Translation: I wish you only the best in 2011. Yes, Christmas 2010 is history for a lot of people, at least in America, but in Poland it has just started. In Poland, I am told, they really don’t do a lot of decoration or preparation until just before Christmas. The Christmas season begins with Wigilia on the 24th, and Christmas Day is often a quiet and solemn day, the day of Jesus’s birth. But after that, the visiting and partying begins. Poles celebrate the twelve days of Christmas which culminates with the Feast of the Three Kings on the twelfth day of Christmas, January 6th. In the Eastern Rite church, it is often January 6th which is the big feast day and when gifts are exchange.
At my home, I celebrate Christmas through January 6th. Right now I am the only house in my area and one of few that still have up their Christmas lights, and I light my tree every night as well. I believe that Christmas should be celebrated more as a season rather than a day.
And in the middle of this, we have the New Year. Yes, a big feast and celebration here in America, but quite secular in nature. The ball falling in Time’s Square, the bowl games on New Year’s Day. Many New Year’s Eve parties filled with drink and festivity. The beginning of a new year. And so I celebrate it all and wish all who read this only the best in 2011, and may you celebrate Christmas in your heart as more than just one day a year.
Zycze ci tylko z najlepszych means I wish you from the best only(?)