Where and why do Polish people celebrate Christmas?

Answer 1

I don't know if your asking about Christmas or Christmas Eve because these are two different things to us Polish people.

We usually celebrate it at home, with family, sometimes we invite others to join us (it's considered a high honor if you are invited) and it's on Christmas Eve that we celebrate it. This is known as Wigilia, which means vigil.

We start getting together around 5PM which is usually when the first star is seen, or sighted. But even if you can't see it, we usually start at 5PM. It's tradition.

We settle around the dinner table and we pray in Polish first, and then each member of the dinner table gets these Communion wafers we call opłatek. Everyone goes around to each member and breaks off a piece of their opłatek and wish them something for the coming year whether it may be happiness, health, money, good luck, good grades, marriage it could be whatever and it can be all of them. Then they eat the opłatek, and the same is done to them by the other person. Once done with that person we usually end it by a kiss on the cheek, older relatives who are close to you like mother, father, aunt, uncle are known to kiss the cheek at least 4 times.

After that is done, we finally settle down and have dinner. Which is then followed by opening of the presents. Yes we do it on Christmas Eve, every Friday in the Advent and Lent Calendars we abstain from eating meat some people abstain from eating meat on Wigilia too but my family makes it available. There are many dishes during dinner usually 7 or 12. My mom only makes 7 if there are not many people coming, but makes 12 if there will be a couple more. Leftovers are also left for Christmas as to not waste food.

After presents are done we either stay in the same room and chat, which mostly the adults do that and everyone else goes off on their own. And later if you can stay up, most Polish people go to Midnight Mass which marks the coming of Jesus his actual birth. If they can't make it at midnight they have to go sometime during Christmas Day.

I usually go at Midnight and let me tell you it's magnificent, I'm not really a church goer because every Sunday is the same to me but Midnight Mass is a little different. The church is overfilled with many Polish people that come together to celebrate, sometimes there's no room and people stand in the corridors. They even have a choir, and sing really special songs in Polish. Yes, the Mass is in Polish. The inside of the Church is very beautiful and decorated, I suggest finding out about it at your closest Polish Church going to it at least once, but it may not be like what mine is like. I go to St. Adalbert's which is located in Philadelphia, in Polish neighborhood called Port Richmond. This neighborhood is filled with Polish people, and stores.

It is known that before Christmas Eve every Polish person goes to confession and every Polish person goes to receive communion during Midnight Mass. There are many time available slots for people to receive confession, at the church I go to it last for a week having it 3 times a day.

That covers Christmas Day is a day to rest, or sometimes we go to see other relatives and have a meal together to celebrate.

Why do we celebrate Christmas, mmmm.... have you ever heard 90% of Poland is Catholic/Christian. There's your answer, our traditions go way back so it's been passed down from family to family. I'm 3/4 Polish 1/4 Japanese, but celebrate Polish customs like I'm 100% Polish because I don't know anything about Japanese customs or traditions because my mothers father died when she was 2 and never followed it to begin with. He always did the Polish thing too.

I hope this answers all your questions, it's better to hear it from someone that celebrates it than reading it from Wikipedia or something. Because some families have the same idea, but have also different traditions as well. Like the dishes may not always be the same or something, there's always something different in traditions. It's just each family has their own way of doing things, but most of it is the same. Like the Christmas Eve Wigilia, the opłatek, the praying, the dinner at 5PM, the presents, and the Midnight Mass.

There could be other things put into that, from what someone said they have some kids playing games or something. I don't know. To each his or her own.

Answer 2

No,on Christmas polish people just were their clothes that they would normally where.

Answer 3

Polish people celebrate Christmas on dec.25 like most people, but they also have the Epiphany on Jan.6 at church.