ANDRZEJKI - POLAND

30th November

Comenius DDS, 2012-2014

ST. ANDREW’S DAY

St. Andrew's Day is the feast day of Saint Andrew. It is

celebrated on the 30th of November.

ST. ANDREW

Saint Andrew is the

patron saint of Scotland.

In Poland, the feast day is

celebrated as “Andrzejki”

(pronounced an-dzey-ki,

"Little Andrews",

diminutive).

In Poland superstitious belief existed that the night before St.

Andrew's Day was especially suitable for magic that reveals a

young woman's future husband or that binds a future husband to

her. Many related customs existed.

In Poland, the holiday is celebrated on the night

of the 29th through 30th of November.

Traditionally, the holiday was only celebrated

by young single girls, though today both young

men and women join the party to see their

futures.

ANDRZEJKI IN OUR SCHOOL

We celebrate Andrzejki every year. We dance, play and

have a lot of fun!

During Andrzejki, your fortune is told in the form of wax:

hot wax is poured into cold water, often through a key,

and the resulting shape is supposed to predict your future

- most likely, who you're going to marry!

Another popular Andrzejki

game involves unmarried

young women. Participants line

their shoes up in a straight line

one after the other starting at

the back of a room. After all the

shoes are lined up, the person

at the end takes their shoe and

puts it at the front of the line,

and so on, until someone's

shoe reaches the door. It's

believed that the owner of the

first shoe to cross the threshold

will be the first one to get

married.

Another funny game is foretelling your future husband

or wife’s name. Make a big paper heart and write

different names on one side. Then, each person takes

a needle or a pin and pricks the heart (the person sees

the side without the names). This way a name is

chosen!

Peel an apple making one, long skin. Then throw it

back without looking at it. The apple peel will take a

shape of the first letter your future husband or wife’s

name.

During Andrzejki take a small twig of cherry and put it in

the water. If it blooms on Christmas Day, you will get

married soon!

But whether you believe in

fortunetelling or not, today Andrzejki

is mainly about having fun with your

friends and enjoying yourself!!!