Holidays Around the World (Poland)

Welcome to Poland! I'm teaming up with a great group of bloggers to bring you Holidays Around the World! We have tons of great information and free resources for you to use in your classroom!

I had the privilege of visiting Poland this past summer and can tell you first-hand what an amazing country it is! While this largely Roman Catholic country has many similarities to Canada and the US, they do have some very distinct holiday traditions.

Christmas celebrations in Poland begin with the arrival of Advent. During this time, houses are scrubbed from top to bottom in preparation for Christmas festivities. Poles believe this is a way of removing any evil from the home. During Advent, families bake the Christmas piernik (gingerbread) and celebrate St. Nicholas on his Saint feast day, December 6th.

Christmas Eve is the most important part of the Christmas season in Poland. It is a time to gather with family in a spirit of love and forgiveness. Families spend the day preparing to celebrate the arrival of the Christ Child. While the women prepare the feast, the men and children decorate the Christmas tree and supper table. Hay is used around the house and on the table to represent the manger and stable where Christ was born.

Another traditional decoration in many homes and churches is the nativity scene, or szopka. These are ornately carved and beautifully painted. I was lucky enough to see this one in person on my travels:

The Christmas Eve dinner, called Wigilia, is prepared by the women in the family and is traditionally made up of 12 meatless dishes, usually including carp as a main dish and followed by a variety of desserts. These 12 dishes are supposed to bring good luck for the next 12 months of the year.

Before the feast begins, Polish families share a traditional wafer, made of flour and water, with wishes for peace and prosperity. This wafer, called oplatek, is even shared with the family pets and farm animals!

The Christmas meal is not enjoyed until the first star appears in the night sky. Poles call this star gwiazdka. Often, an extra plate is set at the table as a way of including family and friends who are unable to be there, or a stranger who may wander by needing something warm to eat.

Marta and the Manger Straw is a delightful story based on the Polish tradition of keeping a piece of straw (representing the straw from the Christ Child's manger) to bring riches throughout the year.

In this story, Marta shares bits of her straw with the people around her who are in greater need than she is, but when she and her mother experience great misfortune in their own lives her generosity comes flooding back to her own family.

It is a beautiful story about giving, and even the illustrations stay true to Polish traditions.

Bringing gingerbread, or piernik, into your classroom is a great way to let your students experience part of the Polish Christmas. Building gingerbread houses or baking and decorating cookies would be a hit with any group of students! Why not try this traditional Polish piernik recipe? Click the recipe to grab a pdf download!

In my classroom, we read and compare different gingerbread stories and then complete a persuasive writing activity. If you'd like to try this out yourself, you can find my "You'll Never Catch Me!" gingerbread persuasive writing resource in my Teachers Pay Teachers store! If you are new to Teachers Pay Teachers (my all-time favorite site for teaching resources!), you can set up a free account here!

I have created a FREE activity package about Christmas in Poland just for YOU! You can grab it now by clicking the image below:

Don't forget to grab your passport page at each blog destination! When placed together, you'll have a complete passport for your students to use as they learn about each of our countries!

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