Tradition is good on Christmas

Christmas was always something special when I was little. Back then I mostly cared about the gifts of course. The anticipation was huge and so was the appreciation. Back then in Poland we did not have access to Western goods but each year my uncle, who lived in England, would send us a package with all the goodies. My favorites were Mars, Snickers and Terry’s Chocolate Orange -yes, especially that one!

As I grew older I started paying more attention to the food my mom was cooking for this special day. In Poland, the most important part of Christmas is actually Christmas Eve. Traditionally, people would fast all day until the first star appeared on the night sky and then they would sit down for a one-of-a-kind dinner. The table was beautifully decorated and the centerpiece was a plate with wafers we would bring from church to share at the beginning of the meal to wish each person health, wealth and prosperity. The plate was situated on hay to symbolize Baby Jesus in the manger.

Some of the foods prepared for Christmas Eve would only be cooked for that one day. Usually it would take several days to prepare everything. There had to be 12 dishes for the 12 apostles and they would all be meat-less. This rule was in the meantime abandoned by the church that now allows meat dishes on Christmas Eve, but people still keep the tradition alive.

The table would be filled with food. There was carp (fried and in aspic); herring in oil; pierogi with cabbage and mushrooms as well as with potato and cheese; borsch with mushroom tortellini (we call them ears because of their shape); Christmas Eve Cabbage (my favorite no-meat version of bigos: sauerkraut with mushrooms, onions, prunes and lots of black pepper); dark rye bread and dried fruit compote to drink. For desert we would have things like kutia (wheat and poppy-seed with honey, raisins, hazelnuts, almonds, dates and figs) and poppy-seed cake. These were the typical dishes at my house, but there are many, many more.

And after dinner came gift time. When we were little our parents would send us to wash our hands after dinner and when we came back the gifts had magically appeared under the tree. And the fun began…