Wigilia at Łazy (III)

So here’s how the tradition works.

Christmas begins with Wigilia. Vigil. Christmas Eve.

In many ways it’s the most important day.

Traditionally, you fast all day – and the Wigilia dinner doesn’t begin until you see the first star come out.

There must be twelve courses.

And you must set out an extra place for the stranger who could show up at your door.

Obviously, this requires much loving preparation in advance…

…a virtue of which Irena is the patron saint…

…though others pitched in as well…

…and were proud of their own handiwork…

…like with these pierogi.

The men retired to Łazy earlier in the afternoon. After all, there was much work to do there, too…

…like building and stoking the fire in the hearth – since it was going to be -10 celsius that night, or 14 degrees fahrenheit.

But soon the hearth was glowing, and the old farmhouse began to warm.

Actually, it had begun to warm even earlier because those of you with monastic practices like our own well understand that fasting does not necessarily preclude…

…celebratory libations.

When the first star does come out, first we pray together, and then each person takes honey on an unblessed host…

…and exchanges that with everyone else at the table, praying over one another and expressing one’s own wishes for each person for the coming year.

We forget what the exact wishes were when it came to this pair. But the punchline went something like this:
We’re going to be traveling together for how much longer?

Of course, not everything takes place indoors.

There was a walk down into the same woods…

…where Chris' father used to look for mushrooms as a boy…

…the family from two continents re-connected once again.

And two days later there was even a sleigh-ride up into the Carpathian mountains…

…with all the expected tomfoolery…

…and joy and appreciation for one another…

…that keeps on growing.

But for Wigilia there were courses yet to come.

And Nate had begun working on the translation of a poem …

…that had been written and dedicated to this old farmhouse in Łazy.

Yet even with his able assistant…

…he’s probably still working on that translation even now.

And even when our Wigilia meal had been concluded, there was still another ritual yet to come – and an intricate one at that…

…because to become a native Łazan is not an idle matter.

There are prescriptions and requirements and bylaws that all must be fulfilled.

This is just one translated page from the local Łazan book.

And as you can see, the totem of Łazy is the owl.

Chris served as English-speaking adjucator for the first Undersealed Pretender of Łazy…

…who performed the ritual…

…and initiated the novices with aplomb…

…all those who had undergone the weighty regimen.

But lest you think that becoming a native Łazan is something anyone took lightly…

…watch how each initiate…

…signs the book.