Wigilia

A vigil before Christmas

Wigilia is the Polish name for Christmas Eve and for the supper eaten that evening. The name comes from the Latin word vigil. People often use it for the whole of 24 December, and the meal itself is also called wieczerza, an old word for an evening repast, a name tied to the late church service or Vespers. The day is one of abstinence, with no meat. Households wait for the first star to appear before they sit down to eat. Christmas is sometimes called Gwiazdka, meaning little star.

Hospitality and symbols

Children usually trim the Christmas tree, and some families tuck hay beneath the tablecloth to recall the manger where Jesus was born. One more place is laid than there are people, kept for an unexpected guest, which the article describes as a way of marking hospitality. The meal opens with grace and a reading from Luke's Gospel, then everyone shares the opłatek, a thin Christmas wafer, breaking off pieces and wishing one another blessings for the year ahead. In the countryside a pink wafer was once offered to livestock, dogs and cats, since household animals were treated with special reverence that day. Some believed they could speak at midnight.

The twelve dishes

The supper is meatless and is meant to run to twelve separate dishes, one for each of the Apostles. It begins with soup, either borscht with uszka, a small filled pasta like tortellini, or a clear wild mushroom soup, grzybowa. Herring comes in various forms, and fish is the centre of the meal: carp fillets, carp in aspic, gefilte fish in the Jewish style, or fish cooked sweet with onions, carrots, almonds and raisins. Cabbage or sauerkraut with apple is served alongside, and bread at the table is often challah, said to have come from Poland's Jewish neighbours. Kutia mixes barley, poppy seeds and honey. Regional versions include Silesian siemieniotka, żurek, pierogi, gołąbki, łazanki and makówki. Poppy seed cakes and makowiec end the evening.

Gifts and the days after

Opening presents is a big part of the evening. Once supper ends, children often hand out the gifts kept under the tree, for the adults as well as for themselves. Polish tradition gives the gift-bringer several names: Święty Mikołaj, Saint Nicholas, who once came on 6 December; Aniołek, a little angel; Gwiazdka, a star; Dzieciątko, the Christkind, in Silesia; and Gwiazdor, either a pagan figure or the little Star of Bethlehem. Christmas Day is a national holiday, and most Poles spend it with family. Breakfast often brings baked meats, bigos, cold cuts, salmon, marinated salads and cakes, especially Toruń gingerbread. Two more days of celebration follow.

How Wigilia is kept

Family members keep the day free of meat and the children decorate the tree. In the evening the household watches for the first star. Once it shows, everyone gathers at the table, which may have hay under the cloth and one empty setting for a guest. Grace is said and a passage from Luke is read. The opłatek wafer is broken and shared with good wishes. Then come the twelve meatless dishes, soup first, then herring and fish. Carols and, in many homes, Pasterka at midnight follow, gifts are opened, and a big breakfast is eaten on Christmas Day.

When and where

Wigilia falls every year on 24 December, and the supper begins only after the first star is seen that evening. It comes at the end of a day of abstinence from meat. Pasterka, the midnight Mass, is held at or before midnight, and Christmas Day, a national holiday, is followed by two more days of celebrations.

Wigilia is kept in Poland, and it is strongest in Polish homes across the country on 24 December. The Pasterka Mass held that night takes place in Roman Catholic churches throughout Poland, and Polish communities abroad keep it too, so the supper travels with Polish families wherever they live.

What Wigilia means

The number of dishes points to the Apostles. The hay under the cloth recalls the manger, and the empty setting turns a family meal into an act of welcome. Breaking the opłatek stands for the gift of daily bread, and the wishes exchanged over it look forward to the year ahead. In the countryside the same wafer was shared with animals, out of reverence for the beasts in the Bethlehem stable. Some people held that whatever happened on Wigilia would set the tone for the whole year.

Days Wigilia is marked

Questions people ask about Wigilia

See also

KorovaiA round wedding bread of Eastern Europe, baked with songs and shared by all the guestsChristmas EveThe evening before Christmas, marked by church services, family meals, and gift preparations across Christian cultures.Fat ThursdayA Thursday before Lent when doughnuts, grilled meat and Carnival take overSaint Nicholas DayThe feast day of Saint Nicholas, kept in Advent with gifts, shoes and church services

Good reading and sources

• Wigilia on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.