Christmas is a special holiday in Poland. The most important day is Christmas Eve, 24th December. Till the evening, there is an ordinary day. Adults do shopping and prepare dishes while we, children decorate Christmas tree (recently, the tree is decorated a few days before) and Santa Claus delivers presents.
When the first star appears in the sky, the whole family (parents, children, grandparents, aunts and uncles) gathers. First, we share the wafer and wish each other all the best. Then we sit at the table and eat. There are usually twelve no meat traditional dishes – carp, pierogi, cabbage with mushrooms, a special dish made of noodles, poppy seed and honey, cheesecake etc. In every house, there is always an empty plate left for a stranger in need. After eating, we sing carols (recently more and more people turn on TV to listen a carol concert on TV, but still there are many people who like singing on their own) and children unpack presents.
When midnight comes, many people go to the church for a special service – Shepard Mass.
The next day we visits relatives and friends and eat a lot. Of course, we go to the church. In every church, there is a manger with a little Jesus and living animals and little kids spend a lot of time admiring it.
The next day, 26th we also celebrate - we go to church, visit friends and eat, but not so much as the day before. In Gdansk, many people walk at the sea, go to parks or go to the countryside. Some families (especially with little kids) visit various churches to see mangers. I love Christmas.

Kuba, 12 years old