First Christmas abroad

Christmas time... For the first time not in Poland, first time not with the family, first time not feeling pre-Christmas and Christmas atmosphere (orthodox Christmas are on 7 January, and people here celebrate more New Year than Christmas). I wasn’t thinking about Christmas before as I knew from the beginning that I will be in Ukraine and I’m not coming back home. Daphnee also stayed and we decided to organize Christmas to feel more like at home.

We bought Christmas tree, then had a lot of fun making the decorations by ourselves (as I said we are still children in our souls :P). Then the most frightening day Christmas Eve, I say frightening because I was afraid how I will feel for the first time without closest people. But actually I didn’t have time to think, because I was too busy with cooking all Polish Christmas specialities. I am so proud of myself, I did everything for the first time absolutely alone and it was eatable. With dumplings I wouldn’t manage on time if not my great helpers – Daphnee and Daniel, our homemade pierogi were almost perfect :D

Our Christmas Eve was international, for the first time in my life. French, Ukrainian and Polish. I’m not religious, and this holiday doesn’t have a religious, or spiritual meaning for me (and honestly it was better without prayers, reading the Bible and all religious accents this time), but it is important day for me, I think for all Polish people it’s the same. And being alone, maybe not alone but just separated from country and family is very hard, normally I call my parents once per week, during Christmas period each second day. For my parents for sure it was much more difficult, for the first time they were alone, without me or my brother. But let’s finish this melancholy. This was great evening and I had some Polish aspect as another Polish EVS volunteer –Daniel accepted my invitation for Christmas and came to us from Kharkiv. For this occasion he even widens his cooking abilities and prepared noodles with mushrooms himself. I think that in total we have even traditional 12 dishes (if counting cakes and water :D)

I think Poland is the only country (if it isn’t true, I’m sorry for my ignorance and lack of knowledge, but for sure people from Western Europe don’t do it) where people before Christmas supper share the wafer and say wishes to each other (the symbol of bread, forgiveness, willing to be together).  Generally I think it is very nice tradition, but I don’t like it that much as mostly it looks very “artificial” not honest. But of course we had to show this tradition to foreigners, and they liked it very much, so it was quite nice this year.

Unfortunately we missed the mass at midnight (pasterka) which we didn’t know about, and it was even in Polish language, and it would be very good to walk to the center after such gluttony :D

Our Christmas supper – Polish beetroot soup with dumplings called uszka, dumplings (pierogi), Polish version of kutia, herring salad, noodles with mushrooms (Toruń speciality)  and paella made by French “organizers”

And our "Christmas family", from the left Yarik, Dima, Daphnee and Leo, Masha and me. On the picture below Daniel on the left.