Christmas Traditions in Olden Warsaw

polony_wesolych_swiat.jpg, small, Postcard from 1925, photo: National Library (POLONA)

Professor Małgorzata Karpińska from the History Institute of the University of Warsaw tells us about Christmas decorations, practices, dishes and traditions in 19th century Warsaw.

Marta Jaszczuk: 19th century Warsaw was a dynamically developing city, a true melting pot of social classes, religions and nationalities. How did its inhabitants celebrate Christmas?

Prof. M. Karpińska: By the end of the 18th century Warsaw was a real city with a rapidly growing number of inhabitants. So, on the one hand there were a lot of different people and a fast and buzzing lifestyle, but on the other hand, cities are a specific type of space that influences the way of in which people celebrate holidays. I’m talking about the living spaces, for example. Instead of a rural house or a nobleman’s mansion, there are flats, often tiny and crowded, located in multistorey tenement buildings.

MJ: In the countryside, there were a lot of Christmas traditions to be celebrated outside of the house. These were connected to country animals, the field, the orchard. There was a custom of bringing sheaves into the house. Where do you find a sheaf in the city?

MK: You could easily find one. It has to be said that Warsaw was a city shaped by a very broad trench which was created in 1770 and is known as Lubomirski’s trench. This gave the city a mixed, rural-urban character. Outside of the Old Town and the New Town, as well as the axis of Krakowskie Przedmieście and Nowy Świat, there were wooden houses with gardens and sometimes even crop fields. Therefore, buying a sheaf was not a problem, but placing it in a small room, in a tiny flat in one of the tenement buildings, was indeed a problem. People who came to the city usually lived in a cramped style in in various lodgings offered for rent.

Still from the film 'Zofia, directed by Ryszard Czekała, 1976, photo: Studio Filmowe Kadr / East News

MJ: How were the urban Christmas preparations? In the countryside this was a time of fasting. Could you feel it was a time of silence in the city or was it more like today’s pre-Christmas bustle and excitement?

MK: In contrast to Christmas in the Polish countryside, in Warsaw it was a time of strong revival, considerably more traffic, and increased prosperity that led necessarily to increased spending. A city offers many opportunities for the sale of goods to the public, so Christmas goods start to appear. For example, whole convoys come from Podlasie region bringing fresh fish, indispensable on a Varsovian table for Christmas Eve, or honey for the holidays.

Before Christmas people would also buy wafers. The whitest wafers in Warsaw were made by the Bernardine Fathers. People bought white but also colourful wafers, because there was a custom in Warsaw to make ornaments out of them. A white star made out of wafer, dangling on a tinsel strand and hung from the ceiling over a Christmas Eve table, was a compulsory ornament for many Varsovian households.

Żywiec, kolednicy, 1979, Mirosław Stankiewicz / Forum — Żywiec, Carollers, 1979, Mirosław Stankiewicz / Forum

Another strictly urban tradition connected to Christmas Eve are the so-called ewangeliczki. Since it was only in the cities that you could find young people studying, there was a custom that on this day young students would visit homes, read the gospel out loud and get paid for this service. Moreover, the phrase ‘go with ewangeliczka’ in colloquial Warsaw slang meant 'work hard for one’s piece of bread'.

MJ: We could also talk about the tradition to decorate the Christmas tree.

MK: It’s a very important tradition in Warsaw. I already mentioned sheaves, which were traditionally set up in houses. However, together with the Prussian partition and numerous German colonies arriving in the city with different customs, there was a revolutionary change in the Christmas tradition – the Christmas tree. Initially, only the Evangelicals decorated it, but very quickly this practice became a big hit throughout Warsaw and took the place of the sheaves. It wasn’t a Christmas tree standing on the floor as it is today, though; rather, it was hanged from the ceiling. In Warsaw this happened first around 1798-1799, while in the Mazovian countryside, the tree appears around 1870 or even later. Warsaw was the absolute pioneer. Even in Paris, the Christmas tree became popular only after 1870.

MJ: Did the Christmas Eve dinner start once the first star appeared?

MK: The Christmas Eve itself started with the appearance of the first star and ended around nine o’clock. It’s important to mention the dishes. For example, in Warsaw nobody ate kutia, but fish were very popular. People prepared pikes, perches with chopped hard-boiled eggs, tenches with stewed cabbage and of course carps. Poppy seed noodles were made. Honey was an indispensable ingredient. Also, many compotes were made with fresh fruit. The Christmas Eve celebration finished with the handing out of presents. Until 1795, it was St. Nicholas who gave them, dressed in his bishop outfit. Along with the Prussians appearing in Warsaw, the character of Heilige Christ came to life. He usually wore a mask or a beard attached to his face. As soon as the door closed behind the Prussians, he became obsolete.

MJ: After the dinner, it was time to go to Midnight Mass.

Kolędowe na Podhalu, Bukowina Tatrzańska, fot. Adrian Gładecki / Reporter /East News — Carols in Podhale, Bukowina Tatrzańska, photo: Adrian Gładecki / Reporter / East News

MK: It was a very joyful service. Traditionally, the faithful came up to the choir during the mass and they expressed their happiness by pretending to be one or another of God’s creatures. The organist started playing and suddenly someone started to bleat or neigh like a horse, which made everyone laugh. The church authorities were opposed to this, as they thought it to be contrary to the solemnity of the service. Finally, these games were banned in the 1820s.

After the Midnight Mass, many people in Warsaw also attended the morning service before dawn. This one was serious, very atmospheric and moving.

MJ: Were there any specific customs connected not to the Christmas Eve but to Christmas itself?

MK: Christmas celebrations lasted for the whole New Year season, up until the Epiphany. The first day after Christmas - today we would say Boxing Day - is dedicated to St. Stephen. In Warsaw one would go to special services where we had the tradition to throw oat at the priests, in commemoration of St. Stephen’s stoning. This practice was supposed to bring luck to the priest. If the preacher was not liked, the oats were mixed with little stones. This custom has also been banned around the time of the November Uprising.

Later carolling started. It was also a bit different from the one in the countryside. Not everyone knew each other in the city so you never knew who was going to knock at your door. Moreover, groups of carolers competed with each other so people dressed as some very surprising creatures, we’re not quite used to. In Warsaw some dressed up as Jan III Sobieski, for example. It’s worth mentioning that New Year’s Eve had a completely different meaning from today, since it was a day of exams. In schools pupils were showing off their skills, in Sunday schools kids were quizzed on prayers. This was also a typically urban tradition. No balls, no practices of saying goodbye to the old year happened that day.

Christmas Eve, sharing of the wafer, postcard, early 20th century, photo: Krzysztof Chojnacki / PHOTONOVA

The Christmas season ended with the Epiphany. That was a day with a peculiar custom to it as small thefts were acceptable and they were supposed to bring good luck to the thief. Some were content with nipping off a bit of hay from the Nativity Scene, others went for more significant things but as long as they didn’t break a certain level of decency, they were socially acceptable.

At the end of the Christmas period people baked a pie with an almond for the almond king inside. If the person who got the almond was an unmarried woman, however, it was said 'she got an almond, she’ll get a Michael' which meant she’ll get married soon.

Interviewer: Marta Juszkuk (PAP)

Translated by Karolina Zychowicz

Language English

christmas eve in poland

Traditions Anew