Rooted both in Christian traditions and old folk winter solstice rituals, the caroling star is one of the most recognizable symbols of Polish Christmas. A representation of the Star of Bethlehem, it has accompanied carolers for hundreds of years, and has come to signal joy, community, light, and hope for a new beginning.
Carolling group
Jacek Kubiena, 1974, photo from the collections of the Ethnographic Museum in Kraków.
Participants of street trade with a Kraków nativity scene
author unknown, 1933, photo from the collections of the National Digital Archives.
Carnival of the Highlanders
Jacek Kubiena, 1974, photo from the collection of the Ethnographic Museum in Kraków.
Turoń
Ethnographic Museum in Kraków, author unknown, 1826, photo from the collections of the National Digital Archives.
Carollers’ star from the competition in Rabka
Zdzisław Szewczyk, 1965, photo from the collections of the Ethnographic Museum in Kraków.
Carollers with a puppet nativity scene
author unknown, early 20th century, photo from the collections of the Ethnographic Museum in Kraków.
Caroler Franciszek Fajto with a star
author unknown, 1837, photo from the collections of the National Digital Archives.
Carollers from Dobra
author unknown, early 20th century, photo from the collections of the National Digital Archives.
“The Star” against the backdrop of a Kraków nativity scene
Ethnographic Museum in Kraków, author unknown, 1926, photograph from the collections of the National Digital Archives.
Kraków nativity scene and its author [?],
“Światowid” photographic agency, 1936, photo from the collections of the National Digital Archives.