Previously: The Sky Is Blue And I See You.
In the spirit of the season, today, we’re looking at a ritual game that isn’t actually dangerous at all: A Polish Christmas ritual for good health. With this little rite, you don’t have to worry about anything going dramatically wrong, or suffering ill consequences for the rest of your days if it does; if this ritual doesn’t succeed, the worst thing that happens is… it doesn’t succeed. That’s all. No harm, no foul, as they say.
This ritual was posted to the r/ThreeKings subreddit in 2023 by Redditor u/HFCCProdLabel under the title “A minor Polish Christmas rite/ritual for health.” According to u/HFCCProdLabel, it’s “based on old Polish logic: Be as healthy as money, because money” — which they specified meant coinage — “is hard.” The original poster also noted that, although they weren’t sure “how much truth” there was in the old logic, it originated in Małopolska, the historical region in the southern and southeastern areas of Poland.
[Like what you read? Check out Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark, available from Chronicle Books now!]
Looking into it a little more deeply, I found that this Christmas eve ritual for good health seems to combine several Polish holiday traditions into one game or rite: The general tradition of Wigilia, the feasting and celebrating that occurs on Christmas Eve; placing coins or money beneath the Wigilia dinner table’s plates or tablecloth to ensure abundance; washing money to encourage financial security in the coming year; and bathing in a bath or washing your face in a basin with a few coins thrown in, either to foster wealth or to maintain health or beauty.
This one is relatively easy to undertake; the most complicated thing is probably making sure you have access to a river, stream, or other body of running water somewhere out in nature. Otherwise, all you need is a coin, a table, a tablecloth to dress it with, and a sense of good cheer.
Play at your own… care?
Yes. Let’s go with that this time, instead of our usual warning.
Play with care.
Players:
- One principal.
Requirements:
- A coin.
- A table.
- A tablecloth, ideally white.
- Access to a river, stream, or other body of running water.
- An alarm clock. (Optional, but recommended in certain circumstances. See: Additional Notes.)
Instructions:
Before Christmas Eve:
- Before Dec. 24, make your preparations: Gather together your supplies; make sure you have access to a body of running water; plan your celebrations.
- Then: Wait. Wait until Dec. 24. Do not begin before Dec. 24. Do not begin after Dec. 24. You MUST begin on Dec. 24, precisely.
- Is it Dec. 24? Is it Christmas Eve?
- Good. You may begin.
On Christmas Eve:
- Set the table for your evening celebrations. Make sure the table setting includes the white tablecloth. Do not proceed if you do not have a tablecloth.
- Place the coin on the table, beneath the tablecloth. You may place the coin anywhere on the table, so long as it is covered by the tablecloth. It is sometimes recommended to place the coin such that it is beneath a plate, though this positioning is optional.
- Enjoy your celebrations. Make merry. Spend time with your friends and loved ones.
- When you are ready to wrap things up for the night, do NOT clean the table. Keep the tablecloth on the table. Keep the coin under the tablecloth on the table. Do NOT allow table, nor tablecloth, nor coin to be disturbed.
- Now: Go to bed. Sleep. Dream, with visions of sugar plums dancing in your head.
After Christmas Eve:
- When you awaken in the morning — on Christmas morning — retrieve the coin from beneath the tablecloth. Keep it hidden — in a pocket; in the palm of your hand; anywhere it will be safe, secure, and unseen.
- With your coin, go to your chosen river or other body of running water.
- Take the coin out from wherever you have secreted it away and wash it in the river. Wash it carefully — don’t lose hold of it! — but make sure it is rinsed as clean as it can be.
- When you are done washing the coin, congratulations; you have completed the ritual.
- You may now do with the coin whatever you wish: Keep it; spend it; leave it by the river as statement that you were there.
- This year, go in good health, my friends.
Additional Notes:
This ritual may not be performed at any other time of the year. If you are not able to begin on Dec. 24, and you are not able to complete the ritual the morning of Dec. 25, do not attempt the ritual.
Regarding the alarm clock: Please note that the ritual also MUST be completed before morning is over on Dec. 25. To achieve success, the washing of the coin CANNOT occur after noon. Do not sleep too late. If you are prone to oversleeping, it is recommended that you utilize the alarm clock. Before you go to sleep in Step 4 of On Christmas Eve, set it to ensure that you will wake at a reasonable hour.
If the ritual is conducted as a part of Wigilia — the traditional Polish Christmas Eve meal and celebration — the tablecloth used must be white. Even if not conducted alongside a Wigilia celebration, it is still recommended that the tablecloth be white for best results; you may, however, make the attempt with whatever you have available.
A Note About The Coin:
The coin may be of any currency, and of any denomination within that currency; the only requirement is that it be a coin with monetary value.
It is NOT recommended to use counterfeit money, coin-shaped objects such as tokens or chips, etc.
Your goal here, after all, is to ensure good health for yourself in the coming year — health as good as your coin is solid.
Staking your health on something that… is not what it appears to be seems like a poor decision.
I wish you good health, friends — now, and always.
***
Follow The Ghost In My Machine on Bluesky @GhostMachine13.bsky.social, Twitter @GhostMachine13, and Facebook @TheGhostInMyMachine. And for more games, don’t forget to check out Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark, available now from Chronicle Books!
[Photos via geralt, Mitrey, Public Domain Pictures, ha11ok/Pixabay]
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