Polish American Cultural Society offers a taste of Wigilia

The Polish American Cultural Society (PACS) opened the doors of Hayden Lounge this past Wednesday to students who wanted to experience Christmas the Polish way. Instead of the typical holiday foods such as honey ham or gingerbread cookies, PACS offered a large array of traditional Polish foods, ranging from pork, beef, and rice golabki to strawberry pierogis.
President of PACS Rafal Poniatowski explained that Wigilia is Christmas Eve and celebrated prior to opening gifts. “After you see the first star in the sky, you sit down to a meal that must have at least 12 different courses,” he said. The twelve courses are not standardized, and vary from family to family. Once the feast has ended, then presents are opened, rather than waiting until Christmas Day.
There were many different foods to choose from. PACS provided potato stuffed pierogi ruskies, sauerkraut filled krokiety z kapusta, mushroom uszka, and makowiec, a poppy-seed dessert. Popular polish fruit juices, including an Apple-mint flavor, were also offered. Christmas songs sung both in Polish and English lingered in the air as students laughed and conversed over their meals, the first Polish meal for many.
Izabela Serowik, Treasurer and Secretary of PACS, was very happy regarding the turnout during the event. “Last year, PACS was dying out, but after seeing the success of the Wigilia event, we are happy to see that we’re making progress. Food is key!” Serowik was right; by the end of the event, nearly all the food had been eaten.
Karolina Konior, Vice President of PACs, along with Poniatowski agreed that they are looking to bring Polish customs to campus. Konior explained that they have many events planned for next semester, and are looking forward to an auspicious new year.