As children, with my parents we would always have Wigilia (Christmas Eve) with our grandparents, uncle, aunt and older cousins around a huge table in their old house. We would...
December 23, 2022
As we gather for our Wigila (Christmas Eve) supper, the dishes we prepare are a mixture of traditions from our families. By repeating these customs, we create memories for future generations...
November 29, 2022
We all love crinkly sweet wrappers in dazzling colours at Christmas. I remember the delicious sweets we would string and hang on our tree as children. Poles in Kraków, however,...
December 21, 2021
As I wish you all Wesołych Świąt and a Happy Christmas in these uncertain times, let's look back at Polish Christmases of the past. Soon we will sit down to...
December 19, 2020
One: Moments of stillness In the hustle and bustle of pre-Christmas preparations we don't have a minute to spare. This can sometimes spill over into the season itself. So remember...
December 5, 2020
Are you thinking about buying new decorations? Think again. Our ancestors made their own and we all have memories of making them with our parents but homemade isn't just for...
December 30, 2019
This Christmas I've been dreaming of the Polish tradition and romance of kuligi (sleigh rides). Who wouldn't want to be sliding swiftly through the night underneath a frosty sky, behind...
December 20, 2019
I'm not sure how aware I was that new kolędy (carols) are constantly being conceived as we tend to sing the ones we know from childhood, many dating from the...
December 4, 2018
When the cold wind bites and the rain patters on the window, listen carefully for a gentle knock on the door. If you open it even just a crack, the bajka...
December 27, 2017
Carollers (Kolędnicy) on the whole sing about the Nativity, but in Poland the tradition of Kolęda doesn't just focus on the birth of Jesus. From 26th December, St Szczepan's (St Stephen's)...
