“Half Christmas Eve, I was explaining to them that you add peas to the vegetable soup. My father-in-law was offended”

Christmas Eve does not have to be traditional, although there are certainly many people who cannot imagine Christmas dinner without the above-mentioned elements. This issue raises quite extreme emotions every year, because on the one hand we have supporters of tradition who are not willing to experiment with Christmas dinner, and on the other – people who simply do not like Christmas food.

Among 20- and 30-year-olds, we encounter a different attitude much more often. Vegetable pâté, salad with quinoa, meat, curry dishes, and sometimes even pizza – this is not an uncommon sight on December 24. When we asked several women if there were any disputes in their families about what was on the Christmas Eve table, we received a lot of surprising answers.

Christmas Eve 2023. What can’t be missing on the table? “As far as I’m concerned, it’s pizza and fries”

“For me, there can be pizza, there can be fries, but there must also be Christmas Eve sour soup, dumplings and wraps, and herrings. The rest can stay in the fridge. So, I’ll try the wraps first,” writes Natalia. He adds that there is no shortage of delicate verbal skirmishes, especially during preparations for Christmas dinner.

“I have been arguing with my mother for several years about preparing Christmas dishes, because we usually make them ourselves. I say that mushrooms for red borscht are great, but sometimes it is worth adding pepper to the stuffing for dumplings (and my mother hates it), and the issue herrings (and their soaking in salt) can easily rest on me. ‘But you, child, can’t do it!’, ‘That’s probably why no one wants to eat your herrings’ – I hear then. There was a scythe for a month. But 12 dishes are always , and I like it very much,” admits the Warsaw resident.

Christmas Eve is not that traditional. Vegetarian pate and herring in tea

Justyna usually spends Christmas Eve and holidays with her fiancé’s family, because her loved ones – as she said – “are scattered around the world” and it is difficult for them to meet in larger groups every year. They have had an agreement for a long time that they decide in advance who will bring what. And every year it is something different – they are inspired by cuisine from all over the world.

Every year we come up with something new and different to avoid getting bored. Generally, we look for inspiration from around the world. But you know – to make it vegan

– I’m writing.

They also never have the traditional 12 dishes. “It’s not like, for example, borscht, mushroom soup with dumplings, dumplings and something else. We make smaller portions, but borscht is in a cup, there are no dumplings. There are only dumplings. Christmas Eve compote is also for drinking, not as a dish. Then a few appetizers, e.g. some herrings in mustard, herrings in tea (this is an inspiration from Sweden), herrings in vinegar, some veggie pâté – we count these as each separate dish,” Justyna enumerates. He emphasizes that such Christmas Eve is much more enjoyable because of getting to know new flavors. “No one here likes Greek fish and vegetable salad, so there is always a substitute,” he adds.

“Half Christmas Eve I was explaining that you add peas to the vegetable soup”

“There have never been 12 dishes on the table in my house and it will never happen,” says Wioletta. She emphasizes that in her opinion borscht, cabbage with mushrooms, dumplings and makiełki are obligatory. “I’m not interested in the rest,” he adds. “However, since I have children, I also eat dishes such as fish fingers, pasta with tomato sauce and fries,” she admits.

And she recalls that during the holidays spent with her husband’s family, an eternal conflict broke out – a dispute over what ingredients should be included in a vegetable salad.

At my husband’s house we eat vegetable salad with corn. I once spent half of Christmas Eve explaining to them that they add peas to the vegetable soup, not corn. My father-in-law was offended.

Exactly. The composition of the vegetable salad prepared especially for Christmas Eve every year is a topic of discussion. In short – every country has its custom. In different parts of Poland we can find extremely different opinions. At Ali’s, for example, this salad is heavily modified – always with tuna and corn. What else? “The obligatory dishes are dumplings with cabbage and mushrooms, red borscht with dumplings, Greek fish, several types of herring. As for carp, I think about three people in my family eat it, but it always comes in anyway,” he lists.

Christmas Eve without dumplings? “Mom says no one will eat it anyway”

“I have never had 12 dishes, and thank God, because who would eat them all? But there were always the traditional ones: borscht with dumplings, fried or baked carp bells, Lenten bigos. You can eat anything after Christmas Eve, but Christmas Eve dishes are untouchable. There may have been no family disputes, but there were often some senseless exchanges among friends. Who eats a ‘sweet’ vegetable salad?!’ “- Dominika recalled.

I’ve never had 12 dishes, but I’ve also never had pierogi… Every year I raise this issue, especially since I live in Warsaw, because everyone here always says before Christmas: “But you can rent pierogi”, etc. So last year year, my grandmother made a symbolic portion of dumplings. And I don’t have them at my family Christmas Eve party, because my mother always says that no one will eat them anyway. I can’t imagine a Christmas table without borscht, croquettes, cabbage with peas and dried compote. However, I prefer having whipped potatoes on the table rather than the fries I eat in the canteen at work

– adds Magdalena, who always returns to her hometown of Krakow on Christmas Eve.

Jowita has a completely different opinion, as she believes that the tradition of preparing 12 dishes makes no sense. “It’s a waste of food, because usually you simply can’t eat it. During Christmas Eve, borscht with dumplings and dumplings with cabbage and mushrooms are a must for me. As for the rest of the dishes and experimenting, I’m open – we’re giving up this year. from carp to halibut, because after the talks it turned out that no one liked this carp, and it appeared on the table every year ‘because of tradition’ – he sums up.