Wielkanoc
Easter

The Holy Week in Poland (Wielki Tydzień)
Easter Sunday (Niedziela Wielkanocna)
Wet Monday (Lany poniedziałek)

The Holy Week in Poland (Wielki Tydzień)
Sources:
Ogrodowska Barbara, Polish Rituals of the Annual Cycle, Warsaw , State Ethnographic Museum, 2001;
Knab-Hodorowicz, Sophie, Polish Customs, Traditions, and Folklore, New York , Hippocrene Books, 1993.

Around the world, people bring palms to church to be blessed during mass on this day. Since real palms are not indigenous to Poland , Poles have followed a many century old tradition of cutting whatever greenery can be found in the fields and use that to represent the palms. In the northern Mazovia region, the “palms” brought to church are often made of pussy willow branches that are in bloom.

In other parts of Poland , palms have taken on other forms. People make their palms of evergreen branches that remained green throughout the winter. This greenery is attached to a pole or branch and then carried to church. Since Palm Sunday is often in early spring and often flowers are not yet in bloom, women fashion artificial ones and braid them between the tall, green branches. That is the reason why Polish palms are till today tall and magnificent - sometimes reaching up to 25 feet.

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of intensive preparations for Easter. Holy Week—the week between Palm Sunday and Easter—is “cleaning week” in the broadest sense. Through fasting and prayer, people prepare their bodies and spirits for the Easter celebration, and at the same time Holy Week is an intense week of cleaning, baking and cooking. On Holy Friday a strict fast is observed. In cities and towns, people visit various churches to view representations of Christ’s tomb which are often beautifully and artistically arranged and decorated in flowers.

On Holy Thursday (Wielki Czwartek) or Good Friday (Wielki Piątek), Easter eggs are colored in Poland . In many cultures, for thousands of years, the egg has been a symbol of life. The earliest painted eggs found on Polish territories date from the 10th century, and were found in archeological sites. In Poland, as well as in many other Indo-European countries, the egg was always a part of ancient fertility rites celebrated in various forms even after Christianity became a dominant religion in the West. As interpreted by the Christian faith, the egg represents Christ Resurrected; it is also a symbol of the immortal soul and a promise for the body to be resurrected too. It is therefore an important Easter symbol and the first food eaten on Easter Sunday. Divided into parts and eaten in a solemn atmosphere before the Easter Breakfast, eggs are supposed to ensure health, happiness and prosperity.

Eggs, dyed different colors and decorated with a pattern, constitute a remarkable example of ritual art and are a beautiful element of the Easter table decoration. The most popular decorative techniques found in Poland are batik and engraving techniques. The engraving technique is based on scratching out a pattern with a sharp tool on a previously dyed egg. The batik technique is based on sketching out a design on an egg shell with heated wax, then dipping the egg in a dye and finally removing the wax. A multicolor design is obtained by covering the egg with wax in multiple stages. Between stages the egg is dipped in different color dyes, beginning with the brightest color, and so on. It is a complex process, but the results are quite amazing! The eggs are often called “pisanki”.

On the afternoon of Holy Saturday (Wielka Sobota) the blessing of food takes place in all Polish churches. The mother of the family or an older child carries a basket filled with eggs, hams, sausage, pastries and Easter seasonings to be blessed by the parish priest. This basket is called “święcone” or “święconka”.

Easter Sunday (Niedziela Wielkanocna)

Easter Sunday remains one of the most festive and important holidays of the year in Poland . The celebration begins very early in the morning, around 6, when the Resurrection Mass is held; following the mass families rush back to their houses and begin the Easter breakfast.

It is tradition to begin the breakfast by sharing the blessed egg. The egg is cut into fourths and then eighths, and each person at the table eats their piece while wishing joy and giving blessings to others. Then, the actual feast begins. In Poland , the Easter table is as abundant and rich as it can be. Tradition forbids women to cook during this holiday, so all the food is prepared the week before. The table is covered with white cloth and the centerpiece is the Easter lamb, which is usually made out of sugar, salt, clay or wood, depending on the region of Poland . The lamb sits on home-grown cress and represents Christ Resurrected. Usually, after sharing the blessed egg, white borsch ( żurek ) is served with hard-boiled eggs. Then, there is variety of sausages, an assortment of sliced cold meats on a lettuce-lined serving platter, pâté, and all kinds of roasted meats. On the side, unique condiments are served: pickled mushrooms (grzybki marynowane), varieties of horseradish ( chrzan ), and beet and horseradish relish ( ćwikła ). Cakes are also a very important part of the breakfast. Some of them, like the mazurki , are traditionally made only during Easter. Mazurek is a very decorative, flat cake covered with paste of almonds and other nuts, colorfully iced and decorated with jam, nuts and raisins.

Wet Monday ( Lany poniedziałek / śmigus-dyngus ), the second day of the Easter Holiday, is a favorite among the younger people in Poland . In a welcome break from Easter solemnity, youths all over Poland devise ways to douse each other with water. The origin of the dousing is still uncertain; some believe that this tradition originated in pagan times, while others derive this holiday from the baptism of Poland in 966. Śmigus dyngus starts at the break of dawn. Traditionally, only men doused girls with water. Girls who got soaked on that day would have better chances of getting married that year.
Nowadays, everyone soaks everyone else! Young people stand in front of churches and pour buckets of water on everyone as they exit, people throw water balloons off of buildings, and there are water gun fights on the streets, especially if wet Monday turns out to be on an exceptionally warm day. This is one of the most comical and funny holidays of the year.


1. Christiaan van Lierop (in his report for BBC)