O KTÓREJ JECIE OBIAD? TRADITIONAL RHYTHM OF HAVING MEALS IN POLAND
This question comes up surprisingly often in Polish classes. The answer is not that obvious since it largely depends on our lifestyle and where we live. Traditionally Poles start their day with śniadanie (breakfast), around 10.30am they have their drugie śniadanie (second breakfast), which is usually a sandwich. Then comes obiad (lunch/dinner) eaten between 2 and 3pm (main meal of the day, usually consisting of two courses), children sometimes have podwieczorek (equivalent of tea) around 5pm, and that is a sweet snack before the last meal of the day, i.e. kolacja (dinner/supper) which is eaten around 7pm. Kolacja usually consists of one course and is definitely lighter than obiad and, depending on the season of the year, may be served cold or hot. The most important śniadanie (breakfast) of the year is, of course, the Easter breakfast (more information here), and the most formal kolacja (dinner/supper) is Wigilia, i.e. Christmas Eve dinner/supper (more on that here).
The model śniadanie - drugie śniadanie - obiad - (podwieczorek) – kolacja is a traditional one and is still followed by children, young people, unemployed adults and those living in small towns.
ANGLICISMS IN NAMES OF MEALS
People living in large cities, studying or working from 9am to 5pm have obiad after work, and in the middle of the day they have ... lunch. The rhythm of meals and their times are similar to those in other countries. Śniadanie in the morning, lunch at midday and obiad early in the evening. With such a daily routine the noun kolacja is reserved for special occasions (kolacja służbowa - business dinner, kolacja romantyczna - romantic dinner) or refers to a meal eaten around 9pm (which is much less common in Poland than in southern countries). On days off, weekends, Polish middle class in larger cities has brunch, which is a late śniadanie or early lunch, usually eaten in restaurants or bistros (more on eating places here).
Interestingly, even the Poles living in large cities give up on the Western European tradition in order to meet relatives for dinner on Sunday at 2pm (during which rosół, i.e. traditional chicken soup, is served) or to eat out together. Do you know now why restaurants in Poland are crowded on Sunday afternoons?
