Polish customs (polskie obyczaje), especially at Christmas time, are both beautiful and meaningful. The preparations for Christmas begin many days before the actual celebration. Nearly everywhere women are cleaning windows in apartments and houses just before Christmas. The insides of the houses are also cleaned thoroughly. It is believed that if a house is dirty on Christmas Eve, it will remain dirty all next year!
There are many different Christmas tradition in Poland…I actually miss a lot of them and it is hard to choose a favorite one…But one I really miss is Pasterka!
Pasterka (or Północka, as it is known in regional dialect) is a midnight church mass celebrated between the 24th and 25th of December. A close translation of the name would be “Shepherds’ Mass.” It is a reference to the Biblical shepherds, who were visited by an Angel and informed of the Christ Child’s birth. Although other ethnicities and Americans may still observe Midnight Mass, the emotions, imagery, inner feeling, and sense of community are uniquely different with the Polish.
Image by Rrrodrigo on Flickr.com
As the culmination of Wigilia festivities, Pasterka is the most important element of this celebration for those of Polish descent. It is viewed as a wondrous, magical, religious experience (cudowne, magiczne, religijne doświadczenie) — not to be missed. Churches are crowded and many stand through the entire mass.
Preceded and accompanied by communal singing, the mass itself is a joyous and majestic liturgical event. With over 500 recorded carols, Poland is a phenomenon on the world’s scale. Enchanting in melody, folk in origin, and indelible in memory, one of the most beautiful customs of a Polish Midnight Mass is the singing of traditional and beloved Christmas kolędy (carols). Unlike many of the Christmas songs and hymns of the United States and other countries, the kolęda is not only a prayer to God, but it is also a musical drama depicting the wondrous tale of the Nativity.
The church is festively decorated with a larger than usual number of burning candles. Bells are rung, incense burned, under the stained glass and the statue icons’ watch the procession enters and the traditional “Wsród Nocnej Ciszy” (In the silence of the night) is sung.
I remember, as little children, we were told to attend the mass at midnight. Otherwise, we had to get up early and go to the church for a morning mass. Of course, we all chose the midnight mass! There was something magical in it…and we were able to sleep in next morning!
What is your favorite Polish Christmas tradition?
Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)
