The Polish Christmas wafer shared during Wigilia is called opłatek.
Opłatek is a very thin, unleavened wafer made from wheat flour and water. It is usually embossed with religious scenes such as the Nativity or the Star of Bethlehem. On Christmas Eve, family members traditionally break pieces from one another’s wafers while exchanging good wishes, blessings, forgiveness, and hopes for the coming year.
The ritual takes place before the Wigilia supper, Poland’s Christmas Eve vigil meal, traditionally on December 24. The wafer’s symbolism is connected with bread, family unity, reconciliation, and Christian fellowship. Although it resembles altar bread, opłatek is shared as a domestic Christmas custom rather than consumed as the Eucharist during Mass.
The custom originated in Poland and spread across the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, becoming especially established by the 17th century. Related Christmas wafers are also used in Lithuania, Slovakia, and parts of the Czech lands. Opłatek is sometimes confused with pita or matzo, but it is a distinct, nearly paper-thin Christmas wafer.