It can be a lot of fun to introduce your family to new Christmas traditions from around the world, and the Polish tradition of the Oplatki wafer is a great place to start. Once started it is impossible to stop this heartwarming tradition.
What Is It?
The Christmas traditions surrounding Oplatki begin with a simple white wafer baked from flour and water (similar to the wafers used during a Catholic mass, Catholicism is the primary religion in Poland). The wafers are beautifully designed and etched with Christmas images: The Nativity, Christmas Star, and other things that make them almost too beautiful to eat.
Each family member takes a turn to break off a piece of the wafer and pass it to someone else with a blessing, a simple expression of what you desire for this person in the coming year — from all the blessings of health, good fortune, love, and happiness to a simple wish for good grades or a successful marriage.
Even the family pet can get in on the act with Polish Christmas traditions. Usually, the pure white wafers are passed between family members, but special colored wafers are set aside for the animals. Traditionally this symbolizes the presence of the animals at Christ’s birth in Bethlehem, but in our modern times when pets are such an important part of our families, it can also be a way of bonding with your precious animal.
Where does it come from?
Like many Christmas traditions, this one is of uncertain origin, but we do know that it was widely celebrated by Polish nobility in the 17th century. Since then, oplatki has acquired a more nationalistic meaning: in the years following Poland’s division, it became common to wish for Poland’s freedom when sharing oplatki.
Adding Love and Meaning to Your Holiday Celebration
Oplatki wafers are usually shared right before the Christmas Eve meal. The entire family gathers around the table, and the eldest family member begins the ritual. It’s amazing the stories that have come from this simple activity: tales of long grudges released, ancient wrongs forgiven, and family members drawn together in love again.
You don’t have to go through any great difficulty to start these Christmas traditions with your own family. If you happen to have an Eastern European bakery in town, you may very well be able to obtain oplatki wafers, but failing that, substitute something else. Traditionally these are unleavened bread, so a pita would work just fine! If you can get the actual wafers, though, your family will enjoy the added beauty of the edible artwork.
Like so many Christmas traditions, this one makes a beautiful addition to any family’s Christmas Eve.
