CHRISTMAS CUISINE

in Poland

Christmas is probably the most awaited time of the year by children - apart from holidays after a  very long school year:)

In every country Christmas traidtions are passed on younger generations. Among them there is a tradition of putting hay under the table cloth before the Christmas Eve Supper - which is the most important meal during Christmas in Poland.

Once the table is set, we start celebrating with our closest family members and we share the wafer (wish each other the very best, forgive all bad deeds and prey all together). We also read a fragment from the Holy Bible, that describes the birht of Jesus.

After that we eat 12 traditional dishes. No meat is allowed on this day, so it's mainly fish (especially carp and herring, sometimes salmon and cod) and typical Polish dumplings called pierogi - filled with sauerkraut and chopped dried mushrooms.

Typical soups are the dried mushroom soup with homemade noodles and red borsh with mini-dumplings called uszka (tiny ears). They are also filled with dried mushrooms especially those collected in autumn in the forest. We drink a compote made of dried fruit (plums, apples, pears). 

No sooner than after the meal, the children are allowed to unpack the gifts and we sing the carols. At midnight most of Polish Catholics gather at churches for a special Mass called Pasterka (The Shepherds' Mass), It lasts around 90 to 120 minutes with very solemn atmosphere. 

We would like to present two short films by 8 grade students preparing  Christmas desserts.  If you are hungry we suggest watching them later on:)

Cheesecake by Paulina

Gingerbreads by Ola, Julia and Leon