The James T. Callow Folklore Archive

Our family celebrates Christmas Eve in a Polish tradition. The
tradition begins with the sharing of the Christmas wafer, oplatek,
in the Polish language. Each person has a piece of the wafer and
goes to each family member to share a greeting. Examples of
greetings to use would be to wish them health and happiness for the
coming year or good luck with school or work. Then the meal
consists of a meatless dinner; pierogis, fish, vegetable dish,
mushroom soup, bread, and herring. There are many desserts but
there always is Angel Wings which are called Chrusciki in Polish.
After dinner, Santa Claus comes to pass out the gifts followed by
caroling. Some of the family goes to Midnight Mass. After Mass,
we come home to eat kielbasa, ham and bread. Christmas is always
an enjoyable holiday to celebrate.

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT

Date learned: 00-00-1965