As we are preparing to end 2020 and welcome 2021, I wanted to tell you about few traditional things that people in Poland incorporate in New Year’s Eve night celebration.<\/p>\n
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Image by Jeff Jacobs from Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n
New Year’s Eve is known as\u00a0Sylwester<\/strong>\u00a0because it falls on the day of St. Sylvester.<\/p>\n There are definitely more customs and traditions in the villages, but Polish cities are also full of unique ways to celebrate New Year’s Eve as well.<\/p>\n New Year\u2019s traditions in Poland are packed with superstitions (przes\u0105dy<\/strong>), all with the goal of making the coming year more prosperous (dostatni<\/strong>) than the last. One of them is definitely having a nice big dinner! In local traditions, it\u2019s important to eat a lot in order to have successful future in the year ahead \u2014 you don\u2019t want to let hunger come to the house!<\/p>\n Pickled herring. Image courtesy Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n Bakers sell\u00a0bread\u00a0and\u00a0rolls\u00a0in the shape of rabbits, sheep, geese, and cows to assure wealth and good luck for the coming year. Round or ring-shaped\u00a0bread\u00a0are also popular because they symbolize life coming full circle and eternity.\u00a0And one food you will most likely find on each table in Poland during that night is pickled herring (\u015bled\u017a<\/strong>) – eating it at midnight to symbolize a prosperous New Year! (I personally love \u00a0pickled herring, but I have yet to convince my husband and daughters to enjoy it ?). As for dessert – a\u00a0slice of poppy seed cake (makowiec<\/strong>) \u00a0is said to bring you as much money as there are poppy seeds in the cake.<\/p>\n In some villages, straw is the star of New Year\u2019s traditions. Locals wrap fruit trees with straw, to protect them from the devil and to ensure a good harvest in the coming year. In the Northern Poland, locals have a custom of burning straw in front of their houses, which symbolizes leaving behind all the worries and sorrows of the passing year. Kids throw corn and peas at each other \u2014 all in the name of luck and money for the new year, of course.<\/p>\n Just like all over the world, in Poland there is the tradition of watching a\u00a0special fireworks display and drinking plenty\u00a0of champagne!<\/p>\n Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n Every year I have been spending this night at home with my husband and kids, eating lobsters and enjoying good music. For us not much will change tonight, but for many people this year New Year’s Eve will look different! However you are planning on welcoming 2021, I wish you all the best in the New Year!<\/p>\n Szcz\u0119\u015bliwego Nowego Roku<\/strong>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 2020 has definitely been challenging for everyone! We\u2019ve been confronted with creating and adapting to new ways of working, learning and living our lives amid circumstances that we have never experienced before. But 2020 has also provided a unique opportunity to reflect. There are lessons to be gleaned that offer important perspective as we approach…<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/polish\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2020\/12\/roll-mops-4028046_1280-350x233.jpg\")
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