The preparations for Christmas begin many days before the actual celebration. Nearly everywhere women are cleaning windows in apartments and houses just before Christmas. The insides of the houses are also cleaned thoroughly. It is believed that if a house is dirty on Christmas Eve, it will remain dirty all next year.

Traditionally, the Christmas tree is decorated on the Wigilia day - quite an event for children. The custom of having a Christmas tree was first introduced in Alsace (today a region of eastern France) at the end of the 15th century. Three centuries later, it was common around the world. Early on, the tree was decorated with apples to commemorate the forbidden fruit - the apple of paradise (the garden of Eden). Today, the Christmas tree is adorned with apples, oranges, candies and small chocolates wrapped in colorful paper, nuts wrapped in aluminum foil, hand-blown glass ornaments, candles or lights, thin strips of clear paper (angel's hair), and home-made paper chains. The latter, however, has become rarer because commercially produced aluminum foil chains are being sold.

One of the most beautiful and most revered Polish customs is the breaking of the oplatek. The use of the Christmas wafer is not only by native Poles in Poland but also by people of Polish ancestry all over the world.

The oplatek is a thin wafer made of flour and water. For table use, it is white. In Poland, colored wafers are used to make Christmas tree decorations. In the past, the wafers were baked by organists or by religious and were distributed from house to house in the parish during Advent. Today, they are produced commercially and are sold in religious stores and houses. Sometimes an oplatek is sent in a greeting card to loved ones away from home.

Christmas and Santa Claus Day are not celebrated at the same time in Poland, but rather three weeks apart. Santa Claus Day is celebrated on December 6th, the name day of St. Nicholas. This is when St. Nicholas visits some children in person or secretly during the night. Christmas and Santa Claus Day are not celebrated at the same time in Poland, but rather three weeks apart. Santa Claus Day is celebrated on December 6th, the name day of St. Nicholas. This is when St. Nicholas visits some children in person or secretly during the night. In Poland, we are waiting for him on December 6th and on Christmas Eve. He is dressed in a red coat, and on the back carries a huge sack with presents. Not so long ago the Polish children came in the company of an angel and devil. Angel gave a polite little ones sweets and naughty devil handed lashes.

Christmas Eve custom of giving gifts beginning of August takes its Roman Saturnalia yet. In later centuries the Church was named Star, for gifts given, when the sky was noticed first a star. This star of equate the Star of Bethlehem. Because this part of Christmas Eve were most interested in children, therefore no wonder that they are eagerly wypatrywaly first star in the sky.

Inseparable part of Christmas is the Christmas carol. Name carol appeared long ago. It is derived from the word "Calendae", so called because the Romans beginning of each month. These calends, especially January, or New Year, celebrated a very rodosnie, played, sang, they put themselves and gave to życzneniagifts. The Catholic Church abolished the old pagan custom calendar handling, however, preserved the tradition of singing religious songs, praising the birth of Christ, visiting in homes, buying Christmas gifts. In this way, the language of our grandparents entered the Latin word "Calendae" or carol.

Over time, carol song called not only for Christmas, but also the habit of walking from house to house greeting Christmas - New Year or visit the priest parishioners in their homes (see below). It is difficult to determine the exact time when the first Christmas carols appeared in Poland.