They used to go fishing on men’s holidays
There was a custom that has changed a bit now. saint before Christmas, there was a “fish” on Christmas Eve. Large companies invited their male, only male employees to a restaurant for breakfast, say Jerzy S. Majewski, a Varsavianist, about Christmas in the capital.
“The first and second day of Christmas were visiting days. Visited family and friends and sang Christmas carols. If people were walking, the choice was exceptional” – said the varsavianist. He noted that Aleje Jerozolimskie were indeed avenues and, before the main world indicators, you could ride them on horseback. “There were separate parts for horse carts on the sides” – added.
The Saxon Garden was a very elegant place. But that was changing. Before 1939, this character of the garden changed, the street was pierced by the Saxon Garden. “First of all, they went there with children. A Christmas walk, in order to show off, you had to walk along Wierzbowa Street, Piłsudskiego Square and through Mazowiecka Street – by the way, peeking into a cafe, but rather until the second day of Christmas” – he said.
“There was a custom that has now changed its character a bit. The official one before Christmas, on Christmas Eve, was “fish”. Something we love as herring. Gentlemen in extension went to eat it. Employees went to the restaurant for breakfast. They served fish and coffee then and of course, alcohol, the active ingredient is vodka. Because, as they used to say, “fish is music to swim”. It was all under the pretext of not disturbing the women in the preparation of the Christmas Eve. It was often that after the “fish”, the gentlemen were looking for gifts ” – exactly Majewski. It was added that luxury restaurants and the legendary cocktail bar in Bristol invited guests to such breakfasts.
At the end of the 19th century, Christmas trees appeared. “The Christmas tree was usually bought by the master of the house and it was taken on a cart or brought in a horse-drawn carriage. Sometimes these Christmas trees were pulled through the window” – said the Varsavianist.
“Such a giant Christmas tree, at the beginning of the 20th century, went to the device of Jadwiga Waydel-Dmochowska’s father. It was a very high interior – up to 4-5 meters. So this Christmas tree was a real tree and there was a whole celebration with bringing in and decorating the Christmas tree ” – he said.
He noted that there were so many protests against the mass sale of products imported from Germany at stands and shops. “It was a joint action to buy these indexes by Polish craftsmen. The magazine “Świat” wrote that the fact that toys are imported from abroad to our Christmas tree loses its Polish character and that the child’s mind does not learn beauty” – he adds. “It’s a bit funny because this Christmas tree was something new and came from Germany. So it’s hardly surprising, it was the moment when independence was fought, it was after the revolution of 1905, the dawn of independence. There was a fierce campaign to get the old Polish ones. The idea was to acquire Polish ornamentation, modern but rooted in folk art” – he added.
Christmas trees were decorated with baubles, but above all with sweets and candles, which, unfortunately, were missing from the fires. Even before the appearance of the first signs of the world, the first electric lamps began to appear, and in the interwar period there were already a lot of them. “However, until the post-war times, these natural candles dominated” – author Majewski.
“In bourgeois houses, in the interwar years, the products on the Christmas table depended on their origin. It must be said that Warsaw was a melting pot then. were eclectic” – adding precisely that it is still the case now.
Before and the world was revealed, some things were constant. “There must have been soups at the beginning. One was fish soup and the other was borscht with dumplings. And, of course, five fish dishes. Of course, carp, pike, zander and tench – these were basic fish. And, of course, sweets. there was compote of dried plums and kutia, which came from Kresy” – added the varsavianista.
He noted that when it comes to celebrating Christmas, they support the family. “Because it was so that the reading of the Holy Bible was celebrated, the wafer and then dinner. But it was also that only after Christmas Eve the closest family went to the wafer. And then gifts were distributed” – he said.
Cribs were also staged, people dressed up and carols were sung, and in the evening the whole family went to Midnight Mass. In Warsaw, churches were chosen depending on where someone sang. you would go to see nativity scenes in different churches, then visit each other and then sing carols.
“After the gifts, in the interwar years, he moved to the Jabłkowski Brothers department store (currently 5 Rogów Square). It was an exception, an ordinary department store with incidents,” Majewski said. He noted that the holiday season starts on November 15 and applies to holidays. “At that time, catalogs were available and there was, above all, an offer for children, who were the main beneficiaries of Christmas. There was everything from cuddles to bicycles and electric trains,” he said. “These actions took place differently than now, they were more crude” – he added.
The department store of the Jabłkowski Brothers was beautifully lit, there was a star of Bethlehem, lamps and Santa Claus pulling a sleigh. “It looked different than today, but in general very similar” – please Majewski.
Majewski also told how the ads came about. “For example, one humorist advised: “A thing that should be cheap and effective on the road.” Another advised what gift to choose for your wife. “If the gift is to prove your feelings, then don’t be similar in them.” In turn, to choose a gift for children who must be guided by the principle “that you can make them happy by doing stupid things, therefore, apart from a bicycle or a management queue, you should give them rather puzzles and cut-outs”.