Christmas Eve, shrouded in poetry, brings back the most childhood memories, but also full of hope contained in wishes, which we offer ourselves at the supper - the most beautiful one, the most solemn and touching family celebration. For years and generations, all resentments have been forgiven at the Christmas Eve table, loved ones were remembered, who are gone forever, often putting up covers' for the absent”, inviting lonely and abandoned people to the table. It is worth remembering about these truly beautiful customs today, and if someone wants to go beyond the traditional Christmas Eve and its dishes, after all, it can modernize them. But one thing should not be changed - let the atmosphere of family warmth and kindness reign at the Christmas Eve table, let us believe in a happier tomorrow according to our wishes.
Once, when the appetites of our ancestors were enormous (The more or less dry Advent period was not without significance here), Christmas Eve supper usually consisted of twelve dishes.
Kutia - an ancient Slavic ritual dish - was popular in the south-eastern regions of the country. It consists of cooked wheat, grated poppy seeds and honey. There are many poppy and honey dishes for Christmas Eve, as the poppy was supposed to provide wealth, and honey - happiness.
Polish Christmas Eve is unthinkable without red borscht with dumplings and without fish. The only competitor of Christmas Eve borscht is mushroom soup today, but there was a third one - almond soup, once very popular, now completely forgotten. I will remind her in the recipes. We usually serve the fish in jelly and with water or fried.
In Christmas Eve desserts, we can afford more variety and fantasy. Wprawdzie tradycyjną wieczerzę kończył kisiel z żurawin lub kompot z suszonych owoców i chociaż polecam je gorąco — jako desery niezwykle zdrowe — proponuję coś „dorzucić” from the cuisines of other nations. They also have their own traditional dishes, sometimes very tasty, although they celebrate Christmas Eve much more modestly than we do. Among Christmas pastries, also served for Christmas Eve dinner, the poppy seed cake and gingerbread are in the lead. The very preparation of them creates a festive atmosphere: peeling almonds, warming up the honey, grinding poppy seeds, and then the smell of baking cake spreading throughout the apartment. You can bake gingerbread a few days before Christmas.
I cannot ignore the matter of decorating the table on Christmas Eve. Regardless of whether we invite someone, are we only among our loved ones, the table should be set most beautifully, as much as we can, as soon as we can afford it. Let the best be on it, this most respected tablecloth, the most beautiful porcelain, Festive and carefully cleaned cutlery for the occasion, deep-retractable platters and salad bowls. It is the one and only evening.
The table all in white looks beautiful, discreetly gold-plated or silver-plated plates, but a gray linen tablecloth embroidered in one color also looks great, and on it brown or green porcelain tableware.
The platters look very elegant, salaterki, decorative plates and even wooden plates, then we serve small and larger plates made of transparent or slightly smoked glass for herring and fish; cutlery with wooden or bone handles will beautifully complement our tableware.
If we have a fairly large table and we can afford candles, let's put them up. A beautiful red flower - poinsettia is also seen more and more often in flower shops, otherwise an advent star, being an appropriate decoration for the Christmas Eve table. But if we don't have it all, fir branches will be enough decoration, a few gilded nuts, red apples or even ordinary pine cones.
