Christmas is a wonderful time of the year. For many, it’s a top favourite time of the year. The lights, the food, the good cheer and the resounding of numerous festivities. But, living in Ibiza can mean many different things for many different people at Christmas time.

Our island is home to many different multicultural backgrounds – some native islanders, some Spanish, those who are raised Ibicencan (yet are from other European descents), some who have migrated decades ago with fully established island lives, those who are newly resident, and some who visit each summer for seasonal work.

Nevertheless, for us, it is our multi-culture that gives Ibiza it’s variety and spice for life. It’s also part of our structure at The Ibiza Catering, whereby all of our team are from diverse backgrounds (also with extensive diversity in hospitality knowledge) from across the globe. So, as you can imagine, Christmas in Ibiza can offer a remarkably vibrant experience and a tremendously broad variety of celebrations.

We spoke to two very valuable members of our team about their personal Christmas and what traditions are special to them, whether at home or here in Ibiza.

Beata and Edyta are members of ‘Samos Group’ and are dedicated team members of The Ibiza Catering and the Samos group subsequent companies. Both ladies are from Poland and have been best friends since studying ‘Travel & Tourism’ together during University. Edyta moved to Ibiza in 2013 and Beata later joined her in 2018. Needless to say, they are both irrevocably in love with the island. So, here’s what the girls had to say….

Christmas for the Polish community is a very important time with many traditions…

What is your most significant tradition?

Both: “The most important day of Christmas is actually Christmas Eve. This is when we start to celebrate. The older polish tradition suggests there should be 12 dishes on the Christmas table to give us good luck for the next 12 months. But, honestly we don’t really prepare that much food nowadays. All the dishes on Christmas Eve are meatless”.

 

When do you start Christmas preparations?

Edyta: “One week before. Our traditional Christmas Soup, Barszcz needs plenty of time. We start by preparing the beetroot that needs to sit on the counter and sour (or ferment) ready for the base for the soup.

On Christmas Eve we serve Barszcz with Uszka – delicious small dumplings made with mushrooms and cabbage. However, it’s a lot of work to make and prepare Uszka, so we tend to buy them locally or even homemade from our kind neighbors.

Oh, and we also clean the house – polish Moms are a little bit crazy about that ;)”.

Beata: “We also start about one week before but funnily enough, we do it the opposite way around – we make Uszka but we buy Barszcz. In general, I’m not a big fan of cooking at this time of the year, but I really do love to bake. I always make an array of small cookies in various different Chrismassy shapes, which we decorate together later. It really adds to the whole festive vibe. My Mom is not different from other Polish Moms – she is crazy about cleaning too, usually she even cleans the windows (in Poland, in December!)”.

 

How does the Christmas Eve day look like?

Edyta: “We wake up early in the morning and we have traditional breakfast – Challah, which is plaited Jewish bread, very soft and a little sweet. We eat it with butter and honey. Then we clean the house (again) and decorate the Christmas tree. Some people do it in early December, but we do it on the 24th so it really brings the festive spirit on this special day. When I was a child I used to do it only with my Dad, nowadays we have my little niece to help. For lunch we have traditional Polish herring in sour cream served with potatoes”.

Beata: “It’s very similar in my family, but we usually fast on the day until dinner. My Mom forces us to get up in the morning to finish cleaning of the house (yes, we clean for the third day in a row!). We also decorate the Christmas tree and this is the special bonding time between Dad and Daughter – we love to do it together.  Me and Dad stay in the kitchen while Mom is stressed with last cleaning and preparations ;)”

 

What does the Christmas Eve Dinner look like?

Both: We set up the table and start the dinner about 17:00hrs, tradition says we should start when the first star appears in the sky. We always prepare one extra seat for the unexpected guest such as travellers or the homeless. Nobody should be alone! Before we start eating we pray and then we share a Christmas wafer – wishing all the best to each other. Then we can start the dinner. It is really a lot of food on Christmas table (even if there is not 12 dishes, it is still a lot).

The most typical Christmas dishes are:

Barszcz – beetroot soup with small cabbage & mushroom dumplings
Pierogi – another type of dumplings, usually with potato & cheese filling
Cabbage with split peas
Vegetable Salad with mayonnaise
Carp – traditionally fried in breadcrumbs
Polish cheesecake, poppy seed cake, gingerbread cookies, fruits
We drink Kompot – drink made of dried and smoked fruits

After all of this food we can finally unwrap all the Christmas presents on Christmas Eve! (And, no, we don’t wait till morning!). We stay at the table for quite a long time singing carols and having a little bit of … vodka. You know, for digestion!

At midnight we go to church for the Midnight Mass. Edyta always goes with her family. Beata with friends, first for Mass and then … to the pub (or sometimes we skip the Mass)

 

Who do you celebrate with? 

Edyta: We celebrate Christmas Eve with close family – my parents, Grandma, my sister, her husband and their daughter.  On 25th and 26th we have a big family gathering. It can be up to 20 people. We still eat a lot so we also need some vodka for digestion. I love this time with all family. My boyfriend, who is German was so impressed – he absolutely loves polish Christmas!

Beata: When I was a child we used to celebrate in large group of family but nowadays it’s just my parents and me and to be honest I like it more.  On 25th we stay at home (luckily as it’s a after a post night out with friends).  On 26th we meet with all family at Grandma’s place. In the past we used to eat their lunch together but now it’s only coffee and cakes. It’s around 15 people but the family keeps growing.

 

Do you always celebrate Christmas the same way?

Edyta: I haven’t lived in Poland for 6 years now and it’s not always possible to go home for Christmas.  In 2014 I had my first Christmas away. It was here in Ibiza with my boyfriend. I cooked for him some polish food to show him a little bit of our tradition.  In 2015 I spent Christmas in the Alps in Austria where we were working for the winter season. It was my boyfriend, our 2 friends and I. It was a beautiful time in the mountains.  In 2017 I spent Christmas in Ibiza with a group of friends. Everyone brought some traditional food from their own country – so we had a taste of: Poland, Austria, Mexico, Netherlands, Argentina, Germany and Spain. It was a lovely time, full of different tastes and laughter.  This year I’ve decided to go to Poland so spend Christmas with family.

Beata: I really love my family but I also like Christmas away from home, just please, don’t tell my parents.  I had my first Christmas away 2 years ago when I lived in London. I was working a lot so I couldn’t cook at all but my polish friends invited me for Christmas Eve dinner after work. It was very simple and very relaxed and I loved it. No one-week cleaning at all.  Last year I spent Christmas in Ibiza with a mixed group of people: friends from Austria, Argentina and the Netherlands. I cooked beetroot soup and dumplings which everybody loved. This year I decided to stay in Ibiza again. We will organize Christmas Eve with my polish friend who lives in big, old Ibicenco house in the countryside. We plan to cook some polish food and invite a lot of people as nobody should be alone!  Do I miss my family? Of course but I will visit them later.

A huge thank you to both Edyta and Beata for sharing their personal Christmas and family traditions.  We are proud to say, that although there is still a lot of food, decorations, present giving and… well, cleaning.  Both girls really understand the heart and true spirit of Christmas. Friends, family, loved ones – a time when nobody should be alone and we stretch out our arms to welcome others into our home!  If you know about somebody in Ibiza this year who may be alone, say hi, invite them to your table and have a whole lot of fun!