Do you have an event in your life that you celebrate each year beside birthdays and anniversaries? Do you celebrate your heritage and traditions?
On Dec. 7, my family and friends will celebrate an early Christmas Eve at the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. It is a yearly observance of the Tallahassee Polish Heritage Society. There will be a demonstration of polka dancing, accordion music, Polish food, brought by those attending, and prayers to bring our families together.
This celebration is called Wigilia or V-gill-ya, meaning to wait, and celebrates the coming of the Christ Child. It is a very special time when a thin, rectangular, flat bread, the Oplatek or Christmas wafer, is shared by the family and those present.
The custom dates back many centuries in Poland when bread was baked over an open flame. Patterns would be cut into the bread to make breaking easier. This is why Oplatki today still have patterns on them, usually of nativity scenes.
Before the Oplatek is shared, children go outside to find the first star in the sky that led the Three Kings to the stable. As per custom, the first one to spot the brightest star will have the most luck during the following year. After the star is found, children return and the Oplatek is shared with family and friends.
Sharing the Opłatek is an extremely important symbolic gesture. The exchange of the wafer brings forgiveness for all previous hurts and conveys wishes of good health, happiness and good fortune in the coming year. Polish people also send the Christmas wafers through the mail to their family members living far away.
Even the pets and farm animals are given a piece of Oplatek. Legend has it that if animals eat Oplatek on Christmas Eve, they will be able to speak in human voices at midnight, but only those who are pure of spirit will be able to hear them.
Each person is given a piece of the Oplatek and goes to family and friends with their wishes. Custom is to break a small piece of wafer the other person is holding and eat it after saying the wishes. In some regions of Poland it is dipped in a bowl with honey before eating.
It is now time for the dinner. Tradition calls for 12 meatless dishes, and many kinds of fish, beet or mushroom soup, various dishes made from cabbage, mushrooms, or potatoes, pierogi, followed by dried fruit compote and pastries for dessert. Beneath the tablecloth on the food table hay is placed to recall Christ’s humble birth in a stable.
Another important tradition is to leave one seat vacant at the table. It is the seat for an “unexpected guest.” The saying goes, “A guest in the home is God in the home.” This custom is a remnant of one of the most important old Slavic customs, the rite of “Forefathers.”
During these rites, spirits of the ancestors were believed to visit their old homes and feast together with their families, thus one seat was prepared for them. In other families it is prepared in memory of those, far away, who cannot attend with the family.
After dinner, the family gathers around the Christmas tree decorated with handmade ornaments and blown eggs representing new life. Polish Christmas ornaments have a very old tradition. They are often made of blown glass and then painted and decorated by hand, so they are very delicate and need to be handled with care.
These glass ornaments have many shapes — some are round, others are shaped like icicles, pinecones, or angels. Other ornaments are made from paper, wood, straw, or hollowed eggs. Fruit, cookies, and candies are sometimes also hung on the tree. Foil icicles, chains made from paper or wooden beads are added and a large star or angel is placed on top.
Small beeswax candles add the final touch. These are lit as the family gathers around the tree to open presents and sing Christmas carols. The tree will stay up at least through the Feast of the Three Kings on Jan.6.
Beneath the tree is a nativity scene popular at Christmas in all Christian countries. It originated with St. Francis of Assisi in the 13th century and spread quickly to Poland. Today the nativity scene called szopka (shop-ka) is elaborate with hand-carved figures and beautiful decorations. The scenes are mostly religious.
The city of Krakow in Poland has its own very colorful szopka tradition that dates back to the 19th century when Krakow's craftsmen, including masons and woodworkers, began to make them as seasonal decorations in order to earn extra income during the holidays.
Over the years, the city government decided to support this tradition by announcing the first official Krakow Szopka Competition in December 1937. Since then, with the exception of the World War II years, the competition takes place on the first Thursday of December in the Main Market Square in Krakow, next to the Adam Mickiewicz Monument. The winning szopki are later displayed in the Historical Museum of Krakow.
The elaborate structures can be up to six feet high and three feet wide and often show the many churches and palaces of Krakow that are their inspiration. The humble stable of Bethlehem can often be found on the second floor of the szopka, while the lower floor is filled with historical figures.
Carols sung after dinner date back to the 14th and 15th centuries when they started out as hymns to be sung during Mass, but quickly found their way out of churches to the people. The story of the birth in a humble stable, surrounded by animals and shepherds, appealed to the popular imagination and resulted in the creation of hundreds of carols over the years, both religious and humorous.
Over Christmas holidays, carolers may walk from house to house with one person carrying a star on a pole as they sing. They may wear folk costumes, dress as angels, shepherds or kings. Many times they are treated to food and drink for their singing.
These are all customs the Tallahassee Polish Heritage Society continues to remember each year with this celebration. It is hoped it will continue for years to come. For more information on the celebration call 878-4263, leave a message and your call will be returned.
