Wednesday, 3 April 2013

Customs and traditions in Poland - part 1. Christmas


Christmas

Everyone loves Christmas. It is the most eagerly awaited holiday in the year. This is a unique time when people try to be kind,friendly and generous to one another.They seem to forget all their problems,quarrels and just enjoy being together.Christmas are preceded by many days of preparation.Streets are lit by coloured lamps;shops are full of people buying presents,choosing Christmas cards;Christmas trees are set up in every home and decorated with sparkling tinsel,candles,chains,toys and trinkets.
The traditional Christmas feast occurs on Christmas Eve, or Wigilia, a day that holds equal importance with Christmas Day. Before the table is set, straw or hay is placed under a white The most popular dishes are: red borsh with pies, carp: fried or in a jelly, pies with mushrooms, herrings, poppy-seed cake. The most popular dishes are: red borsh with pies, carp: fried or in a jelly, pies with mushrooms, herrings, poppy-seed cake. The most popular dishes are: red borsh with pies, carp: fried or in a jelly, pies with mushrooms, herrings, poppy-seed cake. The most popular dishes are: red borsh with pies, carp: fried or in a jelly, pies with mushrooms, herrings, poppy-seed cake. The most popular dishes are: red borscht with pies, carp: fried or in a jelly, pies with mushrooms, herrings, poppy-seed cake.turned away from inns in Bethlehem and that those seeking shelter are welcome on this special night.
The traditional Polish Christmas meal consists of 12 dishes, one for each of the 12 apostles. These dishes are usually meatless, though this restriction does not exclude the preparation of fish. Typically, people watch for the first star to appear in the night sky before sitting down to eat. The breaking of symbolic wafers precedes the meal and everyone shares pieces of the broken wafers.
The most popular dishes are: red borsh with pies, carp: fried or in a jelly, pies with mushrooms, herrings, poppy-seed cake.
It is on this Wigilia Day that the Christmas tree is decorated. The Polish Christmas tree can be decorated with shapes cut from gingerbread, colored wafers, cookies, fruit, candy, straw ornaments, decorations made from eggshells, or commercially produced ornaments.






















Santa Claus does not appear on Christmas Eve. The appearance of Santa Claus (Mikolaj) happens instead on December 6. The feast of St. Nicholas is a part of the Advent celebrations, which are an integral part of Polish Christmas traditions.
It is a time of giving a small gift, we usually hide presents on the night of 5 to 6 December in shoes. In our school we celebrate Nicholas feast. Santa Claus usually visit each class and give  present to children.
































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