Parthemores in Poland

Just so everybody doesn't think that Christmas here is only about karp żywy and annoying Christmas songs being played incessantly, we figured we’d share some of the great decorations and other events that always pop up around this time of year.

Poland takes the Christmas season very seriously both as a religious and gift-giving holiday.  Being a predominantly Catholic country, the religious aspect is emphasized considerably more than in the US.  The major event is Christmas Eve, known as Wigilia, when families enjoy 12 meat-free dishes to represent the 12 apostles.  They traditionally fast until the first star is spotted in the night sky.  (It’s not that terrible, since it gets dark here at 3:30pm.)  Another neat tradition is the sharing of the opłatek, a wafer that family members break apart while wishing each other health and good fortune throughout the coming year.  On a side note, tradition holds that animals can talk on Wigilia.  Daisy didn’t say anything last year, so we’re not holding our breath.

There is a Christmas market in the Old Town Square, which features little kiosks of traditional food, jewelry, kitschy stuff, and my personal favorite, grzane wino, the hot spiced wine.  There’s also a manger as well as a stage where different groups perform holiday music.  Quite the festive atmosphere!

On the left, you will notice the ice sculptures from the competition Poznań hosted a few weeks ago.  This was billed as “international” and that was definitely true:  there were teams from the US, Canada, Finland, Bulgaria, and Poland, of course.    

It was neat to see them sculpting with chainsaws, grinders, and Dremels as well as some homemade tools, which I’m sure resulted in many questions from airport security. 

The dino-Santa was our favorite. 

But the Santa on a chopper was pretty cool too.

Since it has been very cold here for the past week, the sculptures are lasting a lot longer than they did last year. 

Another impressive display in the Market Square is the Christmas tree. 

Our personal tree is not as spectacular.  Since it is about as wide as it is tall, we call it the Christmas bush. 

(I tried stretching out the picture to attempt to make it the right dimensions, but it didn’t really work.)

So that’s really what Christmas is like in Poland:  beautiful traditions, festive decorations, as well as long lines at the mall.