Easter is major holiday in Poland, and Easter celebrations are not limited to
Easter Sunday. Easter-related traditions take place for more than a week in
Poland. From Palm Sunday to Wet Monday, this period is marked with religious
rites and practices with their origins in pagan times. It is important to note
that Easter in Poland is celebrated according to Western Roman Catholic
calendar.
Easter
Traditions in Poland
On Easter Saturday,
baskets of Easter food are taken to church to be blessed; the food that is
blessed is eaten as a part of the Easter Sunday breakfast (people take to churches a small amount of food like eggs,
bread, meat and butter which are put inside the basket) It’s a very important
tradition in Polish culture so you can often spot entire families participating
in it.
What can we find in a Polish Easter basket?And what do the things symbolise?
Butter it is
often shaped into a lamb or a cross. This reminds us of the goodness of Christ
that we should have toward all things.
Easter bread - symbol of Jesus, who is our true Bread of Life.
Horseradish with grated red beets - symbol of the Passion of Christ still in our minds but sweetened with some sugar because of the
Resurrection.Dyed eggs (decorated with the symbols of Easter, of life, of prosperity) -indicate new life and Christ's Resurrection from the tomb.
Sausage- symbol of
God's favor and generosity.
Ham- symbol of
great joy and abundance.
Sół- so necessary
an element in our physical life, that Jesus used its symbolism: "You are the
salt of the earth."
Cheese- shaped
into a ball, it is the symbol of the moderation Christians should have at all times.
A candle is
inserted into the basket to represent Christ, the Light of the World. For a
decoration people use a colorful ribbons and sometimes sprigs of greenery are
attached. A linen cover is drawn over the top and it is ready.
Holy Sunday
Sunday morning in this case means a lot of people
attend church. When they get home, the head of the house takes one of the
blessed eggs, removes the shell and cuts it into small pieces to share it among
all the people in the family. The blessed egg is the symbol of life and eating
it is believed to guarantee good health. Everyone exchanges wishes and they eat
a big meal that includes the traditional sour rye soup, meat, cold meat, pate, stuffed eggs, and
for dessert: babka (sweet yeast cake), cheesecake and mazurek (pastry with
a generous layer of chocolate or other kinds of icing decorated with dried
fruit, almonds and nuts).As everywhere children love chocolate bunnies, chicks
and lambs.Everyone has to eat at least a small piece of
each of the blessed foods because this would bring them good luck.
Pisanki are Easter eggs from Poland, handcrafted in
traditional designs that recall pagan symbols of fertility and spring.
Wet Monday
Easter Monday is
a family holiday in Poland and is called Smigus Dyngus (also called
Smingus-Dyngus), or Wet Monday, after the practice of men and boys pouring
water on women and girls. The tradition derives from old
pagan customs related to the symbolic awakening of nature and spring cleansing
of dirt and illnesses. Girls that were soaked on that day increased their
chances of getting married.
In many villages in southern Poland, the habit of sprinkling fields with holy water on Easter Monday is still alive. It is often accompanied by tricks played on neighbours, such as changing gates, placing farming tools on roofs or hiding water buckets.
In many villages in southern Poland, the habit of sprinkling fields with holy water on Easter Monday is still alive. It is often accompanied by tricks played on neighbours, such as changing gates, placing farming tools on roofs or hiding water buckets.
Easter games
Apart from fun on Easter Monday people in Poland
have played ‘cracking eggs’ for centuries. Two people strike Easter eggs held
in their palms against each other. The holder of the stronger, uncracked egg is the winner. 