Some Polish Christmas Traditions

My latest compilation from Culture.pl includes notes about some beloved Christmas customs. Here are a couple of them:

Straw Ornaments
Christmas decorations in the 19th and early 20th centuries were deeply inspired by nature. They were crafted from natural materials, with designs reflecting the beauty and importance of the natural world in people’s lives. It is important to note that this was a time when the Polish population was mostly agrarian, relying on agriculture and the success of their crops for their livelihoods. Whether large or small, straw decorations have been, and continue to be, a significant part of Polish Christmas traditions.

Straw ornaments, which symbolised life, were traditionally placed on a Christmas tree or a podłaźniczka (more about this below) throughout Poland, a practice that continues today. The straw was cut in various ways, with each method creating a distinct effect. There are several traditional shapes of straw ornaments, each rich with meaning. The most important is believed to be the star, crafted from flat pressed straw combined with a straw stalk. Round ornaments, symbolising apples, were also popular and represented happiness and love. These could be left plain or painted red, as this colour was traditionally thought to protect against evil. Other common shapes included fish, symbolising Christianity, as well as icicles and angels. A straw chain was also a popular decoration, and the longer the chain, the better, as it was believed that it indicated the length of one’s life, as well as happiness and abundance.

However, straw did not always need to be crafted or beautifully finished to be placed in the home at Christmastime. For example, unthreshed wheat sheaves were often placed in the corner of the room to bring good luck and abundance for the coming year. Similarly, individual ears of grain were scattered on the floor to provide shelter for souls coming from the afterlife.

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Podłaźniczka

The Christmas tree as we know it today originated in Germany in the 19th century. However, Slavic folk tradition featured a decorated green tree long before. The podłaźniczka, a decorated upper part of an evergreen tree, was hung upside down from the ceiling. But it was more than just a decoration – it held deep spiritual, cultural and even political significance. In 1918, when Poland regained its independence, many Polish households rejected the display of Christmas trees, a tradition of German origin, and instead chose to showcase the podłaźniczka. Maria Gerson-Dąbrowska, a Polish artist and historian, echoed this sentiment in her 1922 household advice magazine Choinka Polska (Polish Christmas Tree). She encouraged readers to ‘get rid of foreign designs and products’, emphasizing that ‘we have an inexhaustible source of aesthetic ideas among our national decorations’.

Spruce, pine or fir were the preferred tree choices for the podłaźniczka because they thrived through the harsh winter and symbolised the awakening of nature. Their needles were also believed to protect the household from illness and evil spirits, ensuring happiness and well-being.

The process of selecting the tree for the podłaźniczka carried its own significance. Tradition held that a man had to visit the forest early in the morning, as the first person to obtain the branches was thought to secure the fastest ripening of grain on their land. But what about the decorations? In the past, just as we do today, people took great care in selecting what they placed in their homes. The podłaźniczka was carefully decorated with specific, meaningful ornaments, many of which were sourced from the forest or the homeowner’s land and which we’ve discussed earlier in this article. Fruits symbolised fertility and abundance, while nuts represented prosperity, strength, wisdom and vitality. Apples stood for vegetation, health and the heavenly tree of knowledge. The branches of the podłaźniczka were lit with candlelight to ward off darkness and evil.

Handmade polychrome ornaments such as paper decorations, wafer świąty and straw chains adorned the evergreen. Some ornaments retained their natural earth colours, while others were painted in bold hues such as red, green and yellow. These colour choices were not accidental, as each carried its symbolic meaning, as did everything else on the podłaźniczka.

Many Polish Christmas traditions and the products associated with them were developed between the mid-19th and the early 20th centuries. During this period, the partitioned nation was eager to construct and preserve a distinct national identity, and adopting or creating traditions became a powerful way to achieve this. Some customs were inspired by ideas from dominant neighbouring countries, such as Germany, and were readily embraced by the Polish people.