My mother was second generation Polish and my father third generation Italian. Christmas Eve was spent with the Italian side with our grandfather, aunts, uncles and about two dozen cousins.

Christmas Eve dinner consisted of the obligatory ham, and an assortment of pastas, seafoods and cheeses. After dinner my grandfather would usually lead the other adults singing Italian songs while the kids fidgeted waiting to open their presents. After opening gifts we would all gather for the annual family picture. Then the adults would sit around the table playing poker while the kids ran amok.

Polish Christmas was much more subdued with a traditional ham dinner highlighted with a plum pudding flambe. After opening gifts we would do the traditional breaking of the Oplatki. A wafer passed around and wished upon.

As we all got older and went our own ways the old country traditions died off. I had forgotten about Oplatki until my sister in Tennessee mentioned it a couple of years ago. I now have a package shipped to me by my brother in Chicago so I can forward them on to her. Just trying to keep a little tradition alive.