St. Nicholas Day (Sw. Mikolaja)
        - -  On this day in Poland, the kids are visited by Sw. Mikolaj. In Poland, Sw. Mikolaj is not a man dressed like Santa Claus. Instead, he is dressed more formal in a fancy purple and gold robe.  He wears a cape and a hat, and carries a crosier staff. He travels the countryside on foot, occasionally riding a white horse, blessing the children, and distributing goodies to well behaved children and swishes (rozgi) to the naughty. Sw. Mikolaj does not live at the North Pole, but up in Heaven.
 
 

   Christmas Day (Boze Narodzenia)
        - -  Christmas Day, was considered so important that work of any kind was not even thought of.  This was a quiet day spent with the family.  Christmas day had a traditional menu, but there was no special number of courses. Ham and Polish sausage were very popular, since pork had always been eaten at special festivities.
            Christmas day was the beginning of the twelve-day period from Christmas which was called "Gody ."  These twelve days were observed very carefully.  It was believed that Christmas Day and each of the following eleven days foretold the weather.  If the day was fair but it rained or snowed during the night, then it foretold that the first half of the month would be fair but the second half would be damp.
 

   St. Sylvester's Eve (New Year's Eve)
       - -  In Poland New Year's Eve is known as St Sylvester's Eve. This name comes from a legend.  Pope Sylvester  trapped a dragon that was supposed to able to escape on the first day of the year 1000.  If it escaped then it would destroy all of the land and people, and set fire to the heavens.  On New Year's Day, when the world did not come to an end, there was great rejoicing and from then on this day was called St Sylvester's Eve.
 
 

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