I was just wondering what xmas dinner was like in Poland in the UK it's usually eaten mid day and has a starter (usually soup or something light) then a full roast either with turkey (most popular) or Duck, then followed by Xmas pudding and then a slice of xmas cake (home made about two months before with lots of added brandy)
My family always ate late due to lots of family calling round all day.....during which lots of home made mice pies were eaten...
Also the turkey would be cooked with streaky bacon wrapped over it to keep it moist and juicy..usually this would be cooked on xmas eve so the only thing to prepare was the vegies..
The Christmas meal is eaten on the 24th traditionaly, when the first star appears in the sky. In truth it is usually a little later. In this house it's at about 6 or 7pm.
The main dish is carp, which can be served in a variety of ways [usually fried]. There are many regional differences and I'm sure that you will see some differences of opinion when posters discuss this. I won't tell you everything, but one strange thing is the extra plate setting for an unexpected guest.
hehe that's made me all christmassy and also made my mouth water...thanks Amethyst :) What's that rumbling? A train? A far off avalance? Nope, just my stomach
I was really shocked by the fact poles eat fish on xmas eve, I think i just automatically assumed a British xmas was a universal xmas but, I guess it actually makes a lot of sense from a religious pov...though that said my lass much prefers the English version of christmas...as she said last year; it's a lot tastier! :)
btw do you set fire to your xmas pud? (I never got that, why pour lots of alcohol over a cake, just to burn it all off again!) Of course, followed up by lashings and lashings of brandy sauce...? (Sensing an alcoholic theme to my household...but we're all T total, promise!)
I guess it actually makes a lot of sense from a religious pov...though that said my lass much prefers the English version of christmas...as she said last year; it's a lot tastier!
this is what we eat on the boxing day a lot of meat,salads,chicken soup,cakes ect-virtually everything.if you want to drink alcohol on xmas eve you can do it after midnight or when you come back from the mass which usually starts at...12am.
i have to admit that i don't follow the last rule:)
Oooppss!!! What are you buying her for xmas this year? A fire extinguisher? :) :)
Really, you have an English style xmas on the 26th in Poland too? Ahh ok (background needed) We all live in Austria, so I just assumed they were having an Austrian (English) style xmas afterwards to not seem rude or whatever...
Oh ok, thanks for the info you two! Very interesting... Actually, question: Is there any one dish that no Polish xmas would be complete without?
I just love xmas day, with the smells around the home the baking and the cooking...its like time has stood still, nothing has changed in my home since I was a child...apart from the mince pies my buys them now as my mum cannot make pastry like my gran...but the rest is the same...its a bistow moment..hmmmmmm
We get everything [apart from the turkey] sent from the UK. We have the meal on the 26th because the family here insist on having a Polish 24th and 25th. The English style Christmas we have here is because I asked for it and also because I cook it.
after eating my mums xmas cake, which has been fermenting in brandy for 2 months its advisable to stay away from live flames...she puts a wire thing in it and poors brandy in it to keep it moist (yeah right) for about 2 months!
its quite funny you mention karp, because my friend is a really faddy eater and she eat Karp when we were in Krakow and said it was really nice, alway associated it with fish my brother caught and threw back....sorry...
My parents always made a full twelve dishes for Cristmas eve. This included Barszcz but the fish was always sledg and always the spare plate for a visitor.
This continued while we, the children were at home, after we left or married sadly it all stopped.
Oh yes midnight mass, I think I may do that this year, its been a long time since I did.
Yes another thing I just remembered ...The breaking of communion bread ( can't remember the name of those)before the meal and having to promise to mend our ways rather like making new years resolutions.
ok we've talked about food. What are the customs for presents?On Christmas Eve or whenever and do people in poland ever eat the american treat fruit cake and how do you do the smileys?
the communion bread is called oplatki.
eys my family does the breaking of the oplatki every year on xmas eve
David, as far I remember, we always had a X-mas dinner on X-mas Eve and is called Wigilia. There should be 12 different items on the table (12 apostles) and an empty plate because NOBODY should be alone that night. Traditionally, there is no meat and alcohol allowed. Anybody could be a guest that evening ( I don't think anybody opens a door for someone they don't know nowadays :(, however). Gifts were usually for kids only. There was no X-mas shopping hoopla when I grew up in Poland.
The fruit cake is an awfully tasting cake and in my 27 years in the US, I had it only once. As to smileys, click a smiley above or the 4 underlined dots and pick one that suits your mood.
I was just wondering what xmas dinner was like in Poland in the UK it's usually eaten mid day and has a starter And fresh mince pies cooked on xmas day...
I hate you for reminding me of what I am missing on Christmas day, Carp in jelly, sledg, fish with everything on Christmas eve, no alcohol, ba humbug, *sniff sniff* I miss my homeland at Christmas :O)
I was just wondering what xmas dinner was like in Poland
Come to think about it, Polish Christmas is all f-ed up! We celebrate Christmas one day before Christmas day and we make this huge elaborate dinner with an inedible fish (carp - yuk!) as the main course! Before that, we keep this fish in our bathtub for days! Ooops!
Oh, yeah - there is no Boxing Day - those cheap bastards! :) But if there was one, then I guess it would have to be on the Christmas Day... WTF???
Our Polish Christmas traditions is the Americanized version thanks to my Father and Grandfather.
We still begin with the Oplatki We changed the soup from mushroom to Potato (nobody but me eats mushrooms) We eliminated the carp and added Kielbasa. (We all know it isn't meatless this way, but it sure does taste better!) We eat right not long after sundown at about 5-6 pm. We still have cheese and kraut pierogis. We have cottage cheese, and fresh placek. After our meal is when we exchange presents and then enjoy our wine or champagne. We changed the non alcoholic version of Christmas as well. We still have lit candles and one in the front window along with the extra place setting on the table.
