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Wigilia ((:viˈɡilʲa)) is the traditional Christmas Eve vigil supper in Poland, held on December 24. The term is often applied to the whole day of the Christmas Eve, extending further into Pasterka, the midnight Mass held at Roman Catholic churches all over Poland and in large Polish communities worldwide at midnight preceding the Christmas Day. In this usage, the supper itself is rather called "wieczerza" or "wieczerza wigilijna", using an Old Polish word meaning "dinner" or "large supper", stemming from Proto-Indo-European root *''vesper'' - "evening". The Last Supper translates into Polish as "ostatnia wieczerza". The word ''Wigilia'' derives from the Latin verb ''vigilare'', "to watch", and literally means "eve". The feasting traditionally begins once the First Star has been sighted (usually by children) in the heavens at dusk (around 5 p.m.).〔("Wigilja" at www.wigilja.com )〕 Therefore Christmas is also sometimes called "''Gwiazdka''" (the little star, referring to the Star of Bethlehem). ==Traditions and customs== Children usually decorate the Christmas tree on this day (if it has not been set up before). Often a bundle of hay is placed under the tablecloth or in each of the four corners of the room to symbolize the fact that Jesus was born in a manger. As a game, children would remove pieces of straw from under the table. Green would mean a year of wealth or possibly a marriage, while a black piece of hay would mean bad luck much like the "piece of coal" represents in modern Christmas lore. The drawing of hay was only for fun and was rarely paid attention to. Various other divinations are semi-seriously practiced such as hiding a nut (or another small food piece) in a cake and dividing it among family members. Whoever finds the nut inside his portion is guaranteed to have a successful year. Another tradition practiced by some, is to leave one extra place-setting for an "unexpected guest". This is to celebrate the tradition of hospitality and inclusion. The empty seat is left open just in case a traveler, family member, or a friend knocks on the door, so there would be a place for them to join in the celebrations. Family members begin the celebration with a prayer and breaking of the Christmas wafer (''opłatek'' - symbolizing the bread eaten daily — our day-to-day common life; very old Christian tradition of sharing bread) and wishing each other good fortune in the upcoming new year. (After the prayer, usually done by the man of the house, the opłatek is broken and pieces are given to everyone attending the table. From there, everyone breaks off a piece of their opłatek, and shares it with everyone else, wishing luck and joy in the upcoming year, for Christ has been born. This wish is usually finalized by a kiss on the cheek.) Readings from the Bible concerning the nativity of Jesus are practiced in more religious households. In the countryside, it is customary to feed livestock (though not dogs, cats, and other pets) with the wafer, as the animals of the household are to be treated as people that day and are traditionally believed to speak with a human voice at midnight. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wigilia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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