St. Hyacinth’s holds tight to its Polish traditions. Over the years, we’ve

continued to provide traditional Polish holidays to our parishioners. Some years, the parish hosts Wigilia dinner. However, the true celebration of Wigilia comes on Christmas Eve and can be found inside the homes of many of the parish’s families.

One parishioner, Jim Jaczkowski, wrote this piece on Wigilia, explaining some of the traditions that are evident every year as families gather around the table, awaiting the first star.

Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia!

That is the way to say “Merry Christmas” in Polish. Among Poles, wherever they are, the most beloved and beautiful of all traditional festivities is that of Christmas Eve. It is then that the Wigilia, or Christmas Eve Dinner is served. It is a solemnly celebrated occasion and arouses deep feelings of kinship among family members.

For days in advance, Poles prepare the traditional foods and everyone anxiously waits the moment when the first star appears in the eastern sky. For that is when the feast to commemorate the birth of the Christ Child begins.

A thin layer of hay is placed under a white tablecloth in memory of the infant Godchild lying in the manger. Before the family is seated at the table, everyone breaks the traditional wafer, or Oplatek and exchanges good wishes for health, wealth and happiness in the New Year. The Oplatek is a thin, unleavened wafer similar to the altar bread in the Roman Catholic Church. The wafer is known as the bread of love and is often sent by mail to the absent members of the family.

The dinner itself differs from other evening meals in that the number of courses is fixed at seven, nine or eleven. According to old tradition, in no case must there be an odd number of people at the table, otherwise it is said that some of the feasters would not live to see another Christmas. A lighted candle symbolizes the hope that the Jesus, in the form of a stranger, may come to share the Wigilia and an extra place is set at the table for any unexpected guest. This belief stems from the ancient Polish adage, “A guest in the home is God in the home.”

The Wigilia is a meatless meal, no doubt the result of a long-time Church mandate that a strict fast and abstinence be observed on this day before Christmas. Although the Church laws have been revised and now permit meat to be eaten on this day, the traditional meal remains meatless. Items that would normally be included in a traditional Wigilia menu include mushroom soup, boiled potatoes, pickled herring, fried fish, pierogi, sauerkraut, fruit, babka, pastries, nuts and candies.

After the meal the members of the family sing Polish Christmas Carols called ‘koledy’ while the children wait impatiently around the Christmas tree for the gifts to be exchanged.

Polish Christmas Carols are numerous and beautiful, especially when sung in Polish parishes at the Christmas Eve Mass. This Mass is called the Pasterka, which means the Shepherds Watch, and there is a popular belief in Poland that while the congregation is praying, peace descends on the snow-clad, sleeping earth. Another tradition is that during that holy night, the humble companions of men – the domestic animals – assume voices. But only the innocent of heart may hear them.

Christmas Day itself is spent in rest, prayer, and visits to various members of the family.

Wesolych Swiat, Bozego Narodzenia i Szczesliwego Nowego Roku!