the Christmas supper.
When we give wishes to each other, we shall
forgive all the faults, and sit at the table with clear
hearts.
CHRISTMAS FOOD• The traditional Christmas Eve supper consists of
twelve dishes representing the twelve months of the year. No meat is served during the
supper, only fish, usually herring, carp or pike.
Traditional dishes appearing on the table include:
PASTRY
PRESENTS• After the supper, children check the presents under the Christmas
tree.
•After the meal, the candles on the Christmas Tree are lit and
people eat, talk and sing carols.
Children sometimes dress up as characters from the Christmas
story and go carol singing.
Christmas Eve is finished by going to Church for a Midnight Mass called
PASTERKA (SHEPARDS’ MASS).
NATIVITY SCENES
NATIVITY PLAYS
SUPERSTITIONS• Animals are said to talk in a human voice and people have the power to
tell the future.
• "As goes Christmas Eve, goes the year." Hoping for a good 12 months, everyone was polite and generous to one another and forgave past
grievances.
• After dinner, young woman/girls leave the house, and the direction of the first dog bark points to where their future husband will come from.
• If the first person to enter a house on Christmas Eve was a woman, it was a bad omen. It was a good sign when a man was the first to cross
the threshold of the house.
NEW YEAR’S EVE