Poland - Christmas Time

The Christmas season begins with Advent and lasts until the feast of the Three Kings. Christmas in Polish is known as Boze Narodzenie ("God's birth"). From a religious point of view, Christmas is considered the second most important feast after Easter, but it is definitively the biggest family gathering and reconciliation day of the year.
Today, like sings a Jim Brickman “I am Sending You a Little Christmas” – from Silesia – industrial region in Poland. I hope that it will be good “starter” to welcome a Christmas.
About Silesia – I should, and I will write a lot of stories but now I would like present my region in the different way. I show you some photos form The Upper Silesian Ethnographic Park in witch was organized the typical Silesian Christmas Eve

The Upper Silesian Ethnographic Park is an open air ethnographic museum located in Chorzow near Katowice. Museum presents traditional rural architecture from the end of 18th until first half of 20th century. Wooden Buildings collected in scansen come from various regions of Silesian Voivodeship. Sightseers are welcome to visit many wooden buildings:wind-mill and water-mill, granaries, wayside shrines and historic church - on photo in Christmas time beautifully decorated.

 

In Upper Silesian Ethnographic Park often are organize very interesting exhibitions and events. In previous Sunday I was in outdoor event named “Silesian’s Christmas Eve” ("Śląsko Wilijo" - in Silesian language). I must tell you that it was really great! Bread-soup (moczka), Cannabis-soup! ( siemieniotka), poppy seed with nuts and figs (makówki), fish, boiled cabbage with pea (kapusta z grochem), these and many different dishes I could taste on place in the cottages, besides I could listen carols and hostesses’ chats.
On the all place of Ethnographic Park was Christmas-trades. Visitors could buy hand made decorations, pictures – like this with Pope, as well as the Christmas dishes and cakes.

Besides on whole place of Scansen walked carolers, Saint Clauses, peoples with traditional hand-made color masks which they showed customs.
There are many Polish customs and beliefs that have been passed from generation to generation as part of a tradition. A lot of them are still observed today. And despite the passage of time, they keep their freshness and are a part of contemporary Polish culture. Some of them have deep folk roots others are connected to religious beliefs; and still others combine both religious and folk elements. The Polish customs, especially at Christmas time, are both beautiful and meaningful but about it I will write in the next post.
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