spring traditions
TRANSCRIPT
Polish Spring and Easter Traditions and Customs
Fat Thursday
The Thursday before Ash Wednesday is known as Fat (Shrove Thursday) to
Polish Christians. It is also called Pączki Day. The most popular dishes are pączki (doughnuts) and faworki
(French dough fingers). They are cooked in every house. On this day
people eat a lot of sweets, cakes and other caloric dishes.
On that that you should eat fatty food. If you don’t, you will have bad
luck.
Ash wednesday
Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent. On Ash Wednesday blessed ash is sprinkled on the
people’s heads in the shape of a cross.Lent lasts for 46 days. During Lent Christians avoid
bad habits and prepare for Easter.
Drowning of MarzannaThis event takes place on the first day of spring. Children usually make a doll of hay or straw and old clothes. This doll is called Marzanna. She is meant to be Miss Winter. The children take the doll to the bank of the river. Then they burn it and drown it in the river. They hope she will
not return until the next year.
Prima Aprilis
April Fool’s Day (All Fool’s Day) is celebrated on 1 April every year. It is not a national holiday but it’s very popular in
Poland. It is called Prima Aprillis in our country. On this day people play pranks
on each other. Children like playing jokes. Some of them are fun and some of them are not. For example, someone can write: “Kick me” on a piece of paper and
stick it to his friend’s back.Adults also like playing jokes. They may tell their friend that he must phone the
given telephone number because Mr Seal wants to speak to him. Of course
the number they give is the phone number of the zoo.
palm sunday
The Sunday before Easter is called Palm Sunday. It begins Holy Week in Poland. Willow
branches decorated with handmade bouquets are taken
to church instead of palm leaves on this day.
Palm branches represent when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on
the first Palm Sunday and people waved palm branches
welcoming him.
Holy Saturday – the last day of Lent. On that day we go to church with the Easter basket.
The Easter basket is one of the unique Easter traditions
in Poland. The basket is prepared on Saturday before Easter Sunday. The basket is decorated with boxwood. A
typical basket contains symbolic food like this:
bacon, bread, Easter bread (babka), butter, cottage
cheese, colored eggs and a lamb.
EasterFor Polish people Easter is the
most important public holiday. We start celebrating at 6 o’clock. We go to church for the mass. Then we share a blessed hard-boiled
egg (it’s similar to sharing the holy wafer at Christmas) and eat
breakfast.
Wet MondayŚmigus Dyngus
On this day we sprinkle each other with water. It brings good luck throughout the year.
In the past boys sprinkled girls. If a girl was wet on that day it meant she was popular and would get married soon. If she didn’t want to be wet, she had to give some Easter eggs.
EASTER SYMBOLS
An egg
An egg symbolizes new life, spring and fertility.
We dye them and decorate. We call them pisanki.
A lamb
The Easter lamb represents Jesus. The lamb was often sacrificed as offerings to God by the Hebrews. It’s made of bread or dough.
A BunnyThese animals give birth to many offsprings in spring. For this reason the bunny serves as a symbol of new life.
A chickenThe chicks also symbolize new life and re-birth.