During Advent, people also prepare their houses for Christmas. There's lots of cleaning and people wash their windows and clean their carpets very thoroughly. Everything must be clean for Christmas day!

Advent Calendars are also popular. some people like to make calendars for their families, so they are more personal.

St Nicholas' Day is celebrated on the 6th December. Children hope that they will get a little present from St Nicholas (Święty Mikołaj) often left in a shoe or near a fireplace. They might also get presents on Christmas Eve.

Before Christmas, children in schools and preschools take part in "Jasełka" (Nativity Plays). They are very popular and often more secular than religious. The Christmas story is also sometime put into modern times.

The smell of tangerines in schools or workplaces is widely thought to mean that Christmas time is about to start!

Poland is a largely catholic country and Christmas Eve is a very important and busy day. It's now often the most important day over Christmas - even though it's not a holiday but Christmas and the 26th December are holidays! Traditionally it was day of fasting and abstinence (not eating anything) and meat is not normally allowed to be eaten in any form.

Christmas Eve is known as Wigilia (pronounced vee-GHEE-lee-uh). Traditionally, the house is also cleaned and everyone wore their best festive clothes. The main Christmas meal is eaten in the evening and is called "Kolacja wigilijna" (Christmas Eve supper). It's traditional that no food is eaten (or sometimes the first present opened) until the first star is seen in the sky! So children look at the night sky to spot the first star! Looking for the first star is also a reminder of the Wisemen who followed a star to visit Jesus.

On the table there are 12 dishes - they are meant to give you good luck for the next 12 months. The meal is traditionally meat free, this is to remember the animals who took take of the baby Jesus in the manger. Everyone has to eat or at least try some of each dish. For catholics the 12 dishes symbolize Jesus's 12 disciples. Like in many Catholic countries, Christmas Eve is often a 'fasting day' meaning that some people don't eat anything until after sunset (when the Church day officially ends). Some people in central Poland say that at midnight the animals can talk (but I don't think that's very likely)!