Boxing Day is typically a day for families and friends to meet up and spend time together.
Popular activities on Boxing Day also include seeing traditional nativity scenes displayed at churches.
Poland’s most famous nativity scenes are every year exhibited in the southern city of Kraków following an iconic Christmas Cribs Competition.
This year, the winning entries will be available for viewing by the public as part of a winners’ exhibition at Kraków's Krzysztofory Palace, held until February 27.
In 2018, the Kraków tradition of Christmas crib-building was inscribed to UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage as Poland’s first example of a custom recognised in this way.
Those not living or staying anywhere near Kraków may spend their Boxing Day enjoying local delights for the palate.
As more and more Poles, especially in big cities, chose to dine out around Christmas, many restaurants now offer sophisticated takes on traditional dishes.
According to a new study, Poland’s traditional Christmas set continues to evolve with some dishes no longer attractive in terms of taste or calories.
Over 30% of Poles are willing to modify their Christmas set according to their dietary preferences and restrictions, the study shows.
Most commonly they are opting for vegetarian - 17% and low-glycemic meals - 11%, while 5% prefer to have lactose-free, vegan, and gluten-free dishes.
Polish cuisine is a great melting pot of tastes - starting from traditional local dishes like the sour rye soup żurek or tree cake sekacz, to those borrowed from Europe and Asia.
Throughout centuries cultures, spices and aromas have been mixing on the Polish soil. There are dishes with different roots on the Polish table today: Italian, German, French, Chinese, Russian, Jewish, Ukrainian and Belarusian.
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