Christmas in Warsaw

“Thing 2! Those are not your toys, they are my toys.” “I’m not in a good mood, Thing 2 so stay away from my toys.” That’s what I heard this afternoon as Thing 1 (and now Thing 2) were “playing.” And so it begins. Our first Christmas with two children and the beginning of endless bickering to come. As I told Thing 1, the days of Thing 2 staying put are now over. Anything he feels is off limits he will have to take to his room.

Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukah! Happy Kwanzaa! The holiday season has certainly been different for us here. After an early November snow, we have seen no snow since and like many of you we will be having a rainy Christmas. At 2pm today, Warsaw will shut down. Stores, banks, government, restaurants, theaters, etc. will remain closed until 12/27 since 12/26 (Boxing Day/Feast of St. Stephen) is celebrated here as well.

Throughout this month, I was struck by the difference in focus of the holidays here compared to the US. America has commercialized Christmas so profoundly that any meaning the holiday has is missing for many. I was surprised that I did not see many homes decorated with lights. However, every church I have passed this week (and there are lots of them) had people working on light displays. Some churches display live nativity scenes (animals included), and inside everything is decorated beautifully. The iconic commercial figure of the season, Santa, is nowhere to be found here unless you count St. Nicholas Day where children receive a gift in their stocking from their patron saint. There are no Santas in ANY mall. The only Santa the kids were able to meet this year were a Marine dressed up as Santa at the U.S. Marine House and another American in costume at Thing 1's preschool Christmas Party. Christmas here is a religious celebration centered on family which is what it should be when you think about it. The gift giving is an accessory to the holiday, not the main event. Food seems to be more important than gifts because more than the gift buying I have seen crazed people at the markets. Stores at the mall are not what is crowded, but more the stalls that sell sweets (addicting sugary confections that I made the mistake of tasting once – I haven’t been back to buy anymore since because they were too good).

This idea of shutting down for 3-4 days for the holiday is not exclusive to Poland. When we were in Germany for Christmas a few years ago, everything shut down there as well. When you think about it, by doing this everyone basically stays home spending time with family or visiting relatives. The holidays here truly strive to celebrate family unlike many of us American who strive to survive their families and get “through” Christmas. It’s not about the gifts here, but more about the birth of Christ and sharing meals, quality time with loved ones.

Celebration here begins on Christmas Eve with a traditional Polish Christmas meal, Wigilia. Here is an excerpt from the Mums and Tots newsletter describing this event:

“The tradition is to set an extra setting for the “stranger who may come calling.” Families sit down for dinner when they see “the first star in the sky” usually around 4pm. Before the feast, the family shares a Christmas wafer (that tastes like a Communion wafer) and wish each and every family member well in the New Year…..The meal consists of 12 dishes symbolizing the 12 apostles. Everything served is meatless although fish is allowed and traditionally it is a carp (a freshwater fish that is found in abundance in large tanks at every supermarket this time of year). Following the meal, Christmas carols are sung and gifts are exchanged. The evening is topped off by a walk to a nearby church for midnight mass (Paterska). On Christmas Day every church debuts an altar with the Nativity. Some are small and symbolic while others are elaborate with live animals in a stable outside.”

While Poland is a democracy that is actually modeled after the United States, the separation of church and state is hard to find here. There are other religions here, Judaism and Islam, like everywhere else. However, you wouldn’t know it if you did not look more closely.

Where in the United States, Christmas trees get taken down at airports because of a complaint by a Rabbi, here Catholicism is the religion of the land and nothing is taken down. No problems saying Merry Christmas here! People would probably look at you funny if you said Happy Holidays.

Ironically, just like in the US, you will see memorials to victims of car accidents on the side of the roads. And here, people light candles at these sites. Any cemetery you pass you will notice the many people that come here regularly to light candles at graves and place flowers at the sites. Same for memorials/statues for important Polish people. People come on a regular basis bearing flowers and candles. Along many roads you will see shrines/statues of the Virgin Mary, Saints, and Jesus. No matter what they say, you can tell that politics here are driven by religion.