As of 2024, there are around 700,000 polish people in the UK, so why doesn’t anyone know about polish Christmas traditions?
Ever since I moved to England in 2015, at the ripe age of 10, I was so excited for how Christmas was celebrated here.
I listened to my friends tell me about roast dinners, waking up in the morning on the 25th for the inevitable rummaging underneath the Christmas tree, and even matching pyjamas on the evening of the 24th and watching movies with a mug of hot chocolate.
I was fascinated by the vast differences in cultures between countries not even 2 hours away from each other by plane.
When I mentioned that my Christmas is a bit different, with celebrating on the 24th, I was met with confused faces.
Slavic Christmases differ from English ones quite a bit, but no one’s ever asked me in detail about what we do as preparation or traditions on the day.
So here are some things we Polish people do every year to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
- Traditional and regional soup – Żur Wigilijny – In Śląsk (Silesia), where I was born and raised, we have a specific soup that we make each year for the night of the 24th. It is based off a sourdough starter, much like sourdough bread, which is created two weeks prior to Christmas Eve so it has time to ferment. It is made with forest, wild mushroom that are soaked for a day in warm water, and mashed potatoes. This rich and hearty soup is perfect for a cold, winter night to warm up our bodies before the present opening begins!
- First star in the sky – Once all preparations are finished for the supper, we spend our time getting ready and looking out for the first star in the sky. This is mostly done out of biblical significance, looking for the star that led Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, which is also a way to keep kids occupied so they don’t snoop around the presents!
- 12 Course meal – Traditionally and from my memory, there are always 12 dishes on the table: some salads, pierogi (dumplings with various fillings) regional soups, and fish! Since in my family thereare
only 4 of us, we stray from the hefty number of foods and opt out for a lighter supper that leaves us all full. - Hay under the tablecloth – In traditional, polish homes you will find a bit of hay that is placed under the tablecloth, as a reminder that baby Jesus was born in a manger. I remember putting some extra hay on top of the table with a little figurine of baby Jesus, I used to run my fingers in the edges of the dry clay, taking in the intricacy ofthis small statuette.
- Sharing the Christmas wafer – before the dinner starts and the family members pounce on the food presented in front of them, we each take a wafer that’s intricately etched with scenes from the Bible and share it with each other individually. The whole point of it is to wish each other blessings for the new year that’s approaching, spread our love and shed a few tears in the process.
This is just a small taster of the things that could be done during your celebration in Poland.
Essentially, tradition runs deep within the polish culture, but each corner of Poland has its differences and special things they like to do during Christmastime.
I hope that this has opened up the world of Christmas traditions in Poland for you. Dear reader, I hope I have inspired you to try something new from this list!