Wesołych Świąt! Merry Christmas! The country of Poland, where my family originates and mom was born, is an extremely religious country. As a first generation American on my mom’s side of the family, I strive to carry on strong traditions such as speaking the language and celebrating Christmas like it has been celebrated through the generations of my Polish heritage.

Christmas and Easter are the most popular holidays in Poland. Rituals include eating certain foods and performing certain activities during Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Festivities begin with a lengthy late-night Christmas eve mass. After the mass, many appetizers, such as fish jello, creamed herring, and potato salad are served. Although I do not partake in fish jello and creamed herring, potato salad with bread is always a solid favorite.

Before the the never-ending stream of courses, a blessed host with an artistic depiction of Jesus or the nativity is broken up and shared with the family. The whole family takes a piece of the host, breaks it off and shares their small piece of the host with everyone. As one shares their piece, people share wishes for a New Year blessing. This reminds everyone that the smallest gift should impact an individual.

The ending of all the pieces being eaten marks the beginning of the first course, which brings back the fish jello, creamed herring and potato salad, along with salmon and bread with a creamy chive sauce. After this course, my mom serves a red beet soup along with a butter battered pastry filled with vegetables and no meat because there is no meat on Christmas Eve.

The ending of this course brings Pierogies, which happen to be my favorite meal. Pierogies are small dumplings filled with savory potatoes mashed up or cabbage and mushrooms. After these Polish dumplings are cleared to reveal a shining silver plate in minutes, the cheese cake arrives. This cheesecake is a traditional recipe that has been passed down through my family. My Babcia (polish word for grandmother) makes the best cheesecake, and I still have yet to learn her recipe. Christmas day is marked by the opening of presents and a Polish leftover breakfast. This ends the Polish Christmas traditions in my family, and then we transition into an American Christmas ham feast.