Christmas in Poland the Twelve Apostles, or perhaps, an odd number of dishes for good luck (usually five, seven, or nine). A traditional Wigilia supper in Poland includes fried carp and borscht (beetroot soup) with uszka (ravioli). Carp provides a main component of the Christmas Eve meal across Poland; carp fillet, carp in aspic and gefilte fish. Universal Polish Christmas foods are pierogi as well as some herring dishes, and for dessert, makowiec or noodles with poppy seed. Often, there is a compote of dry fruits for a drink. The remainder of the evening is given to stories and songs around the Christmas
Christmas traditions Eve and on Christmas morning. Christmas supper, without Lenten restrictions, does not have as many traditions connected with it as Sviata Vechera. The old tradition in Ukraine of giving gifts to children on St. Nicholas Day, December 19, has generally been replaced by the Christmas date and it is the Father Frost who visits all the children in a sleigh pulled by only three reindeer. (In Western Ukraine the St. Nicholas Day is marked there on December 6.) In much of Northern Europe Christmas is celebrated on December 24 and is referred to as "Jul" (see Yule), while December 25