Like their American counterparts, children in Poland await the arrival of a visitor with gifts on Christmas Eve. But Polish children do not call him Santa Claus, and although good children are still rewarded, the customs are a bit different.
The Polish Santa is called Mikolaj (Saint Nicholas in English), and children traditionally receive gifts at his party and on Christmas Day. In some regions of Poland, Gwiazdor replaces Mikolaj on December 24 or the baby Jesus is the main gift giver on Christmas Eve.
More about Mikolaj
December 6 is Saint Nicholas Day (Mikolaj Day), and on Saint Nicholas Eve, Mikolaj places the gifts under the children’s pillows. Alternatively, Mikolaj visits in person, either dressed in elegant bishop clothes or in the cheerful red winter Santa Claus typical western outfit. Saint Nicholas Day is a fun holiday that is often enjoyed in schools and offices, while Christmas Eve is spent with the family.
Sometimes gifts are accompanied by a switch, a twig of a birch, to remind children to be good. Mikolaj can make an additional appearance on Christmas Eve. If Mikolaj does not visit a child’s home, she may appear in Polish Advent services to give good children treats.
In earlier versions of her tale, Mikolaj used to be accompanied by an angel figure and a demon figure, both reminders of the good and bad side of children’s behavior.
The gwiazdor story
In some regions, it is Gwiazdor, not Mikolaj, who appears on Christmas Eve. Gwiazdor is a spirit of generations past, dressed in a sheepskin with a sooty face. He carries a bag of gifts and a stick, giving gifts to good children and spanking to bad ones.
The name Gwiazdor is derived from the Polish word for “star,” which is an important symbol on Christmas Eve for a couple of reasons. In addition to the biblical story of the Magi following a star at the birthplace of baby Jesus in Bethlehem, a popular Polish Christmas tradition has families search for the first star of the night on Christmas Eve before sitting down to dinner. . Christmas in Poland is also known as “Little Star Day” or “Gwiazda”.
Gwiazdor’s origins are uncertain, but he is an ancient character, who may have come into Polish folklore from another culture.
Baby Jesus and Polish Christmas
In some parts of Poland, the baby Jesus is responsible for bringing gifts to children on Christmas Eve. Their appearance is announced by ringing a bell, which is when the gifts appear. Of course, performing this trick requires planning from the parents, who must set up the tree and the gifts carefully so as not to reveal the actual delivery of the gifts to their children.
With the cultural invasion of the West, the American Santa Claus may appear in commercial settings in Poland as Christmas approaches. However, the traditions of Santa Claus from Poland are still observed.
