Wigilia, a solemn Christmas Eve dinner celebrated on the night before Midnight Mass of the Christmas Day, is perhaps the most important evening in the Polish Christmas tradition. A meal of coming together, peace and forgiveness reunites families and friends not unlike the American Thanksgiving holiday, and an extra plate is always set, waiting for the “uninvited guest,” friend or stranger, who might visit on that night and must not be turned away but will be welcomed like a dear family member.
This year’s Wigilia, organized by the Polish Student Society at Columbia and Barnard on December 3rd, 2011 in Sulzberger Parlor, was a particularly warm and inclusive event. Besides Polish and Polish-American students, the festive gathering welcomed various members of the Columbia community at large, including international students, Columbia Catholic Undergraduates, faculty, alumni and alumnae, and even representatives of Polish student clubs from NYU and Stevens Institute of Technology eager to gather ideas on how to bring a sense of Polish culture to their own college communities. The event was opened by Joanna Caytas who gave an overview of Poland's manifold Christmas traditions. Afterward, members of the Columbia Catholic Undergraduates sang a Christmas carol in Polish, “Jezu śliczny kwiecie.” The Christmas Eve meal that traditionally excluded meat consisted of such Polish holiday classics as borscht with mushroom tortellini (barszcz z uszkami), sauerkraut and mushroom pierogi, cheese and potato pierogi, fish with vegetables (ryba po grecku), an array of Eastern-European salads, and a wide selection of famous Polish pastries. Lighthearted table conversations comparing Christmas traditions around the world were accompanied by a medley of Polish and American Christmas carols and a multimedia slide show portraying the rural Christmas customs and winter landscapes of Poland.
The event was organized with the generous support of the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, the East Central European Center, and Columbia Catholic Undergraduates. About 70 guests attended.
The event was organized with the generous support of the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, the East Central European Center, and Columbia Catholic Undergraduates. About 70 guests attended.