Polish Christmas begins with Christmas Eve Supper. On the 24^th of December preparations in each house get under way for the most cheerful and aromatic holiday. And indeed, aromas are unique and specific only for this special day of the year. Everything begins with the smell of a fresh Christmas tree. It is mostly a green spruce cut down in the forest a few days before. As we are approaching Christmas Eve dinner, the most important part of the holidays, the house is growing more and more redolent with the smells of Christmas Eve dishes: borsch, mushroom, dried fruits and boiled and fried carp.

In keeping with tradition, there must be 12 meals and everything on the Christmas table has to be meatless. The Christmas Eve table must be covered with a white tablecloth with a bit of hay stuck underneath. Tradition also has it that there must be one spare setting put on the table in case a fatigued wanderer knocks at your door, and that no one should be alone on this special day.

The ceremonial dinner, attended by the whole family, begins shortly after dark, as the first star lights up in the sky. That is why Poles often refer to Christmas as 'the little star'. Many Polish homes still cultivate the custom of reading a passage of Gospel before commencing the dinner. After everyone has shared their wafer ? a thin white wafer, baked specially for this occasion in the parishes ? the dinner can begin. The custom of sharing the wafer and extending wishes to each other is followed in all homes, not just the religious ones.

Christmas dinner usually starts with cold appetizers: herring and carp in aspic. Then come the soups. Depending on a region of Poland, the soups may include: a mushroom soup, borsch with ravioli or specially-made tiny dumplings, or a fish soup cooked with carp heads, typical for the region of Wielkopolska. Soups are followed by fried fish and cabbage with mushrooms or peas. The dessert includes rice with raisins, noodles with poppy seeds, called Makiełki, or, in some regions, Kutia. The latter is a dish of eastern origin, made with poppy seeds, mixed dried fruit and nuts, honey and specially-prepared wheat grains. The dinner is crowned by a glass of compote made of dried fruit: prunes, apricots, pears and apples, seasoned with sugar and cinnamon.

The Christmas Eve dinner is followed by what the youngest ones love most: gifts are handed out. When children are younger, the house is visited by the true Santa Claus with a sack of presents, but as they grow up, Santa shows up and disappears so quickly that it's hard to seee him. And the only traces he leaves are the gift boxes under the Christmas tree. Even the adults seek to plant their gifts so quickly that nobody notices.

The Christmas Eve usually ends up with carolling. The most persistent and faithful to the tradition attend the Midnight Mass, a special Mass to greet newborn Jesus.

Christmas in Poland lasts two days. Typically, on the first day of Christmas everybody has a rest, while the following day guests are invited to a Christmas dinner with turkey as the main course and poppy seed roll, gingerbread and fruit cake to follow.