Meanings
- The traditional Christmas Eve vigil supper in Poland, held on December 24.
The covered dishes brought by those attending show their home region in Poland with certain Wigilia specialties.
2016 December 8, Martha Saconchik-Pytel, “‘Wigilia’: Polish Heritage Society celebrates”, in Tallahassee Democrat, volume 111, number 343, Tallahassee, Fla., →ISSN, →OCLC, “Chronicle” section, page 2E, column 12 more examples
Then two days before Wigilia, a German officer came to say that ‘Germans are humanitarians even towards criminals,’ so we could take part in the Christmas eve celebration.
1945 January 24, Brenda Ueland, quoting the Polish Review, “What Goes on Here”, in Minneapolis Daily Times, volume 78, number 210, Minneapolis, Minn., →OCLC, page 11, column 1Most people don’t make their own herring for Wigilia, but they do buy it ready-made for their celebrations, Aleksandra Burzynski said.
2022 December 21, Joanne Kempinger Demski, “Polish tradition: 12 dishes of Christmas all in 1 day for Wigilia dinner”, in Herald Times Reporter, volume 52, number 310, Manitowoc, Wis., →OCLC, page 2B, column 1
Origin
- PolishWigilia
- EnglishWigilia
From Polish Wigilia. Doublet of vigil.
More words from Polish
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Wigilia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wigilia
“Wigilia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wigilia. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Wigilia,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wigilia.
Source: Wigilia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.