Catholic Activity: Distribution of Oblatky

Most likely associated with the Polish custom of oplatek , the Slovaks receive a wafer for each member of their family from their parish organist.

DIRECTIONS

Another important pre-Christmas event is the distribution of the Oblatky. Oblatky is the plural of oblatka. The word has a close resemblance to "Oblation." It is not a Slovak word. It is derived from the Latin, Oblatio, which is the name given to the bread used for consecration in the Mass. The large oval-shaped wafers are usually baked by the organist of the parish who, by the way, holds a very high place in the esteem of the people of a Slovak parish. About a week before Christmas, the organist goes from home to home distributing these oblatky, leaving in each home as many as there are members in the family.

Activity Source: Your Home, A Church in Miniature by Compiled by The Family Life Bureau in the early 1950s, The Neumann Press, Long Prairie, Minnesota, 1994