Polish Traditions in Easter!
Polish Traditions in Easter;
Introduction
The period
of Easter is generally seen as a period of Joy and family-bonding. In some
countries, there’s usually a bank holiday in this period. Whereas some students
have break from school during this period, some other workers observe some
break in this period. Easter
is an important season for Christians and for some other religions like Islam,
this period usually falls within the period of Ramadan fasting. The Orthodoxy as
well is not left out as well in this period as they have a slightly different calendar
in the celebration of Easter. Their Easter is usually 1 one week after the Catholic's. Many
Catholic Countries mark this day as a special day in a special way and there is
break from lots of activities. For example, In Poland, Shops are closed from
noon on Holy Saturday until Easter Tuesday. The Economic impact or critiques on
this is never the intent of the writer. How is
Easter Celebrated in Poland? Are there some Special dishes or events? What is
the most interesting thing to look out for during Easter in Poland? Which city
is the best place to be during Easter celebration in Poland? Finally, the writer
shall compare to an extent similar season with the season of Nigeria in Africa.
Significant
to mention is the fact that the writer is not a native of Poland in case of
some loss in translations. Easter Season Easter in Poland is celebrated
according to the Western Roman Catholic calendar. Easter Sunday falls on the
first Sunday after the first full moon of spring.[1]
Little wonder then, some families and older generations mark this Period as the
birth of the Spring Season. The Easter celebration ushers in a great and
beautiful season and could be seen from the beauty of the flowers, shiny dances
of the trees in the parks, and blossoming of the long dead trees that were
literally dead during the long period of winter. Just as the period of Easter in
Poland falls during the Spring season (season of rebirth), the season of Easter
in the same vein falls during the farming season in the Eastern part of
Nigeria. This is the period of relatively good rainfall that signals the
fertility of land for cultivation and farming. The first sign of approaching
Easter in Poland is a large number of branches and dried flowers being brought
to church. One week before Easter, Palm Sunday (in Polish niedziela palmowa)
takes place. According to Catholic tradition, the day marks the entrance of
Jesus in Jerusalem. Since palm trees are rare in Poland – although there is one
known specimen – churchgoers often bring pussy willows or 'palms' made of
colorful woven dried branches.[2] Remarkably, this is the second
Easter after the 2years of pandemic season. Due to the Pandemic, there were
restrictions to what could be seen or done during Easter. But, this year will
be different especially in the big cities like Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk, Poznan,
Zebrzydowska,
etc!😊 Some Significant Polish Traditions
in Easter: There are many traditions or
events by the Poles during the Easter period. However, it is significant to say
that after the 2nd world war, there has been a huge change or in
other words intra-influence of these activities and the manner of celebrations from
the eastern part of Poland to the Western Part of Poland. Hence for the sake of this article,
we shall limit ourselves to only (5) five; 1. Mystery about Agony of Christ/Visiting
of Jesus' Graves; In many countries, it is
common to see the drama or an acting on the death and passion of Jesus Christ, the
country of Poland is not left out in this sense. This is performed in many cities
all over Poland on Good Friday (Wielki Piątek)
but the most famous place is at Kalwaria Zebrzydowska.[3]
For many practising Catholics and Christians, it is an obligatory place to
visit during the period of Easter. Furthermore, it is also worthy to note that
it is a typical Polish tradition to go from one church to another on Good Friday
to see the different decorations of Jesus tomb. For some religious persons, this
is not just a mere visit, rather a time to reflect and meditate on the death of
Jesus while going from parish to parish. In a layman’s understanding, the more parishes
to be visited, the deeper the reverence and re-awakening of the Great Sacrifice
of Jesus on the Cross of Calvary. Be that
as it may, it is not the intent of the writer to define the religiosity of individuals
nor accentuate on the much better one. Nonetheless, Protestants in Poland see
the Good Friday as the greatest of the days in the Easter Celebrations. 2. Holy Saturday – Basket full of
Food (Wielka Sobota) Traditionally, the taking of
basket full of food to the church to the Priest dates back to ancient Slavic-pagan
tradition. Poles believe on this day, that after the long 40days of fasting and
praying, Holy Saturday is the day of sanctifying all food to be eaten again. History
has it that 50 years ago, a typical Polish family takes to Church all food
cooked and uncooked in a basket to the Church for the priest to bless. However,
as time went by, a basket of all cooked and uncooked food is fast eroding to a basket
of snacks, fruits and in some cases one-time meal. The Now generation believe
that a blessing of few of the food items from the basket is by an extension a blessing
to the rest of the food at home. 3. Decoration of Eggs Egg is
a symbol of life, fertility and renewal. In many traditions and cultures, the breaking
of an uncooked egg is sacred and a deeper revelation into the belief of the
culture that has it. Just as an egg is symbolic in many traditions, so also it
is in Polish tradition. In Poland, these eggs (both cooked and uncooked) are
decorated with fanciful colours and beautiful grids. Well, one may wonder then
the significance of these colours? In answer to the puzzle, a better answer would
be to draw strength from the colours of Easter Sunday, where the churches are
decorated with flowers again after being put out since the inception of Lent. Shiny
lights and colourful designs are put back again in decorating the church; a
pointer-arrow to the rebirth and resurrection of Jesus which Christians commemorate on Easter
Sunday. As explained
earlier, some food items are taken in a basket to the church for blessing and sanctification,
for a typical Pole, a basket of Food with no egg in Easter is no basket for Easter. On the
same note, sources revealed that in the Eastern part of Poland, there is usually
an interesting play and fun with the decorated eggs. A play which has been tied
to Belarusian cum Ukrainian influence. 4. Polish Breakfast on Easter
Sunday: (Niedziela Wielkanocna) Breakfast everywhere is usually
short and brisk says my Music teacher in the high school, but Easter breakfast
in Poland is usually elaborate and ceremonial. This is a time for family
re-union and re-bonding after the long while. The basket of Food that was
blessed by the priest on Holy Saturday is now brought out for consumption accompanied
with some prayers usually led by the elder in the family. Traditionally, each member
of the family is supposed to dip or share from the basket of food while making
wishes for each other. In the language of the writer, this could be seen as the
2nd “Opłatek”. Traditional Polish Breakfast table at Easter. 5. Wet Monday: Śmigus-Dyngus ‘‘Beware
of Easter Monday in Poland. Although this advice might seem strange, you really
should take it to heart, cause otherwise… you’ll get soaked! The tradition of Śmigus-Dyngus is still going strong in
Poland’’[4] It is no longer news that the Poles
are judicious with their cultural beliefs and likes to keep this tradition in
high esteem. Culture appreciates and in some cases depreciates as well. It is
not surprising that so many people may not known the history of this tradition.
Śmigus-Dyngus and sometimes known as lany
poniedziałek is an Easter Monday
tradition which, in short, involves people throwing copious amounts of water at
each other.[5] The tradition most likely goes
back to the 14th century, but it likely also has pre-Christian origins
connected to the March equinox and the coming of spring – water being a symbol
of life and renewal. Similar traditions can be found all around Central and
Eastern Europe, with Поливаний понеділок (Watering Monday) in Ukraine,
Oblévačka in Czech, Oblievačka in Slovakand Vízbevető in Hungary. It's also known as ‘Dyngus Day’ in Polish communities outside
Poland.[6] Although the exact origins of Śmigus-Dyngus have yet to be established,
the most commonly known story is, that way back when, on Easter Monday, boys in
the countryside would be allowed to drench girls with water and smack them with
branches of pussy willow. Although it sounds terrible, it was usually meant as
a way to show their affection (and likely resulted in some marriages later on)[7] Nowadays, Śmigus-Dyngus is a natural part of Easter
festivities in Poland. Funnily enough, the first mention of the custom in
Poland comes from 1420, when the archdiocese of Poznań issued an edict named ‘Dingus Prohibetur’
– which warned people about the sinful acts committed by taking part in Śmigus-Dyngus.[8] Today, as a the hybrid Śmigus-Dyngus, this relatively harmless set
of rituals has turned into a full-blown national water fight. It no longer only
involves just young boys and girls. It can involve anyone. That’s right – you may be just an innocent
passer-by, but you, too, could be soaked from head to toe. Śmigus-Dyngus has become a free-for-all:
water guns, water bottles, water balloons from above – you never know where the
water is going to come from! In some cases, even fire trucks have been known to
join in the festivities.[9] WESOŁYCH ŚWIAT! HAPPY
EASTER 😊 [1] https://culture.pl/en/article/polish-easter-traditions,
15.04.2022, 00.22. [2]
IBID, 15.04.2022, 00:31. [3] https://thecatholictravelguide.com/destinations/poland/kalwaria-zebrzydowska-poland-often-called-polish-jerusalem/
[4] https://culture.pl/en/article/smigus-dyngus-polands-national-water-fight-day,
15.04.2022, 01.49 am. [5]
IBID, 15.04.2022, 01.58 am. [6]
IBID, [7]
IBID, [8] https://culture.pl/en/article/smigus-dyngus-polands-national-water-fight-day,
15.04.2022, 02.02am. [9] IBID,
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