Wigilia - Christmas Eve

In Poland, the 24th December marks the key moment in the yuletide calendar, and there are many delightful traditions. In fact, here in the countryside it's always been believed that the goodly farm animals talk in human voices on this hallowed eve...

The focus of the day is an epic dinner comprising some twelve dishes. In many families, this starts when the first star is spotted in the sky. Before everyone sits down, there is the breaking of oplatek (blessed wafer). Prayers are said for absent friends and family, and even the cows are allowed a nibble on the consecrated wafer. A dash of hay is placed under the tablecloth, recalling Christ's humble birth.

The Wigilia dinner itself is traditionally served without meat. Most foreigners are unlikely to drool at the prospect of carp in aspic or poppyseed pudding, but Poles love their Wigilia and they pull out all the stops. Later, locals will head out to the churches for Pasterka (Midnight Mass). It's particularly evocative here in Zakopane, where the Highlanders dress in their traditional costumes. Not to be missed.