Visitors to Ashton or other communities with Polish heritage might hear or see "Wesolych Swiat," and wonder just what that means. They'll soon find out it's Polish for "Merry Christmas."

People from all over central Nebraska gathered in Ashton Sunday evening for a traditional Polish Christmas Eve meal called a wigilia. The Polish Heritage Center in Ashton has been putting on the wigilia for about the last eight years, giving people with Polish heritage a chance to celebrate and observe some traditions brought over by their immigrant ancestors.

"What we're doing tonight is trying to recreate what might be a traditional Polish Christmas Eve meal," said Larry Molczyk, a member of the board of directors of the Heritage Center. "There are a lot of legends and traditions that make up this meal, and it's good food."

Molczyk said wigilia literally means "vigil." The Polish celebrate Christmas by marking the night before Christ's birth instead of Christmas Day. Molczyk said the wigilia is a combination of old folk customs and aspects of the Catholic church, which has been a strong presence in Poland.

The wigilia starts when the youngest member of the household sees the first star in the night sky on Christmas Eve. Then begins an eleven to thirteen course meal along with many other activities and symbolic happenings. To save a little time, the wigilia in Ashton is condensed to three trips through a buffet, with new dishes being served each trip.

The wigilia is a meatless supper, though fish are some of the courses. The Heritage Center, along with dedicated volunteers, cooked up lots of traditional dishes such as pickled beets and pickled herring to serve at their wigilia.

Virginia Pokorski is an Ashton resident who volunteers with the Heritage Center. She said her grandparents immigrated from Poland, and she herself has gone to Poland to see where they came from. For her the Sunday evening was a fun and special way of celebrating her heritage. She said more and more people come to the wigilia in Ashton each year.

"People are hearing about this by word-of-mouth, and it seems like there's always someone new attending," she said. "A lot of people come back because they enjoy it."

Molczyk, an Aurora resident, got involved with the Heritage Center when he and his father donated some items and information. He said he and his father visited Poland in the 1980's. He said that combined with the act of being involved with things like the wigilia has helped make his heritage more meaningful.

"By being a part of the Polish Heritage Center I've come to understand my own culture in a way I didn't growing up Polish," he said.

For more on this story, click on the video links above to hear extended interviews with Molczyk and Pokorski about the traditions and meaning of the wigilia. Below is a short summary of just a few of the traditions and the meanings behind them.

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The Traditions of Wigilia

The celebration in Ashton is a way for members of the Heritage Center to share with others the meaning behind some of the traditions, like sharing of the Oplatek wafers - a traditional unleavened wafer. There are two kinds of Oplatek wafers: white wafers for people and colored wafers for animals. Molczyk said household animals are a part of the celebration because they were in the stable when Christ was born. Polish tradition also says that the animals can talk on Christmas Eve, but only children can hear them.

The straw of the manger is remembered with pieces of straw hidden under the tablecloth. People pull out a piece of the straw and can tell their fortunes with them. The length and quality of each piece of straw are said to predict long life, future marriages, and looming decisions.

According to Molczyk one very important tradition is the empty chair.

"The empty chair is a place reserved for a special guest," he said. "Whether it be the tramp on the street, an uninvited guest or relative, or Christ Himself should show up knocking at your door, there's always a chair waiting for them."