thumb|upright|A drawing of a podłaźniczka from the Lesser Poland region Podłaźniczka, polazňička is a traditional Polish and Slovak Christmas decoration. It was usually made from branches or the top of a conifer tree turned upside down, which was then decorated with colored paper cutouts (wycinanki), candies, apples, nuts, typical Polish świats, or stars and crosses made of straw. The podłaźniczka was then hung from the ceiling rafters over the Wigilia dinner table on Christmas Eve.
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thumb|upright|A drawing of a podłaźniczka from the Lesser Poland region Podłaźniczka, polazňička is a traditional Polish and Slovak Christmas decoration. It was usually made from branches or the top of a conifer tree turned upside down, which was then decorated with colored paper cutouts (wycinanki), candies, apples, nuts, typical Polish świats, or stars and crosses made of straw. The podłaźniczka was then hung from the ceiling rafters over the Wigilia dinner table on Christmas Eve.
== History == thumb|upright|A podłaźniczka decorated with Slavic paganism|Slavic pagan motifs The tradition of hanging a podłaźniczka dates back to an ancient Slavic custom of suspending a decorated branch of fir, spruce, or pine from the ceiling rafters, during the time of the Koliada winter festival. The custom of podłaźniczka is also connected to a later folk tradition of the połaźnik. The połaźnik was the first guest to visit a house on Christmas Eve, often bringing with them a decorated evergreen branch. This custom also existed in Slovakia and Bulgaria; in Lemko tradition, the didok was brought instead. In Serbia, such a branch was called šumka od položenjca (), or polaznikova šumka ().
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