Where have you been?

Again, OC_Photography would like to wish everyone a very Merry Holiday Season. In Poland, as in America, there is usually a single description of a 'traditional' Christmas but in practice every family does something a bit different. I have pieced together this 'traditional' Christmas from discussions with my students over the past month and it goes something like this. The Christmas season starts on December 6th with the celebration of "Mikołajki" or, roughly translated into English, Saint Nicolas Day or Santa Day. This is a celebration of Saint Nicolas' 'Name Day' in which he will bring people a small gift, usually a piece of chocolate placed under their pillow.

We move forward to the 24th which is unquestionably the most important portion of the three day Christmas celebration. During the day people are supposed to fast in preparation of the evenings celebration. Most people don't actually fast and many will simply go to work like normal. The fast is broken by taking Sacrament as a family just prior to the evening feast. "Wigilia", Polish for Christmas Eve, is spent with family and consists of the meal, openning presents, and usually ends with Midnight Mass in church. The meal, tradationally, should consist of twelve courses (for the twelve Apostles) and contain no beef, pork, or any fowl - it should only be fish. Its not just any fish either, but a special fish (and from the title of this post you know) - its carp. This is a bit strange especially because no one could really explain to me why carp and not, say, tuna. It is also common for no alcohol to be consumed during the Christmas Eve meal because it is bad form to show up to Midnight Mass drunk.

After the meal presents are passed out and opened just like in America. As I said stockings are not too common so these don't factor into the 'traditional' celebration. Finally, at midnight, people will attend church. This, as far as I can tell, is a common practice for Catholics everwhere.

On the 25th and 26th there are more or less more feasting with family. Drinking is common on the second and third day of Christmas with Vodka naturally being the drink of choice. It is not uncommon for people to stay home on the 26th and simply rest and not feast/drink. This day is less of the religious holiday and more about taking it easy and getting another day away from work.



We spent the the 24th and 25th at my girlfrfiend's parent's flat in Bemowo, an area of Warsaw. In the above two photos you can see everyone who was present for Christmas Eve. In the top photo you can see my girlfriend sitting on the left hand side surrounded by (from left to right) her grandfather (mother's father), cousin's husband holding their new baby girl, cousin, mother and father. In the lower picture I stand in for my girlfriend. If you look at the table you can see the bowls of carp in gelatin. Yummy...