17 Classic Polish Recipes to Make For Wigilia Supper On Christmas Eve (2024)

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17 Classic Polish Recipes to Make For Wigilia Supper On Christmas Eve? ›

There are 12 dishes to represent the 12 disciples of Jesus Christ, the 12 months in a year, and also because the number is considered financially lucky in Polish culture. Calling it a feast may be misleading, though, because this isn't a typical dinner where everyone eats until they're full.

There are 12 dishes to represent the 12 disciples of Jesus Christ, the 12 months in a year, and also because the number is considered financially lucky in Polish culture. Calling it a feast may be misleading, though, because this isn't a typical dinner where everyone eats until they're full.

Fish provides the main dish of the Christmas Eve feast across Poland. There are variations of carp fillet, carp in aspic, gefilte fish (Jewish-style carp), sweet with onions, carrots, almonds and raisins. Accompaniments consist of cabbage, cooked red or sauerkraut with apple salad.

In Poland we eat Christmas Eve supper, in Polish called Wigilia (pronounced Vee-ghee-lee-uh), which consists of twelve dishes. This number has symbolic meaning, referring to the twelve months of the year and the twelve apostles.

Tradition calls for 12 traditional courses to be served during the Polish Christmas Eve. This number is a symbol of wealth, the 12 Apostles and a representation of the 12 months of the year.

Traditionally, there are 12 dishes served over Christmas Eve, symbolising the 12 apostles as well as the 12 months of the year. It's said that you should ensure you eat at least a little bit of everything so that you'll be blessed with prosperity in the new year. The first course is always a soup.

The supper begins with the breaking of the Christmas wafer known as "opłatek", a custom observed exclusively in Poland and two other countries. The meals must be vegetarian (with the exception of fish) as a sign of fasting and twelve different dishes are made, thus symbolizing the Twelve Apostles.

Opłatek is a flavorless sheet cracker, similar to communion at church, that symbolizes Jesus Christ's body. Family members each hold their own opłatek and take turns breaking off pieces of others' crackers while wishing each other good fortunes for the coming year.

You'll notice that meat is missing – during the Wigilia dinner, we don't eat meat (besides fish). This is a Polish pagan tradition, not a Catholic tradition, which reminds us of the fruits of the earth, forests, and water that primarily fed our ancestors (Dziura 38).

A traditional Wigilia feast is filled with spiritual symbolism of the Catholic faith. The celebration begins after the first star appears in the eastern sky. At the start of the meal, the family shares oplatek, an unleavened Polish wafer known as "the bread of love" that is stamped with a religious image.

How do Polish celebrate Christmas Eve? ›

For Poles, Christmas Eve is one of the most important holidays, and, of course, is mostly just about eating. And Poles take their festive food very seriously. An old tradition has it that a 12-dish Christmas Eve dinner is a must.

Wesolych Swiat! (Merry Christmas!) Today is Wigilia in Poland (Christmas eve), and this means Christmas celebrations are about to begin tonight!

We've all heard about pierogi, the most popular Polish dish in the world. These tiny dumplings find their way to a Polish dinner table on Christmas eve, and basically every other day. It's a must-have Polish recipe that is not only easy to cook but also tastes amazing!

Some of the classic Polish Christmas treats we carry are pralines, Krakus gingerbread in chocolate, plums in chocolate, Wedel chalwa - halvah, candies with fruit fillings, and assortments of fine dark chocolates. There is something for everyone and plenty more to explore to prepare for this holiday season!

On the evening of January 6, on Christmas Eve, Ukraine celebrates the Holy Evening and traditionally puts 12 meatless dishes on the table – according to the number of apostles. As soon as the first star appears in the sky, the whole family sits down at the table and begins dinner.

All eat fish-karp. Also traditionally no meat that day. But the rest dependends from area you stay in. Some eat mushroom soup, some eat barshcht (beetroot soup) with pierogi with mushroom filling, but mostly one of these soup will appear on table.