A Polish Christmas

Szczesliwego Nowego Roku! Happy New Year! (You’ll notice that “happy” here begins with “szcz.” I’ve mastered pronouncing “szcz” if it’s in the middle of a word or at the end, but it frequently baffles me at the beginning. “Szcz” in Polish is pronounced “sh-ch” – “sh” as in “shoe” and “ch” as in “church.” I know – theoretically – how to pronounce it, but my mouth and tongue don’t always cooperate, especially with the “s” and “l” after the “szcz.”)

It’s a little late for a Christmas post, but I didn’t have Internet access in London and couldn’t post from there. Then when I arrived in Cieszyn I didn’t have Internet access for a couple days (I’ll blame “fluffy French snow” like the Eurostar). Here’s a post about Polish Christmas traditions!

First of all, Christmas in Poland reminds you that you are living in a country where approximately 95% of the population is Catholic and the other 5% includes rebellious Lutherans like myself. Christmas traditions here are very closely linked with Catholic traditions. The lack of “Happy Holiday” greetings is also a chilling reminder that of the over 3 million Jewish people who lived in Poland prior to WWII, nearly 90% were executed by the Nazis. (The Nazis burned all synagogues in Cieszyn in September 1939, and now all that’s left are the ruins of two Jewish cemeteries. I’ll post later more about the Holocaust and Poland.)

Adwent, or Advent: Pronounced identically in English and Polish (in Polish, “w” is pronounced “v”)! In Poland, you’re supposed to give up entertainment, sweets, parties, etc. during Advent. (One friend warned me in the fall that I needed to go to the disco a lot in November before it closed for Advent.) I have to admit I failed miserably in this department. I held several parties and served cookies and sweets at all of them. But for me, Advent gave me the opportunity to thank the important people in my life here. Here’s a picture of my mini-Christmas party with Bozena and Rafal (and Colleen and Claire!), two friends who told me in all seriousness at the beginning of the year that they’d like to see me at least once a week. I am very grateful to them for their companionship, their humor, their kindness, and their eagerness to help.

Advent at church: I need to write a full post about church, but here I’ll only say two quick "Advent facts." First, I loved attending church the 1^st Sunday of Advent and discovering the Advent candles were red! Second, every Sunday in Advent we sang “Thine is the Glory!” I almost laughed the 1^st time we sang it because I’ve only sung it on Easter before! Of course, although the tune (by Handel) is identical, the Polish text relates to Christ’s birth, not Christ’s resurrection. What will we sing on Easter, I wonder? It’s also traditional to sing Christmas carols at church for the month of January. I’ve translated a couple popular Polish carols in hopes of understanding a couple we sing tomorrow.

Szopka Krakowska, or Krakow Christmas Cribs: When my dad and sister Claire visited, we had the amazing opportunity to visit Krakow for its Christmas market and view the nativity scenes in Krakow’s 67^th annual Nativity Scene Contest! People have created nativity scenes in Krakow for a couple centuries now. Their architectural design is influenced by churches in Krakow, including St. Mary’s Church, pictured below (thanks, Claire, for the beautiful photograph!). The Holy Family is always included somewhere, but the artist also includes other “characters” like heroes from literature, politicians, you name it! The szopka are magnificently colorful, glittering with colored foil and ornate decorations. They’re amazing works of art created primarily out of wood and tin foil! The prominent colors of the szopka – gold, red, and navy – are the colors that appear on traditional Krakow dresses for women. Here's a picture of one of the beautiful szopka we saw on display.

Choinka, or Christmas Tree, and Decorations: The Christmas tree is traditionally decorated on Christmas Eve, or perhaps a couple days before. Christmas decorations and candy arrived in all the stores here by the second week of October (yes, October!). February 2, called “Swieto Matki Boskiej Gromniczney” or “Candlemas” is, traditionally, the last day of the Polish Christmas season, and the day when people take down their trees.

Wigilia, or Christmas Eve: The Christmas Eve meal begins when the 1^st star appears (you can’t always view the stars through the smog that’s the result of all the coal burning here, but I refrained from pointing this out when people described this tradition to me.) An extra place at the table is set for a stranger in need (like Joseph and Mary searching for a place to stay) or to remember a deceased family member. Traditionally, 12 meatless dishes are served, symbolizing the 12 apostles. (Authentic vegetarians would scoff at what Poles called vegetarian because here a “meatless meal” typically includes bacon bits sprinkled on the top or small pieces of kielbasa hidden in the sauce. My dad quoted “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” when I told him about this. It’s like when Ian announces that he’s a vegetarian and Aunt Voula says, “that’s okay, I make lamb!”) Traditional Christmas Eve dishes include herring, beet soup, carp (my adult conversation class enjoyed telling me how they bring the carp home alive and then prepare it on Christmas Eve), pierogi, and a couple dishes with poppyseeds and mushrooms. Everyone attends mass/church at night and at midnight, animals supposedly can speak (although no one can confirm this because they are all good parishioners and are at church at midnight).

Opłatek: Opłatek is an unleavened wafer (like a communion wafer) imprinted with nativity scenes (in the photograph below, it's imprinted with a scene of Mary and baby Jesus surrounded by angels). It’s also called the “bread of love” or “the angel’s bread.” It’s broken and shared at Christmas Eve dinner. Everyone receives a wafer and then you give a piece to every family member and wish them a “Merry Christmas.” Several of my students named this moment at Christmas Eve dinner their favorite Christmas tradition. I purchased opłatek at my congregation here in Cieszyn and brought them to London to share with my family! I also brought “szulki,” a rolled biscuit made by Lutheran churches in southern Poland for its congregation to enjoy on Christmas Eve. Here's a picture of my family with their opłatek and szulki!

Christmas Day: No special foods or traditions; everything of importance occurred on Christmas Eve! But typically a day with family (and lots of meat dishes). Gifts are exchanged on Christmas Eve, not Christmas Day, and are not brought by Santa Claus, but the baby Jesus or the messenger angel. (No one in my family ever liked the notion of a strange old man sneaking down the chimney into our house uninvited; this explanation for the gifts under the tree would have probably suited us much better. Except how did baby Jesus or the angel get into our house...)

Home Alone: What do my students do on Christmas Day? Watch “Home Alone” on TV (called “Kevin is Home Alone” in Poland). And they love it. I secretly wept a little when I heard this (although I enjoyed telling my students that the movie was filmed in the Chicago area and at the airport I departed from in August). This is the American contribution to Christmas in Poland? Oh dear. I looked up “Home Alone” on IMDB and loved reading the questions readers have submitted about “Home Alone” including: “Why didn’t the parents notice Kevin’s absence when they presented his airline ticket at the boarding gate?” (IMBD’s answer: “In the scramble to get on the airplane, the ticket may have been overlooked. Another possibility is that Kevin's ticket was tossed in the trash when his father wiped up after Kevin spilled milk all over the passports and tickets. Look closely at the trash, and you'll see what looks like a ticket nestled inside the red napkins. Without a ticket for Kevin, no one apparently noticed that he was not in the group.” Apparently.)