My outfit: top – Brandy Melville, pants – Lulus (here), bracelet: David Yurman Kaya’s outfit: dress – Lulus (here and on sale for under 20$!)
Welcome back to the holiday review! Part 3 is all about our Polish Christmas Eve feast. Be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2 of this series for more holiday fun! Now, onto tonight’s installment. Wigilia is the name of the traditional Christmas Eve dinner in Poland. We do it every year and I absolutely love holding onto traditions like that. All the recipes (everything is made from scratch) have been in the family for generations. No meat on Christmas Eve so lots of fish, cabbage, and mushrooms. Ideally you’re supposed to start eating once you see the first star in the sky…but things are usually a little (or a lot) behind schedule haha. Anyway, super mom is a legend and literally makes our Wigilia feel as traditional as it was 200 years ago. Polish Christmas carols are playing all afternoon while we get everything ready for the evening. Before the meal begins we exchange wishes with each other for the coming year while breaking a wafer called “opłatek,” then it’s time to dig in. Some highlights of the many dishes include fish (this year wild salmon) in aspic jelly, and the traditional red barszcz with mushrooms stuffed dumplings (“uszka”…translated to English as ears haha). Of course there’s pierogi (savory with cabbage and mushrooms, sweet with plums) and more fish (fried halibut, my favorite). Needless to say after the feast, you’re stuffed (see photo of Moka bundled up in a blanket on the couch for mood reference). To drink we have a “kompot” made from dried fruits (and a little champers on the side). There’s so much food we usually do a mid-feast intermission where my sister Kaya plays some carols on the piano. Dessert (my mom’s Polish cheesecake) is brought out later with some tea, but first: presents! We open ours on Christmas Eve (not sure if this is Polish or European in general). This year Moka got the best gift of us all: her own “Chewnel” purse! She loves unwrapping gifts, it’s the cutest thing to watch. Then, to finish the night we go to midnight mass (where I always fall asleep…but hey, it’s tradition). I absolutely love our traditions and would be stoked to hear about yours! It’s so interesting how different countries celebrate the same holiday. Hope you enjoyed this Polish Christmas dinner recap, watch our for the final chapter of the holiday review next! Peace babeskillets, Tita xx
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