Benji Brower enjoys a dish of red beet borscht and uszka, a ravioli-like dumpling filled with mushrooms and onion
Bella and Benji Brower dressed in traditional Polish folk outfits
The Brower family: Jeremy, Krystyna, Bella and Benji
n oplatki, a communion-like wafer, is a traditional component to any Polish Christmas Eve table. It is traditionally laid in a dish on a bed of straw to signify the straw in which Baby Jesus was laid in the nativity story
When Krystyna Brower first experienced an American Christmas she was blown over by the light displays and charmed by the nutcrackers.
But there was one thing she just didn't understand: Dec. 25.
“When I first came here I could not understand why it's not on the 24 like in Poland,” she said.
Brower, of Centralia, is originally from Liszki, Poland, a small village about 10 minutes away from Krakow. She left Poland at the age of 20 and lived in Greece, where she met her husband, Jeremy. The couple later moved to Georgia and were married there seven years ago. Jeremy, who works for the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, was in the Navy in active duty for six years and is now a member of the Reserves. They have two children: Bella, 5, and Benji, 4. Brower said Christmas eve is the one time each year she pines for her family in Poland.
“If I miss Poland it's usually only on that day,” Brower said. “Generally I don't miss Poland except on that day. People say to me, 'Oh you are so far from home,' and I say, 'No, my home is here.'”
Unlike American Christmas traditions, it is Christmas Eve that is the important day in Poland. The majority of the day is spent preparing: kids clean their rooms; parents clean the house; mothers begin preparing food for the festivities. At sunset, the celebration begins. It centers around a table set with 12 different dishes, signifying the 12 apostles of Jesus. Dishes might include: some sort of fish, often carp; red beet borscht with homemade ravioli, called uszka (pronounced oosh-ka); cabbage with mushrooms; or piroshki. Every table will vary depending on the family, but all of the dishes will be meat-free for the occasion. Brower explained every family also sets one extra plate at their table in case someone should happen by.
“Maybe you have a neighbor who is alone. They can come over or you can call to some stranger on the street to come inside,” Brower explained.
At the table the family reads the story of Jesus' birth from the Bible and then the head of the house begins making their way around the table with the traditional oplatki. The simple wafers made from flour and water resemble those used in communion in many Christian churches, but are much larger and embossed with Christmas images such as the nativity scene. Brower said the head of the household takes the oplatki to each of the guests in turn and offers them a wish for the new year. The guests respond with a wish of their own and then the two people break off a piece of the wafer and eat it. The process is repeated until everyone has had a turn.
Christmas Eve is also the big celebration for Katrin Rippel, of Tenino, and her son Shawn, 4. Rippel grew up in Dresden, Germany. For Rippel, Christmas Eve also brings special culinary traditions. One of which is stollen, a fruit-studded sweet bread. Rippel said she does not usually eat stollen in America, because in Germany the stollen is handmade and here you can generally only purchase commercially made versions. (Market Street Bakery, in Chehalis, bakes stollen during the month of December.) The other traditional foods are mashed potatoes, sauerkraut and bratwurst. She said she does not know if this was the tradition for all of Germany or just the area where she comes from, but it is one of the few food traditions she keeps from home.
“When I live in a different county, I live the traditions they have in that country and I eat the food they eat in that country,” she said.
One German tradition Rippel recalls of fondly is what she calls the Christmas Market. Even though there would usually be snow on the ground, an outdoor market would be set up and people would stroll through, buying street foods like bratwurst and hot spiced cider and wine. You could also purchase hand crafted art from the region at each local market. Rippel said her favorites from Dresden are ingenious handmade wooden figurines. She has one such figure in her home: it is a man with a pipe in his mouth. Inside the body is a cavity for an incense cone which, when lit, emits smoke out of the figure's mouth making it appear as if he is smoking.
While Christmas is an important holiday, Rippel said she remembers it being very sacred and subdued compared to the American version.
“All the lights and just the plastic figures in front of the houses and all the excesses is kind of irritating to me,” Rippel said.
One thread that runs through both Polish and German Christmas traditions is that there is no Santa on Christmas Eve. Instead both cultures celebrate St. Nicholas Day, which was is Dec. 6. In Poland, Saint Nicholas leaves presents under people's pillows while they sleep. If you were a bad little boy or girl your gift might be a bundle of sticks. Asked if she ever got that punishment, Brower laughed.
“One year, yes, that and maybe one small chocolate,” she said.
Rippel said in Germany they celebrate the same day by putting out shoes to be filled with treats by Sinterklaas. In both cultures Saint Nicholas is depicted as having a while beard like the American Santa, but he is dressed in red priestly robes, wearing a bishop's miter and holding a golden crosier. Rippel explained that while Americans sometimes call the character Santa Claus by the moniker St. Nicholas, they are not one in the same.
“It's not Santa Claus it's Saint Nicholas. He's a different person. They are not in any way related,” she explained.
Carrina Stanton is a freelance writer who loves telling your stories in the pages of The Chronicle and Southwest Washington Family magazine. She and her husband are raising their two daughters in Chehalis.
