In December 2020, during Covid, I was reflecting how Christmas that year would be so different for so many people who were unable to be with their family over Christmas, and was reminded of how we used to celebrate it. My mother was German, so she and then my family celebrated mainly a Germanic Christmas.
On 6 December, St Nicholas comes with his reindeer to your house during the night to leave small presents and treats, so children leave him and his reindeer a tasty snack. In the Netherlands many children also receive their Christmas presents early – on 5 December, whereas Christmas Day is more for attending church and being with the family.
In Germany and Austria, Christkind (Jesus or the Christ child) brings presents on Christmas Eve. The children go to their bedrooms and wait impatiently, nearly bursting with excitement, until a small tinkling bell indicates he has departed. We opened our gifts around 7pm on Christmas Eve then ate a fish dinner afterwards, usually boiled carp.
My mother was born in Silesia when it was part of Germany, but in the past it had wobbled between being a part of Poland or a part of Germany. Decades later, I discovered that some aspects of the way she and her family celebrated Christmas also drew on some of the Polish traditions.
Polish Christmas
When I was a child, on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, it was not unusual for my mother to invite someone outside our family circle, – sometimes a relative stranger, if she suspected that that person would otherwise be alone at Christmas, and it’s a tradition that I have often copied too.
As an adult I once visited my mother in Vienna for Christmas, but when she had to go into hospital, I faced the prospect of a solitary Christmas. However, her Polish carer kindly invited me over for Christmas Eve. I was charmed by several of the Polish traditions:
- You wait to see the first star, which is usually visible at dusk and prompts the start of the gathering around the dining table.
- The matron of the household, usually the grandmother, breaks the traditional waffle (oplatek) and shares this with everyone, wishing health and prosperity to them.
- Only once everyone has exchanged these goodwill wishes with one another are they allowed to sit down and eat.
- There are 12 different things to eat – echoing the 12 disciples at the Last Supper.
There is an extra place setting at the table in case someone – even a vagrant – knocks on the door because they are alone over Christmas.
What I particularly like about these traditions is that Christmas is not a closed-in family affair but also reaches out to others in the community and shares goodwill with the poor, the lonely, and strangers. Rather like the Christmas depicted in Little Women by Louisa M Alcott.
