Nutshell English

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 9️⃣
Today, let’s look at the main dishes served during Polish Christmas Eve and the Christmas dinner in the Anglo-Saxon tradition. The main difference is that in Poland we celebrate on the 24th, which is the vigil waiting for the birth of Jesus. Since the main festivities haven’t started yet, it is customary to abstain from meat dishes. This is why we eat fish🐟
Although you can choose any variety you like, the most common one is carp. Not because of its unique taste, but for practical reasons—it is a freshwater fish that can survive for long periods in cold, low-oxygen water. In the era before modern refrigeration, this made it easy to keep alive until needed.
The English-speaking countries, on the other hand, have their main feast on the 25th, a time to indulge in any food you like. Meat was traditionally reserved for special occasions, as it was expensive and not available daily. In the old days, Christmas dinner was often roast goose 🪿, but as turkeys 🦃 became more popular in Europe—having been imported from America—they gradually replaced goose, being larger and more affordable (though not necessarily tastier). Most people like the turkey though.
There is, however, one side dish that ignites the same emotions as carp does in Poland: boiled Brussels sprouts. Many people serve and eat them purely out of tradition, not because they particularly enjoy the taste.
Are these hated food traditions really worth cultivating? Is this part of the "spirit of Christmas"?

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - DAY 7️⃣
What a dark and grey day! 🌧️ We need more light and colour in our lives! ✨
Enter: Christmas decorations. 🎄🎅⛄️
We associate Christmas with certain colours and ornaments, like bells, angels and stars, candles and lanterns (lampiony), wreaths (wieńce) and garlands (girlandy), mistletoe (jemioła) and holly (ostrokrzew), Christmas stockings (skarpety, a właściwie pończochy), candy canes (cukrowe laseczki), and of course a plethora of accessories associated with winter and Santa Claus: sleigh (sanie), reindeer (renifery), snowmen (bałwanki) and snowflakes (płatki śniegu) - which may be the only ones we will see this Christmas... 😭
The centrepiece remains the Christmas tree with its lights, baubles and tinsel (łańcuchy).

Oh wait, I almost forgot something - the Nativity scene (szopka)!
Christmas has become so secularised that it's easy to forget that it is rooted in the Christian tradition - after all, as the name suggests, we are celebrating the birth of Christ. Visit any church at Christmastime and you will see a Nativity scene with Mary and Joseph and Baby Jesus (laid in a manger), surrounded by shepherds, animals and angels, possibly being visited by the three Magi.

I hope this has given you some inspiration for decorating your home 🙂 Good luck!

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN – DAY 4️⃣
Another common ingredient in Christmas desserts (apart from spices) is dried fruit — raisins or sultanas, figs, dates (daktyle), apricots (morele) 🍑, prunes (suszone śliwki), candied citrus peel 🍊, and nuts: almonds (migdały), hazelnuts (orzechy laskowe) 🌰, and walnuts (orzechy włoskie).
In Poland, we add dried fruit to many Christmas cakes and dishes, like kutia, not to mention the traditional dried fruit compote.
In the Anglo-Saxon tradition, they also have fruitcakes (similar to our keks) and Christmas pudding (think of it as a thick and fatty version of kutia), but the most characteristic are mince pies.
The name is actually quite tricky, as the main ingredient, called mincemeat, does not contain meat, but is a mixture of fruit, spices, and animal fat. Historically, “meat” used to mean “food” in general, so mincemeat literally means “crushed food” or something along those lines. You can make your own mincemeat or buy it ready-made (like our masa makowa, but without the poppy 😉).
Here are some recipes if you want to try it: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/mincemeat