{{Short description|Polish Christmas Eve vigil supper}} {{about||the 2014 film|Wigilia (film)}} {{use dmy dates|date=December 2019}} {{multiple image | direction=vertical | header=Wigilia, the Christmas Eve supper | header_background=#DEDDAF | width=250 | image1=Wigilia potrawy 554.jpg | caption1=The traditional Wigilia dinner table }} '''Wigilia''' ({{IPA|pl|vʲiˈɡʲilja|audio=Pl-Wigilia.ogg}}) is the traditional Christmas Eve vigil supper in Poland, held on 24 December. The term is often applied to the whole of Christmas Eve, extending further to Pasterka—midnight Mass, held in Roman Catholic churches all over Poland and in Polish communities worldwide at or before midnight. The custom is sometimes referred to as "wieczerza" or "wieczerza wigilijna", in Old Polish meaning evening repast, which is linked to the late church service or ''Vespers''. The word ''Wigilia'' derives from the Latin ''vigil''. The associated feasting follows a day of abstinence and traditionally begins once the First Star has been sighted.<ref name="dotcom">{{Cite web |title=Wigilja |url=http://www.wigilja.com/ |website=wigilja.com |access-date=11 December 2009 |archive-date=20 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080520125205/http://www.wigilja.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Christmas is also sometimes called "''Gwiazdka''", "little star".
==Traditions and customs== [[File:Piotrus XMAS Tree 2008 05.JPG|thumb|Christmas tree in a Polish home]] Children usually decorate the Christmas tree. Sometimes a handful of hay is placed under the tablecloth of the dining table to symbolise Jesus's birth in a manger.{{fact|date=November 2025}}
Another tradition is to make an extra place-setting for the "unexpected guest", to celebrate hospitality. The feast begins with saying grace, breaking the ''opłatek'' Christmas wafer to symbolize the gift of daily bread, and wishing each other blessings for the coming year. In the country, it was customary to share a special (pink) wafer with livestock and dogs and cats as the animals of the household were to be treated with special reverence on that day, in honour of the animals in the Bethlehem stable. There was a belief that at midnight they were granted the power of human speech.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}
===The Wigilia supper=== [[File:ShabbatableS.jpg|thumb|right|The bread used throughout Wigilia has been borrowed from Shabbat, especially the challah (Polish: ''chałka'')]] A Christmas Eve dinner excludes meat, as abstinence is required, and should comprise twelve distinct dishes in memory of the twelve Apostles. It begins with a soup, either borscht with uszka (tortellini), or wild mushroom consommé (grzybowa), followed by herring in different forms. Fish provides the main dish of the Christmas Eve feast across Poland. There are variations of carp fillet, carp in aspic, gefilte fish (Jewish-style carp), sweet with onions, carrots, almonds and raisins or fish in the Greek Style. Side dishes are cabbage, cooked red or sauerkraut with apple salad. The bread served at the meal is often challah, doubtless borrowed from Poland's centuries-long Jewish fellow countrymen. Polish kutia wigilijna, consisting of barley, poppy seeds, honey, and sweetmeats (łakocie) like figs, raisins, and nuts. Then there is an array of desserts, including dried fruit compote, followed by cake: poppy seed cakes, ''babka'', ''makowiec'', and other sweets including edible Christmas ornaments. Regional variants include ''żurek'' sour rye soup, ''siemieniotka'' (in Silesia), pierogi filled with cheese and potatoes as well as mushrooms and cabbage, stuffed cabbage with mushrooms and rice, ''gołąbki'' (cabbage rolls), łazanki, ''kluski'' with poppyseed, and ''makówki'' (in Silesia). There is in places a belief that whatever happens on Wigilia affects the incoming year; if a quarrel should arise, it foretells a quarrelsome and troublesome year.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}
====The Shepherd's mass==== {{main|Shepherd's mass}} Some families as well as individual worshippers attend the traditional midnight mass/Shepherd's Mass (''pasterka''), where Christmas carols are also sung.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}
A major part of the Wigilia festivities is the opening of gifts. After everyone has finished supper the children often open their gifts and hand out the gifts for the adults from under the tree. The gift-givers in Polish tradition are "Święty Mikołaj" (Saint Nicolas), "Aniołek" (an angel), "Gwiazdka" (a star), "Dzieciątko" (Christkind) in Silesia, Saint Nicholas' feminine counterpart – or the Gwiazdor (masculine), which is either a pagan tradition or represents the little Star of Bethlehem. Saint Nicholas traditionally used to bring gifts on 6 December. This varies and in some families Saint Nicholas brings presents both on the 6th and at Christmas.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}
===The Christmas breakfast=== Christmas Day is a national holiday in Poland and most Poles spend the day with their family. After Wigilia there are two more days of celebrations. Christmas breakfast often consists of baked meats, bigos, cold cuts, smoked or fried salmon, marinated salads, and cakes, especially, pierniki Toruńskie (a gingerbread), cake, and decorated biscuits.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}
==Gallery== <gallery> 04550 Christmas wafer, PL 2010.JPG|Christmas wafer ''opłatek'' symbolizing bread is shared by participants Barszcz z uszkami1.jpg|''Barszcz'' with ''uszka'', one of the traditional Wigilia entrées Restauracja Aromat, Gołków, Poland, 2019, mushroom soup.jpg|Mushroom soup or consommé is often an alternative for ''barszcz'' in parts of Poland Cyprinus carpio. Poland, Christmas.JPG|Carp has dominated as a traditional main course and central dish for decades 04452 Rollmops.jpg| Rollmops, fish commonly served at Wigilia, important as a non-red-meat offering Groch z kapustą.jpg|''Kapusta z grochem'', cooked sauerkraut with yellow split peas or mushrooms Żywność - 030.JPG|Herring salad with oil and chopped onion as a side dish Makowiec 2.JPG|''Makowiec'', a poppy seed roll is usually served for dessert Kompot z suszonych sliwek.JPG|''Kompot'' drink made from dried fruit </gallery>
==See also== * List of dining events
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category|Christmas food of Poland}} *[https://culture.pl/en/article/the-12-dishes-of-polish-christmas The 12 Dishes of Polish Christmas] on Culture.pl *[http://www.polishamericancenter.org/Wigilia.htm Wigilia article from the Polish American Center] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20101127040410/http://www.polishcenter.org/Christmas/WIGILIA-ENG.htm Wigilia article from Pope John Paul II Polish Center] *[https://www.polishmuseumofamerica.org/?s=Wigilia Wigilia article from the Polish Museum of America]
{{Christmas}}
Category:Christmas meals and feasts Category:Polish traditions Category:Christmas in Poland Category:Dining events Category:Slavic holidays