 While Christmas in Poland is traditionally linked to red borscht , Lent – the fasting period that leads up to Easter – is associated with a meatless version of white borscht , or żur . Youths used to celebrate Holy Saturday , the last day of the fast , with a mock " funeral " of the white borscht , in which a pot of the soup was either buried in the ground or broken , sometimes – to the crowd 's amusement – while being carried by an unsuspecting boy on his head . On the next day , the white borscht would reappear on the Easter table , but this time , in its more coveted , meat @-@ based guise with sausage , bacon and eggs . 
