1. POLISH CHRISTMAS TRADITION

2. December 24 - Wigilia - Christmas Eve
Wigilia (from the Latin term vigilare meaning "to await") is the Polish name for Christmas Eve. Much work must be done, including cooking, baking, and all the housework. This way, the two holidays that follow can be devoted to praying, caroling, eating, relaxing, and eventually visiting. This special day is associated with several beliefs and customs.

3. Wafer
When the first star appears in the sky, the Christmas tree is lit and the dinner begins. The Christmas Eve meal starts with a prayer, the sharing of the blessed oplatek (consecrated bread wafer which is similar  to that used during Holy Communion in the Roman Catholic Church), and exchanging wishes. Usually, the male head of the household takes the wafer and turns to his wife, extending it toward her.

4. He wishes her good health and success in the upcoming year, the fulfillment of her dreams, and, if there have been any misunderstandings, he asks her for forgiveness and for the new year to be a better one. The wife then thanks him and breaks off half of the wafer and eats a piece of it. Next, she offers the wafer to her husband, expressing similar wishes. He breaks the wafer and eats it. This ceremony is repeated with each person present, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. After the breaking of the wafer and an the exchanging of wishes, everyone sits down at the dinner table. The table is covered with a white tablecloth and there is one additional place set for an unexpected guest who, especially that night, should not be turned away. This is to remind us that St. Joseph and Mary were also looking for shelter. Until the first star appears, Wigilia is a day of fasting.

5. Although there are plenty of dishes on the table, this is a traditionally  meatless dinner. It consists of several soups (red beet with mushroom pockets, fermented rye, fish, dry mushroom), fish (fried, jellied, in sweet sauce, in beer-almond-ginger sauce, staffed), sauerkraut with beans, pierogi (dumplings) stuffed with mushrooms and cabbage, noodles with poppy seeds and honey, sweet strudel, and a compote made with dried fruit. It should be pointed out that today in Poland, no one imagines the Wigilia dinner without fish (carp in particular), just as nobody in the U.S. thinks of Thanksgiving dinner without a turkey.

6. The Mass of the Shepherds
Time after dinner is devoted to different activities. It is customary to feed the domestic animals with oplatek and dinner leftovers, especially cows to assure the production of plenty of milk. Girls listen to hear from which direction a dog barks  because, as the saying goes, it is from that direction her prospective husband will come. Children and teenagers go to the orchard and beat fruit trees with small branches so there will be an abundance of fruit next year. Old stories are told and carols are sung. These activities continue until it is time to attend midnight Mass. In Polish it is called Pasterka, "the Mass of the Shepherds" to commemorate the shepherds who were the first to greet the newborn baby Jesus.

7. There is something magical experienced on the way to midnight Mass
There is something magical experienced on the way to midnight Mass. Stars are shining and bells are ringing. The snow crunches and whitens the way. Sleighs are heard and one can almost detect the angels singing, "Silent Night, Holy Night."
After Mass, people return to their homes and have a glass of hot compote and a piece of cake.

8. Wigilia Table Check List
Here's a short list of foods typically found on the Polish Christmas Eve Wigilia table. Because practices vary from region to region within Poland, this  guide is not a definitive list but rather a handy reminder for those of you who wish to keep this tradition alive in your family.
Mushroom soup with noodles, borsch with mushroom uszka (little pierogi), or fish soup.
Herring in oil, pickled herring, carp aspic (jellied carp), stuffed carp, and/or fried carp.
Hay under the white tablecloth.
Salt, pepper.
Sauerkraut with mushrooms, and/or red cabbage.
Dried-fruit compote.
Noodles with poppyseeds.
Kutia (a dish made from boiled wheat, poppy seeds and honey).
Pierogi, traditionally with cabbage and mushrooms.
Oplatek (Christmas wafer).
Bread
An extra setting for an unexpected wanderer.

9. Polish customs, especially at Christmas time, are both beautiful and meaningful.
The preparations for Christmas begin many days before the actual celebration. Nearly everywhere women are cleaning windows in apartments and houses just before Christmas. The insides of the houses are also cleaned thoroughly. It is believed that if a house is dirty on Christmas Eve, it will remain dirty all next year.
Weather-forecasting is quite popular during Christmas. Everything that happens on Christmas, including  the weather, has an impact on the following year. The weather on Easter and throughout the next year supposedly depends upon the weather on Christmas (snow, rain etc). Only a white Christmas is considered a real Christmas; therefore, everybody is happy when there is fresh snow outside

10. Some ceremonies take place before the Christmas Eve supper
Some ceremonies take place before the Christmas Eve supper Among farmers, a popular ritual is the blessing of the fields with holy water and the placing of crosses made from straw into the four corners. It is also believed that animals can speak with a human voice.
Straw is put under white tablecloth. Some maidens predict their future from the straw. After supper, they pull out blades of straw from beneath the tablecloth. A green one foretells marriage; a withered one signifies waiting; a yellow one predicts spinsterhood; and a very short one foreshadows an early grave.
Poles are famous for their hospitality, especially during Christmas. In Poland, an additional seat is kept for somebody unknown at the supper table. No one should be left alone at Christmas, so strangers are welcomed to the Christmas supper

11. This is to remind us that Mary and Joseph were also looking for shelter. In Poland, several homeless people were interviewed after Christmas. Some of them were invited to strangers' houses for Christmas; others that were not asked inside the homes but were given lots of food.
It is still strongly believed that whatever occurs on Wigilia (Christmas Eve) has an impact on the coming  year. So, if an argument should arise, a quarrelsome and troublesome year will follow. In the morning, if the first visiting person is a man, it means good luck; if the visitor is a woman, one might expect misfortune. Everyone, however, is glad when a mailman comes by, for this signifies money and success in the future. To assure good luck and to keep evil outside, a branch of mistletoe is hung above the front door. Finally, old grudges should end. If, for some reason, you do not speak with your neighbor, now is the time to forget old ill feelings and to exchange good wishes.

12. Traditionally, the Christmas tree is decorated on the Wigilia day - quite an event for children. The custom of having a Christmas tree was first introduced in Alsace (today a region of eastern France) at the end of the 15th century. Three centuries later, it was common around the world. Early on, the tree was decorated with apples to commemorate the forbidden fruit - the apple of paradise (the garden of Eden). Today, the Christmas tree is adorned with apples, oranges, candies and small chocolates wrapped in colorful paper nuts wrapped in aluminum foil, hand-blown glass ornaments, candles or lights, thin strips of clear paper (angel's hair), and home-made paper chains. The latter, however, has become rarer because commercially produced aluminum foil chains are being sold.

13. Santa Claus
Christmas and Santa Claus Day are not celebrated at the same time in Poland, but rather three weeks apart. Santa Claus (called Mikolaj) Day is celebrated on December 6th, the name day of St. Nicholas. This is when St. Nicholas visits some children in person or secretly during the night.

14. First holiday
Christmas Day, called the first holiday by the Poles, is spent with the family at home. No visiting, cleaning, nor cooking are allowed on that day; only previously cooked food is heated. This is a day of enjoyment, for Jesus was born. On Christmas Day, people start to observe the weather very closely. It is believed that each day foretells the weather for a certain month of the following year. Christmas Day predicts January's weather, St. Stephen's Day impacts February's, etc

15. Second holiday
St. Stephen's Day is known as the second holiday This is a day for visiting and exchanging Christmas greetings. When night begins to fall, you can hear stamping and jingling, followed by Christmas carol singing outside. Carolers begin their wandering from home to home. Herody, a  popular form of caroling, is a live performance usually played by twelve young boys. Dressed in special costumes, they include King Herod, a field marshal, a knight, a soldier, an angel, a devil, death, a Jew, Mary, shepherds, and sometimes the Three Kings and an accordionist. They sing pastoral songs and carols, and when let into a house, perform scenes from King Herod's life. Oration and songs vary and depend upon to whom they are being addressed: the owner of the house, a young woman about to be married, a widow, etc. At the conclusion, the performers  are offered refreshments and some money. Also popular is caroling with a crib (szopka) and with a star. Usually, those are items are carried by three caroling teenagers. They, too, are given some money.

16. The Breaking of the Oplatek
One of the most beautiful and most revered Polish customs is the breaking of the  oplatek. The use of the Christmas wafer (oplatek) is not only by native Poles in Poland but also by people of Polish ancestry all over the world.
The oplatek is a thin wafer made of flour and water. For table use, it is white. In Poland, colored wafers are used to make Christmas tree decorations. In the past, the wafers were baked by organists or by religious and were distributed from house to house in the parish during Advent. Today, they are produced commercially and are sold in religious stores and houses. Sometimes an oplatek is sent in a greeting card to loved ones away from home.

17. On Christmas Eve, the whole family gathers and waits impatiently for the appearance of the first star. With its first gleam, they all approach a table covered with hay and a snow-white tablecloth. A vacant chair and a place setting are reserved for an unexpected guest, always provided for in hospitable Polish homes.
The father or eldest member of the family reaches for the wafer, breaks it in half and gives one half to the mother. Then, each of them breaks a small part from each other's piece. They wish one another a long life, good health, joy and happiness, not only for the holiday season, but also for the new year and for many years to come.

18. Życzenia góralskie …. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41XcrQw1i_c#t=26
This ceremony is repeated between the parents and their children as well as among the  children; then, the wafer and good wishes are exchanged with all those present, including relatives and even strangers. When this activity is over, they all sit down and enjoy a tasty though meatless supper, after which they sing kolędy (Christmas carols and pastorals) until time for midnight Mass, also know as Pasterka ("the Mass of the Shepherds").
Życzenia góralskie ….