Polish Christmas Eve Dinner: What Is on the Wigilia Table

The Polish Christmas Eve dinner is called Wigilia, and it is the meal of the year. Not Christmas Day lunch, which is a quieter affair in most Polish houses, but the supper on the twenty-fourth: meat-free, twelve dishes, and nobody eats a thing until somebody spots the first star.

This is what goes on that table, why it is built the way it is, and the recipes I would start with. Some of it is what my own family does, which I have said where it applies. The rest is the tradition as it is kept across Poland.

For the whole Polish year rather than just this one night, see my guide to Polish food.

What Is Wigilia?

Wigilia is the supper eaten on Christmas Eve, and in Poland it carries the weight that Christmas dinner carries in Britain or America. The name comes from the Latin vigilia, a vigil, a waiting. That is exactly what the day feels like.

It has rules, and they are kept far more carefully than most Polish traditions. The food is meat-free. There are twelve dishes. A place is laid that nobody will sit in. And the meal cannot begin until the first star has been seen in the sky.

Waiting for the First Star

Nothing is served until someone spots the first star, which means the whole day is spent hungry in a house that smells of cooking. In my family it was the children who were sent to the window to look, which is a very good way of keeping children busy and out of the kitchen.

It did not entirely work. We picked at things in the kitchen all afternoon, the way children do. I would not admit to that now, but it was certainly how it went then.

When the star is finally called, everything happens at once. The dishes do not come in courses the way a British Christmas dinner does. They all arrive on the table together, which is part of why twelve of them feels less mad than it sounds. And the presents wait until after the meal, not before. When I was a child it was Mikołaj who brought them. Later in the evening a lot of families go to Pasterka, the midnight mass, and I used to go too.

Why There Is No Meat on the Table

Wigilia is a postny meal, a lean or fasting one, held on the last evening before Christmas proper. No meat, and no meat stock either, which catches people out more often than the meat itself. Fish is allowed and is the centrepiece, which is why carp has such a hold on the Polish Christmas.

This is worth saying plainly because plenty of English-language lists of Polish Christmas food put bigos on the Wigilia table, and bigos is full of pork and sausage. It is a wonderful thing to eat at Christmas. It belongs to the twenty-fifth, not the twenty-fourth. Both are below, kept apart.

The Twelve Dishes

Tradition sets the table at twelve dishes. The usual explanation is the twelve apostles, though you will also hear that it is the twelve months of the year, and honestly which one you are told depends on who is telling you. Some regions count differently again. Nobody will check your arithmetic.

Twelve is the manor-house number, though, and fairly recent. In the villages it was five, seven or nine, depending on what the house could afford, and an odd number was the lucky one. The grandest houses went to eleven or thirteen. The idea was to put something on the table from the field, the orchard, the forest and the water. Ask a Polish family today and most will say eleven or twelve.

What matters more is the shape of it: soup, then a run of small meat-free dishes, then something sweet, and you are meant to at least taste every one. That last part is the real rule. Taking a little of everything is said to bring good luck for the year, and it is also the only way twelve dishes is survivable.

Alongside the food there are the things that are not food. A wafer called opłatek is broken and shared round the table before anyone eats, with good wishes given one to one. A spare place is laid for an unexpected guest. And in many houses a little hay goes under the tablecloth, for the stable, and in some houses everyone pulls out a blade of it to see what sort of year is coming.

The Wigilia Table, Course by Course

Here is how the twelve are usually built, and what I have written for each part of it.

• The soup, always first It is barszcz czerwony with uszka floating in it, or zupa grzybowa, the wild mushroom soup. In my family it is always barszcz z uszkami, at my parents’ house and at my grandmother’s. I like it either poured over the uszka or simply drunk from a cup.
• The dumplings and pastries Pierogi z kapustą i grzybami, with sauerkraut and mushrooms, which is what we always had. Some families make pierogi ruskie too, though with cheese in them they are the newer arrival on a fast-day table. Then krokiety rolled in breadcrumbs and fried, and kapuśniaczki, the little sauerkraut and mushroom pasties. More in my Polish dumplings list.
• The cabbage Sauerkraut with mushrooms is the classic, and my braised cabbage is the same idea done simply. Sharp, soft and meant to cut through everything else.
• The fish Fried carp, herring, and often ryba po grecku. More on all three below.
• The salads and the pickles Sałatka jarzynowa is on almost every Polish celebration table, surówka z selera is lighter and sharper, and a dish of ogórki kiszone sits somewhere on the table whether anyone planned it or not.
• Something sweet Sernik, the baked cheesecake, or the no-bake version if the oven is already full, which on Christmas Eve it will be. And pierniczki, the gingerbread, which are better made weeks ahead and left in a tin to soften.
• The drink Kompot. Traditionally it is kompot z suszu, made from dried and smoked fruit, dark and smoky and made only at this time of year. My kompot is the fresh-fruit sort you drink the rest of the year, and it is the same idea in a lighter key.

The Fish: Carp and Herring

Fish is the one thing the fast allows, and carp is the fish. In one Polish survey of 400 people, carp was on eight tables in ten and herring on three in four, and frying was by far the most common way to cook it.

When I was a child the carp came home alive a few days before Christmas and lived in our bath until Wigilia. Great for us kids. Fried is how most families cook it, mine included, and we pickled it in vinegar as well.

Other parts of Poland have their own. Carp in jelly came to the Polish table from Jewish cooking and is still called karp po żydowsku. The old towns of Mazowsze made carp in a grey sauce, and in Silesia it was stewed in beer.

Then there is the scale. Keep one scale from the Wigilia carp in your wallet and, so the saying goes, there will be money in it all year. The bigger the fish on the table, the more money the year was meant to bring.

Herring is the other fish nobody leaves out, in oil with onion or in soured cream. And ryba po grecku, fish under a sauce of carrot, celeriac, onion and tomato, is on a lot of tables too. It is about as Greek as I am: a dish from 1970s Poland that gave itself a Greek name, and it stuck.

Wigilia Around Poland

The table I have described is the one you will find in most Polish homes today. It was not always so alike: before the war each region kept its own Wigilia, and people moving around the country after it are a big part of why they now look the same.

• Silesia Siemieniotka, a soup of hemp seed, and moczka, a thick dark pudding of gingerbread, dried fruit and nuts. Fish was rare at a Silesian Wigilia; kapusta z grochem, cabbage with peas, never was.
• Podlasie, in the east Kutia, and even a meat-free bigos made with mushrooms.
• Kashubia and the coast Herring with potatoes, and smoked eel or salmon.
• Kraków and the south Kluski z makiem, noodles with poppy seed and honey, and almond soup in the old town houses.
• Warmia and Mazury Before the war they hardly fasted, only from midday, and some families sat down to roast goose.

Wigilia Recipes to Start With

Four to build the evening round, all meat-free. Two of them are soups, and all four Polish soups I make are in my Polish soups list.

Polish Krokiety (Mushroom and Sauerkraut Croquettes)

PPin it

Pancakes rolled round a mushroom and sauerkraut filling, crumbed and fried until the outside crackles when you bite into it. This is one of the true Wigilia staples rather than a general Polish croquette: the sauerkraut and mushroom filling is the traditional one for Christmas Eve, where a meat version would break the meat-free rule. They take a proper afternoon to make, which is exactly why in a lot of houses they get made the day before along with everything else on this list, and why they turn up beside barszcz rather than as a dish on their own. Get the recipe.

Polish Beetroot Soup (Barszcz Czerwony)

PPin it

The soup the meal starts with, clear and deep red and sharp enough to wake you up after a day of waiting. Mine is built on vegetable stock, since Wigilia is a meat-free meal, with beetroot kvass, a fermented starter, stirred through it; the kvass takes days to ferment, so it is worth starting well before Christmas Eve itself. A splash of lemon juice or vinegar keeps the colour vivid red rather than letting it turn brown. Serve it poured over uszka, or in a cup to hold while the rest of the table is being carried in, and make the base a day or two ahead. Get the recipe.

Traditional Polish Wild Mushroom Soup (Zupa Grzybowa)

PPin it

The other Wigilia soup, and in some families the only one. Fresh porcini or chanterelle, simmered into a broth that is far darker and more savoury than the quantity suggests, and using fresh mushrooms rather than dried is what decides the seasoning here: a dried-mushroom soup is soured with vinegar and a fresh one never needs to be. Penne stands in for the kluski that were traditionally cooked into the soup itself. If you are not making barszcz, you are making this. Get the recipe.

Kapuśniaczki (Polish Sauerkraut and Mushroom Pasties)

PPin it

Small yeasted pasties filled with sauerkraut and mushrooms, the same filling as the krokiety in a form you can eat standing up while the rest of the table is still being carried in. Squeeze the sauerkraut really well and cook the filling down until it is properly dry, or the pastry turns soggy by the time it reaches the table. My own sweet dough works, and so does shop-bought puff pastry if the oven is already busy with everything else. Good warm on the Wigilia table, and even better the next day, cold, out of the tin. Get the recipe.

And for Christmas Day

These two have meat in them, so they are not Wigilia dishes. They come out on the twenty-fifth, when the fast is over and the table relaxes. Bigos in particular is better on the second or third day, which makes it the obvious thing to have made in advance.

Bigos Hultajski in Slow Cooker

PPin it

Bigos hultajski is the rogue’s bigos, the everyday one: sauerkraut, fresh cabbage and several kinds of meat, cooked down over hours until it stops being a list of ingredients. Where the royal version leans on mushrooms, wine and dried fruit, this one is sharper and more direct, and it is genuinely better on the second and third day, so it is the sensible thing to have made before Christmas Day arrives. HIGH for six hours works if you want it the same evening; LOW for eight to ten hours is better still. If you would rather build your own version, my bigos builder sets the ratios and scales it to your table. Get the recipe.

Authentic Lazanki (Polish Pasta with Cabbage and Sausage)

PPin it

Squares of pasta with sauerkraut, fresh cabbage, smoked kiełbasa and mushrooms, about as far from a fussy Christmas dish as you can get, and one of my own childhood favourites. The sauerkraut cuts through the rich sausage, the fresh cabbage sweetens it back, and somehow it never feels heavy despite everything in the pot. Can’t find łazanki pasta itself? Fresh lasagne sheets cut into small squares are the closest thing, or a bag of farfalle if that is what is in the cupboard. This is what gets eaten on the days between, when nobody wants to cook again but everybody still wants feeding. Get the recipe.

What I Have Not Written Yet

I would rather say this than pretend the list is complete. Several things that belong on a Wigilia table are not on this site yet, and they are what I am working on:

• Karp smażony Fried carp, the centrepiece of the whole meal and the dish most Polish households argue about.
• Śledzie Herring, served in oil with onion or in soured cream, and usually the first thing to disappear.
• Kompot z suszu The dried fruit version of the drink, which is its own thing rather than a variation on the fresh one.

My kutia and makowiec are written now. For another kutia, Aleksandra at Everyday Delicious has one I like very much, and I checked another cook’s makowiec in my makowiec review.

FAQ for Polish Christmas Eve

What is served at a Polish Christmas Eve dinner?

Twelve meat-free dishes, starting with soup. Barszcz czerwony with uszka or a wild mushroom soup, then pierogi, krokiety, sauerkraut with mushrooms, fish, salads and pickles, then something sweet, usually sernik or poppy seed cake. Kompot to drink. The full table is set out above, course by course.

Why is there no meat at Wigilia?

It is a postny meal, a lean or fasting one, kept on the last evening before Christmas itself. No meat and no meat stock, which is the part people miss. Fish is allowed and is the centrepiece, which is why carp matters so much at a Polish Christmas. Meat returns on the twenty-fifth.

Why twelve dishes?

The usual explanation is one for each of the twelve apostles. You will also be told it is the twelve months of the year, and which version you get depends on whose house you are in. Some regions count differently again. The part everyone agrees on is that you should taste all of them.

When does the meal start?

When the first star appears in the sky, which is why nobody eats all day. In practice someone is sent to watch the window, traditionally one of the children. Once the star is called, everything comes to the table at once rather than in courses, and presents are opened after the meal rather than before.

What is opłatek?

A thin unleavened wafer, like a communion wafer, often stamped with a Nativity scene. Before anyone eats, it is broken and shared round the table: you go to each person in turn, break a piece from theirs, and give them your wishes for the year. It is the part of the evening people remember.

Why is there an empty place at the table?

A place is laid for an unexpected guest, so that nobody who arrives on Christmas Eve is turned away. Many people now also keep it for someone who has died or cannot be there. In a lot of houses a little hay goes under the tablecloth as well, for the stable.

Do Poles still make twelve dishes?

Many do, and plenty make fewer. Twelve was always the grand number; village tables had five, seven or nine, and odd numbers were thought lucky. Most families today will tell you eleven or twelve, but the rule everyone keeps is tasting each one.

Why do Poles eat carp on Christmas Eve?

Fish is allowed on the fast, and carp became the Wigilia fish across Poland. Most families fry it; mine also pickled it in vinegar. Keep one scale in your wallet and there should be money in it all year.

Is alcohol served at Wigilia?

It is not forbidden. The fast was about meat, not drink, but much less was drunk on Christmas Eve than on the days after.

What do Poles eat on Christmas Day?

Everything the fast kept off the table the night before. Bigos, roast pork and rosół are the three most families name, then makowiec and piernik. Traditionally nobody cooked on the twenty-fifth, so a lot of it was made on the twenty-fourth and reheated.

What is kutia?

Wheat berries cooked with poppy seed, honey, nuts and dried fruit, an old dish from the east of Poland. Some families used to throw a spoonful at the ceiling: the more that stuck, the better the year. In the south, kluski z makiem play the same part.

Is ryba po grecku Greek?

No. It is fish under a sauce of carrot, celeriac, parsley root, onion and tomato. It came out of 1970s Poland with a Greek name and nothing Greek in it, and it is still on a lot of Wigilia tables.

Who brings the presents in Poland?

When I was a child it was Mikołaj. In other parts of Poland it is Gwiazdor or a little angel. Either way the presents wait until after the meal.

Can I make a Polish Christmas Eve dinner ahead of time?

Most of it, yes, and you have to. Pierogi and uszka freeze raw and cook from frozen. Krokiety freeze best rolled but not yet crumbed: thaw them in the fridge, then crumb and fry. The barszcz base is better made a day or two before. Gingerbread wants weeks in a tin to soften. Realistically the only things left for the day itself are frying the fish and reheating.

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