POLISH CULTURE

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POLISH CULTURE TRADITION
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Who and When brings Gifts to Polish Children
during Christmas Season
In some regions of Poland the gifts are given to
the children only on December 6th - since St.
Nicolaus called also Santa Claus is a patron of
this day. But in the majority of houses children
(and adults) can expect gifts twice- on December
6th and also on Christmas Eve. The atmosphere of
this feast is different than the atmosphere of
Christmas eve since December 6th is a normal
working day. Whereas Christmas is usually
celebrated as a family feast.
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Delicious Food for Fat Thursday
The Thursday before Ash Wednesday is celebrated
as Fat Thursday - Tlusty Czwartek . On this is
the day when you forget about your diet and eat
mountains of donuts (paczki) and all the other
things fat, greasy, sweet, full of cholesterol,
generally unhealthy, and mmmmm.... delicious.
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Sinking of Marzanna
Winters in Poland were long and unforgiving.
Therefore people are longing for spring. One of
the ancient and pagan habits that supposedly was
helping to get rid of winter was "sinking of
Marzanna". Kids made a doll from old grass and
tree branches and take it to the river. They burn
the doll and throw her into the river. The
symbolic meaning of this ceremony is to get rid
of winter therefore it is performed in early
spring.
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Palm Sunday Traditions
Palm Sunday niedziela palmowa is called also The
Sunday of the Lord's Passion. Here we will focus
mainly on the tradition of Polish palms The most
popular palms that people usually carry to the
church are made of blooming pussy willows
branches called bazie or kotki decorated with
branches of birch, raspberry, currant and also
some boxwood bukszpan, dry flowers and grass,
ribbons and other decorations. In the Catholic
Church the willow (Polish wierzba) symbolizes
the resurrection and the immortality of the soul.
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Art of Coloring Easter Eggs
The Easter eggs are symbols of fertility and
beginning of the new life. Some of the eggs were
painted in traditional Polish folk patterns.
These eggs were called "pisanki". Word "pisanki"
comes from the root-word meaning "to write".
Painting eggs is a multi-layered process of
writing on an egg with hot beeswax, dying the
egg, then finally melting and rubbing off the egg
for a finished product.
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Easter Saturday in Poland
Easter Saturday in Poland is a busy day. Every
Polish family visits a church with a basket full
of food products (a piece of bread, salt,
sausage, egg - usually painted etc). Especially
children love it! The baskets are then blessed by
a priest.
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Wet Monday
Smigus Dyngus (shming-oos-ding-oos) is an unusual
tradition of Easter Monday. This day (Monday
after Easter Sunday) is called also in Polish
"Wet Monday", in Polish "Mokry Poniedzialek" or
"Lany Poniedzialek". Easter Monday is also a
holiday in Poland. It was traditionally the day
when boys tried to drench girls with squirt guns
or buckets of water.
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A long Mayday weekend in Poland.
May 1st - International Workers' Day May 2nd -
Flag Day, it is also celebrated as a day of
Polish immigration or Poles abroad, so called
POLONIA DAY. May 3rd - The oldest feast is a
feast of May 3rd which is devoted to the day of
constitution, since the famous Constitution of
the 3rd May was established on that day. Many
people go on the outdoor trips during long
Mayday weekend.
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St. John's Night
At the end of June, at the time of Summer
Solstice, when night is shortest and Nature
bursts with blossoms and growth, we celebrate the
Holiday of Fire and Water, also called Noc
Kupaly. People gather at a fire, jumping through
the fire, sing songs, dance and having lots of
fun.
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Girls wore wreaths of flowers on their heads. If
the burning wreath was thrown in the river and
then pulled by a single man it might mean they
are engaged.
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St. Andrew's Night
There is a long tradition of fortune telling
especially for non-married girls on the November
30th in Poland. The main purpose of Andrzejki
celebrations is to predict the future of
unmarried girl, especially her prospects for a
good marriage. Presently people do not take
seriously the fortune-telling during st. Andrew
Day but this day is still celebrated because it
is lots of fun
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Miners' Day (St. Barbara Day),
One of the most celebrated days associated with
workers group is St. Barbara's Day on December
4th. St. Barbara is a patron of coal
miners. Miners are dressed in the special
uniforms during Barbórka. The uniform consists of
black suit and hat with a feather. The color of
the feather depends on the rank of the miner.
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All Saints' Day in Poland, November 1st
Poles take flowers (especially fall flowers like
chrysanthemum), wreaths, candles and votive
lights into the cemeteries where graves of
family, friends or national heroes are. It is
worth to mention that the cemeteries in Poland
are different than in any country. Graves and
tombs are big and very individualized.
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The atmosphere of All Saints' Day is unique. In
the evening cemeteries are decorated in glowing
and flickering colorful lights of countless
candles.
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