Women’s Day in Poland

Valentine’s Day (Walentynki) has been observed in Poland since the collapse of the Eastern European Bloc and the opening of Poland’s borders. Poles were quick to adopt Valentine’s Day and nowadays it’s as popular in Poland as anywhere else. But a holdover from Soviet Union rule — Dzień Kobiet or Women’s Day – also is celebrated on March 8.

The holiday was created in 1948, in part, to replace the Roman Catholic feast day of Blessed Wincenty Kadłubek, a 12th-century monk, but also to glorify the ideals of women as hard-working contributors to the economy – sort of a women’s equality day. Although initially this feast was enforced by the government, it became accepted and part of Polish culture. And, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it is still celebrated.

While Valentine’s Day is more privately celebrated between lovers in Poland, Women’s Day is celebrated more as a national holiday for all women, regardless of age. They receive special attention, usually flowers, sweets and small gifts, not only privately, but at work and schools. The Western trend of giving greeting cards is creeping into this holiday.

Women’s Day is now an official holiday in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, and other Eastern European countries.

St. Mary and St. Joseph kept this law, even though, since St. Mary remained a virgin after the birth of Christ, she would not have had to go through ritual purification. In his gospel, Luke (2:22-39) recounts the story.

Originally, the feast was celebrated on February 14, the 40th day after Epiphany (January 6), because Christmas wasn’t yet celebrated as its own feast, and so the Nativity, Epiphany, the Baptism of the Lord (Theophany), and the feast celebrating Christ’s first miracle at the wedding in Cana were all celebrated on the same day. By the last quarter of the fourth century, however, the Church at Rome had begun to celebrate the Nativity on December 25, so the Feast of the Presentation was moved to February 2, 40 days later.

When Christ was presented in the temple, “there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel.” When St. Mary and St. Joseph brought Christ to the temple, Simeon embraced the Child and prayed the Canticle of Simeon: “Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace; because my eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples: a light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32).

Because of the words of the canticle (“a light to the revelation of the Gentiles“), by the 11th century, the custom had developed in the West of blessing candles on the Feast of the Presentation. The candles were then lit, and a procession took place through the darkened church while the Canticle of Simeon was sung. Because of this, the feast also became known as Candlemas. While the procession and blessing of the candles is not often performed in the United States today, Candlemas is still an important feast in many European countries as just is in the Polish National Catholic Church.

A celebration different from those in other countries, with its most important symbols: opłatek, fir tree, first star, 12 dishes menu. That will be probably an important day also for you if you meet a woman from Poland and you decide together to create a stable union. Because undoubtedly your future partner will want to keep her/his traditions, which is so important for the Polish women and the Polish men, as certainly she/he will be happy if you pay attention to the Polish habits. Christmas is a very important moment for the Poles. It is often called the family day. Preceded by several weeks of waiting, it is celebrated liberally and according to the old tradition of the country. It is a spiritual and mythical celebration, and it always remains it, which is rather rare in our world of today, directed rather towards pure consumption.

Although Christmas is a religious festival, it is also a symbol. A symbol of new life – news year, a symbol of peace, conciliation, an exceptional time when all is possible and when even the enemies have the chance to be put into agreement. It is above all a whole symbol of the united family and diving in love and happiness. It is the time, which gives the direction of safety, heat, mutual comprehension. It has its own environments, its own flavors, single and remain deeply in the hearts of people.

Obviously, the habits vary a little in the different areas. I here will tell in short the traditions of my area.

The preparations with Christmas begin already a few weeks before, by the Advent. It is the time of the waiting. It is rather rare to see people organizing something during this time, it is rather the time of silence during which people seek their serenity. It is not rare, even now, to see people who make sacrifices, such as for example: not to eat candies or to void drinking alcohol. One of the traditions, as in other countries, it is to make cribs (the most famous Polish cribs are those called “Cracovian” or of Cracow).

The children often prepare their own decorations for the fir tree and the table. Christmas, is Boże Narodzenie (birth of the god) in Polish, is also called in the Polish language “Gwiazdka,” which wants to say in English “a small star” in the exact translation of Polish.

Christmas in Poland lasts 2 days: 25th and 26th December, but the most important day is the day before Christmas, on December 24. It is Wigilia in the Polish language is the equivalent of French Midnight supper. It is the day which, according to habits’, decides chance and success for the New Year. It is then very important to live this day in peace, good mood and good health, full of energy, because that says that all the year will be good.

Everyone rises early (not to be lazy all year!) and the last preparations start. At last, they prepare the house (the cleaning up).

When almost all work is made, the Christmas tree is decorated. In certain families, it is done some time in advance. Some use the decorations bought in shops or home made. Some put also candies, cakes, which could be then eaten. The fir tree, according to the tradition, must remain until January 6.
Obviously, under the fir tree, the gifts are or will be put, by Santa Claus who is generally called in Poland Święty Mikołaj, that is to say in exact translation in English Saint Nicolas. (Interesting: the festival of Saint Nicolas, on December 6, is also celebrated in Poland as the day during which gifts are offered to children in priority!)

Once the entire menu is ready to be served, the table is set. First of all, one puts hay (or straw) on the table – that points out to us the origins of Jesus, born in a cattle shed. That must also enable us to have a good luck (for which nothing misses) all the year. Then, the table with a tablecloth, generally white is covered. It is obligatory to leave one free plate, for a visitor not awaited who could come, as in memory with those of the members of the family who cannot be any more with us. The menu generally contains 12 different dishes and does not contain meat because it is the day of deficiency – and the food of all this day must be simple, without meat and without alcohol.

In the same way, the menu of Christmas is also simple: especially the fish with carp in several different dishes, mushrooms, vegetable and fruit. But in spite of the simplicity of the products, the receipts are often complicated and often require several hours of preparation, in which all family takes part in the tasks – each one wishes to be being useful and the preparations are most make an exceptional environment for the midnight supper.

The menu is often a little different in each area and varies according to families, but much of dishes resemble. And often as the principal rule which is complied with in many families: no alcohol this day. Thus soups: barszcz, zurek or the soup with fish, the sauerkraut cooked with dry peas or dry mushrooms, pierogi – uszka (exact translation in English: small ears) is the ravioli with mushrooms, the ravioli with sauerkraut, the small raviolis, carp (in different ways of preparation), the herring in vinegar or in different salads, the salads with the dry fruits, the kutia (the mixture of poppy, nut, honey, corn, grapes) useful with small simple cakes, the poppy, the eternal potatoes, different cakes – of which that with the poppy (which must also bring back happiness all the year), as well as the gingerbread or small honey and gingerbreads, symbolizing the wealth of family all the year, the cakes with the grapes, nuts and with the dry fruits, hazel nuts symbolizing the success, the fruits varied, of which apples symbolizing the beauty and a good health.
And the most important “dish” on the table it is the oplatek (unleavened bread, as for the communion), because it is the symbol of division and conciliation. Resulting from the especially religious tradition (prepared in several formats and dimensions, it presents scenes in connection with the birth of the Jesus child), it is today a symbol of peace and love and that for all people, without taking into account their religion. Even the politics meet before Christmas with “oplatek” to divide it between them and symbolically with all the Polish people. These meetings of the “oplatek” are also organized in certain companies, schools, clubs, etc. So, people who work together or who meet for different activities, express their friendship and the respect the ones for the others.

It is a so important tradition, which those which cannot pass from Midnight supper together (of which often the family living abroad), exchange the opłatek by sending it by the post office accompanied by a postcard with the wishes – a very popular habit in Poland: to send a postcard or more often of the wishes only simply is very current for Polish, even with those which one does not know personally, but to which one is addressed in this moment, even if it just acts of request for some information (as example: I receive every year of many of postcards of my Polish members). Every year, in period of Christmas, of the thousands (see million!) postcards circulate between Poland and all the countries of the world, where my Polish compatriots are at the time given.

But let us return to our table. The opłatek is thus put on an often decorated plate (and if possible, more beautiful than the other plates) and occupies the centre of the table – the most important place.

Because Christmas is a family celebration above all, it passed in the family circle first of all. The nearest family thus meets on December 24 in the evening, the fir tree (with the gifts below) decorated and the covered table, they wait until the first star appears on the sky. It is the sign which the festival can begin and people can sit at the table. But before it is made it, one divides the oplatek (the oldest of the family starts) and people exchange wishes to each other. The most important is that the next celebration is celebrated with all the family and that its members are numerous at least as much (or even more). It is the mythical moment, where one forgives oneself all the bad moments and one promises to start again a new life.

Interesting: in old time, people shared also their opłatek with their animals. This tradition is always present in certain areas and certain families. And one said (and always says), that this exceptional night, even the animals speak the human language. Then, people sit at the table (the old tradition said to sit according to the age) and the dinner starts. It is important at least to try all the dishes not to know the hunger the next year and to have a good luck. It is also preferable not to rise and not to leave the table before the end of the dinner. This is why all the dishes are put on the table at the beginning to eat it so that everyone tries it and nobody gets up to serve the dishes one after the other.

Once the dinner finished, one distributes presents and one continues the evening by singing Christmas songs (called in Polish “kolędy” – which will be still present in the everyday life during a few weeks). The evening generally finishes around midnight and those who which wish it can go to the midnight mass (pasterka), which in Poland is always at midnight. It is preferable not to clear the table, but to leave it until the following day (for nothing to miss the next year).

The 25th and 26th December, the Poles go to visit each other, always in family. And these 2 days generally pass. At the table, because the meat and all the others food from now on are allowed and it only remains to consume all food so preciously prepared.

Merry Christmas!

The February 2nd is a day when the Christmas season in Poland ends.