Early Christmas Shopping Idea With a Polish Flavor

I know it is a bit early but wanted to share with you an idea for Christmas gift shopping. 

Dom itp is "a retail chain of European houseware boutiques in Chicago, Illinois. Specializing in importing the finest crafted goods from Poland, Germany, Italy, France, Lithuania."


Currently, they are offering 5% off orders with coupon code "5off" and free shipping for orders totaling over $100 until the day before Thanksgiving.


Some gift ideas are their popular 20% OFF the Original Electric Potato Grater or Winter Sleds.  Personally, I plan on ordering their Christmas Wafer (Oplatek) and am hoping that someone *cough* buys me some of their Stoneware.

Disclaimer:  I was not compensated at all for this post.  But I would love, if you are considering purchasing from them, to use the links or logo I provided or their logo I have in my sidebar as I would collect a small amount for referring you using Share a Sale.

A Polish Nursery Rhyme, Biedroneczka Mala and Planning the Next Trip to Poland

I went in search today of a Polish nursery rhyme my mother used to play with my brother and I when we were very little.  It was about a Ladybug or Ladybird, as some call it.

You can find the word in Polish below.  They are also translated into English and a video follows how to do the finger play part of this classic nursery rhyme.

Mama Lisa's Biedroneczka Mala

I've begun working again on teaching the children Polish as my older daughter said something a few days ago that really touched my father and I.

She asked if next year, we could go to Poland for Christmas instead of getting Christmas gifts.  She said she wanted to see Christmas in Wroclaw and asked me if I had ever spent Christmas there.  I had, my first Christmas ever.  And no other time.


At the idea of the trip, we all reacted with an ecstatic "Of course!  Great idea!"

So, where does that leave me?  I have a renewed need to teach the girls Polish and to save up money for the trip.

As I work on our Polish, I will share with you more sites and tips I come across to help you teach your child Polish as well. 


I sincerely wish we could afford the 45 minute drive one way every Saturday and the tuition to put at least my oldest in Polish School but it just isn't an option for us.  And that should not be enough to stop them from learning my first language.

I hope you and your child enjoy playing Biedroneczka Mala as much as we are.

Na razie...

Also, if you feel that you would want to, please donate using the paypal button below to help us pay for our next trip (I promise to share pictures when we go!)...

Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia (Merry Christmas)

I plan on spending time with my family for the next couple of days.  So, I wish you all a Merry Christmas, Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia.

And since we can't share oplatki over the internet, I will leave you with the words written on this year's oplatki package, the first few of lyrics to "Silent Night, Holy Night", Franz Gruber's version translated into Polish (the "Silent Night" most English speakers are familiar with).

Cicha noc, swieta noc!
Pokoj niesie ludziom roszem,
a u zlobka Matka Swieta,
czuwa sama usmiechnieta
nad dzieciatka snem,
nad dzieciatka snem.

Cicha noc, swieta noc!
Pastuszkowie od swych trzod
biegna wielce zadziwieni
za anielskich glosem pieni,
gdzie sie spelnil cud,
gdzie sie spelnil cud.

And a link to a website that gives lyrics to the much older Polish "Silent Night", "Wśród Nocney Ciszy".
http://members.fortunecity.com/john_deere/Koledy1.html

Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia!

Amidst Preparations for Wigilia and Christmas...

The last few days have been filled with cleaning, baking, and cooking.  Mostly baking cookies (it seems as fast as I am baking them, half keep dissappearing right after my husband enters the room, hmmm). 

Thankfully, my husband went to the local Polish store a couple of days ago to buy premade Polish foods we can eat while I am baking all these cookies.

Todays lunch... Meatballs in Polish Dill Sauce...

alongside Ruskie Pierogi (Pierogi filled with Potatoes and Cheese) which I fried in butter...

Yummm...  Now, on to finishing my older daughter's Christmas wish list (my younger child will be happy with a box and wrapping paper still at this age).  Where do you find the goose that lays gold eggs, a live purple cat, and a Polish Princess crown?  Wish me luck!

Bezy, or Meringue Cookies

Bezy (Beh-zih), or Meringue cookies in English, are some of the simplest but complicated cookies I have ever cooked.  Simple in terms of the amount of ingredients and steps, but complicated in terms of, if you don't understand the steps, you get egg white mush, which I will admit was my result the first two batches I ever made.

Every year for Christmas for at least the past ten years, I have not given toys or gift cards to friends and family, I have only given out homemade cookies. 


The first three years the cookies were not really great and took me so much energy to make, I felt discouraged.  But I spent a lot of time and energy in them and gifted them anyway, because "it's the thought that counts".  I've gotten better since.


Ingredients:

6 egg whites (so that there is plenty of liquid for the mixer to really mix well)
3/4 to 1 1/2 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you like it) You can use regular or powder or raw sugar

Optional:

pinch of salt or 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar to help stabilize the bubbles in the egg whites
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or rum extract

Separate the egg whites and leave to room temperature for half an hour. 

Beat the egg whites until foamy.  A tip: Make absolutely sure there is no oil on the bowl or wire whip (whisk) as this will prevent the bubbles from properly forming.  If you are going to add the salt or cream of tartar, this is when you would do it.

 

 

Once you have soft peaks to your egg whites (I whip mine on 8 on my mixer up to this point, then switch to 4 while adding sugar), you can begin adding the sugar a little at a time.

 

 

Mix until the sugar is all dissolved.  Or the egg whites have stiff beaks and you don't want to over mix.  Add the vanilla or rum extract and mix completely.

 

Once you have either glopped them onto the cookie sheet or piped them, it's time to put them in the oven.

 

Bake at anywhere between 200-275 degrees for 1-2 hours.  I prefer mine at 225 degrees for 2 hours.  I like mine to be completely dry all the way through but some like theirs soft and gooey inside.

They didn't even get a chance to be set down before my husband, and then my older daughter right after, stole one.

 

I hope Sw. Mikolaj likes these!  I hope they last until Sw. Mikolaj comes...

 

Smacznego!


Notes:  If you pipe them using a smaller hole, they will be more crisp and solid.  If you pipe them using a larger hole or just glopping them onto the baking sheet, they will be more fluffy and melt-in-your-mouth.

If you use raw sugar, they will be more of a tan color when done and the inside will be darker.  This is because of the natural color of raw sugar.

You can also stir in chocolate chips or chopped walnuts into the whipped flavored egg whites just before piping for a more interesting texture, if you like.  We like them plain with vanilla extract.

My Favorite Holiday Memories

With Wigilia and Christmas coming, it is time to start planning the celebrations with my family, particularly my children. As any mother does, I draw upon memories of my fondest holidays so that I can enrich my children's holidays as well. In those memories are also family traditions.

We celebrated Wigilia when I was a child and I want to do the same for my children. Wigilia is so special to Poles, it sums up their Christmas celebrations.

I actually wrote details about how it is celebrated in a prior post: http://polishmamaontheprairie.blogspot.com/2010/12/childs-school-project-leaves-me.html

Wigilia for our family always meant the dimming of the lights, lighting of candles, the playing of koledy, special tablecloth on hay, and delicious foods. Church was an important part of the evening as well.

I still can remember how I always thought the lyrics of certain songs were so beautiful. Polish Christmas Carols are Koledy (ko-LEN-dy with the "y" as in Symphony) and many you may have heard of. Some of my personal favorites are:

• Lulajze, Jezuniu... (In fact, this song means much much more to me now as a mother, because I can fully grasp these beautiful simple lyrics)
• W Zlobie Lezy Bóg sie rodzi (Which is considered a quintessential Koleda)
• Medrcy swiata
• Dzisiaj w Betleem
• Jezus Malusienki

I have noticed that polish koledy tend to have the theme of Christ's birth in the manger. From research, I have learned that many were written by the general polish populace, versus a famous composer or priest, during the 14th through 17th centuries and the manger scene was apparently very moving to the Polish spirit.


We also would cut out doves, snowflakes and other shapes to decorate the tree and windows with. This tradition of paper cutting or Wycinanki (pronounced vi-chi-NAN-key) is very popular in Poland and is a very inexpensive way to decorate and add a touch of ethnic whimsy to the holiday. You can also do this with your children as a gift to older people, teachers, etc.

The most important decorations we would pull out were the decorations from our first Christmas in America, as we had to leave all of our previous decorations behind when we left Poland. We would pull out the little plastic Christmas tree, which is so tiny by American Christmas standards, decorate it with candies and place a special candle and miniature of Joseph, Mother Mary, and Baby Jesus by the tree. Even when we had more money and bought a larger tree, we still kept those precious decorations and would discuss their significance to our family history and how fortunate we were. I now have those items and tell their story when I pull them out with my children. Because, after all, Christmas is a time of family and religious stories.

Christmas day was filled with the opening of presents, staying in pajamas all day, and my very hard working father actually relaxing for once. I remember seeing my parents kissing in the kitchen and exchanging little presents together in special moments that married couples with children always relish, that quiet moment together just smiling at each other. I also remember my mother giving us cookies that she had made herself, which were less sweet than the typical grocery store cookie, but so delicious.

And that important phone call to our family in Poland, quickly spoken wishes of "Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia" (literally meaning Joyous Holy Day of the Lord's Birth) because back then a telephone call to Poland could easily cost a couple of hundred dollars for a half hour.

Whatever your Christmas memories, I hope they inspire you to pass on your family traditions and history to your children like they do me...

Good Morning, Sw. Mikolaj!

It was adorable watching my children's faces this morning.  They woke up to find out that Sw. Mikolaj had left them small presents under their beds last night.  My younger child does not yet understand really about the details of it.  But it was a great opportunity again to discuss with them, especially my older daughter who understood better and asked great questions, about Poland, Polish customs, Christmas, Christianity, and Consumerism. 

Some of the questions she asked were "Why did I get a gift today instead of Christmas?", "Did my cousins in Poland get a visit last night from Sw. Mikolaj as well?", "What about Christmas day, does Santa come then also?", and "Why do Polish children get gifts on Dzien Sw. Mikolaj instead of Christmas?".

In the end, she understood that Christmas is really about the birth of Christ, not gifts, and that it's not the size of the gift, it's being thought of by someone enough to be given something at all.

Now, to go through their toys and discuss which should be donated to children who are less fortunate...



If you enjoyed this post about my family's celebration of Dzien Sw. Mikolaj this year, you might also enjoy my post explaining the tradition of Dzien Sw. Mikolaj http://polishmamaontheprairie.blogspot.com/2010/12/dzien-sw-mikolaj-or-st-nickolas-day.html

A great book that explains the tradition of Sw. Mikolaj is Wigilia: A tale about a Polish-American family on Christmas Eve

Dzien Sw. Mikolaj or St. Nickolas Day

Today is December 6th, which is the Feast of St. Nickolas, or Dzien Sw. Mikolaj. 

In Poland, Sw. Mikolaj is not a fat and jolly red clad old man but is much more pious in appearance.  He is typically dressed in clothing similar to a bishop, in purple and gold, a cape, bishop's hat, and carrying a crosier, which indicates his status as a bishop.  He also is said to live in Heaven, not the North Pole.

Traditionally, in Poland, gifts are not exchanged on Christmas Eve or Day, as those days are not meant to be commercialized, but rather days for family, friends, and celebrations for the birth of Christ.  Instead, tonight Sw. Mikolaj visits the children and leaves them presents. 

The tradition varies by family.  Some families will celebrate with a small bag of candies attached to a small birch switch.  The switch is meant to remind the children that they must behave all year long.  If the child is naughty, the following year the birch switch is larger.

But, for the most part, Polish families leave candy for all children, unless of course the child has been particularly naughty and then is given a birch switch only.  Although, I have to say, I have never met or heard of any children receiving a birch switch.

The candy is a modern twist on gifts that were meant to remind children of the gifts given to baby Jesus on his birthday.

For our family, growing up we received candy on Dzien Sw. Mikolaj and also opened up one small present on Christmas Eve, or Wigilia.  Perhaps this is a tradition you may want to celebrate with your family.



If you enjoyed my post explaining the tradition of Dzien Sw. Mikolaj, you might also enjoy my post about our celebration this year of Dzien Sw. Mikolaj http://polishmamaontheprairie.blogspot.com/2010/12/good-morning-sw-mikolaj.html


International Santa Claus ; Polish St. Nicholas Poland

A Child's School Project About Christmas Traditions

My oldest came home today with a project to do together for her school.  She was given a star and instructions to write on it what Christmas traditions we celebrate and then to decorate it.  It left me thinking about our traditions.  There really wasn't as much room on it as we could have used so here is what she decided we should write:

"We decorate our tree and celebrate Wigilia and when we see the first star that night, we get pyjamas from Santa Claus to wear.  We have a feast with lots of polish food.  We call our family in Poland."

Wigilia is celebrated the night before Christmas, pronounced "Vee-GEEL-eya" and literally meaning "Vigil".  Polish families set out straw under the tablecloth, which itself is white to represent the pure veil of Mary, which according to legend is what she used to swaddle newborn baby Jesus with.  The youngest child is sent out to look for the first star, which is the start of the celebration. 

Some Poles also go to Midnight Mass, which I always loved to do because the ceremony is so beautiful and the music is special only for that night.

One very special tradition is the sharing and breaking of the oplatek.  It is a very thin wafer with scenes of Jesus's birth inpressed on it.  Family members each walk around with their oplatek and allow one another to break pieces off of it to eat together as they say a blessing and kiss each other on the cheeks.  This tradition is also a reminder to forgive one another for the past year.  My family in Poland always sent us one and I always thought of it as a way to have them close to us on this special holiday, even though we are many miles apart.

There are many other Polish Christmas traditions.  As it is only the beginning of Advent, we have plenty of time to share them.  What traditions do your family celebrate during the Christmas season?

Wigilia: A tale about a Polish-American family on Christmas Eve

Polska Wigilia