Christmas for the lonely

In Poland, Christmas Eve is the annual big family get-together, with a tradition that no-one is left alone, outcast and wanting, symbolised by an extra plate on the supper table.

With this in mind, for years now volunteers in Poland have been pooling forces and organising big free municipal dinners, especially for the homeless and needy.

This Sunday was the 19th time that restaurateur from Kraków Jan Kościuszko – and dozens of his assistants – took their pots of beetroot soup, pans of pierogi and fried carp, and poppy-seed cake, out into the Market Square.

They fed not only needy Cracovians but many of those who travel to the city especially on that day.

In Siedlce, a mobile canteen was wheeled out by local bikers, assisted by a vintage vehicles club and the seniors’ centre.

As people broke the Christmas wafer, the wishes they exchanged were simple – mostly of good health.

Elżbieta Krajewska reports.