Wielkanoc

Fußball or Table Football? - that was the argument

Easter is a very big event in Poland. We got four days off of school and the city became a complete ghost town. Even some of the 24h hotspots were closed. Most of the students went home or visited family. 

At a new tea place my friend discovered.

You sit on floor pillows in your own private

area. They give you an enormous menu of tea

and place a bell on the table for you to ring 

when you have finished perusing and are ready

to order.

During class this week we discussed Wielkanoc (Easter), it's significance and how it is traditionally celebrated in Poland. We went to the ethnographic museum, where they had huge exhibits that you could walk through and experience how simple life in Poland used to be. 

Me and William being goofballs

The Easter kick-off is Palm Sunday. On the Saturday following Palm Sunday, families go to the church with their Easter baskets and have them blessed. The baskets contain eggs, bread (body of Christ), kiełbasy, horseradish, salt & pepper (so that your life will be full of flavor), babka and a figurine of a ram (usually made of sugar or plastic). These items symbolize fertility, sustenance, health, strength good fortune. After their baskets have been blessed, families return home and have 'Easter Breakfast' (sniadanie wielkanocne). Each member takes a small portion of the blessed items from the basket and like all Polish occasions, wishes are exchanged. Well wishing is a very important part of Polish culture. 

They tell me this is the 'classic Madeline pose'

The Monday following Easter Sunday is called Śmingus Dyngus or Lany Poniedziałek (wet Monday). On this day you are supposed to throw a cup of water on someone. If you don't, and don't get water splashed on you by someone else, it is bad luck. Traditionally, men would throw water on the women they were interested in as a declaration of their feelings. The splash was a sign of luck and fertility and meant that the girl would find a husband quickly. On the other hand, women would paint eggs and give them to men they found attractive. Upon explaining this, my teacher stated that this was not a very nice or fair practice as girls would give out beautiful eggs and be repaid with a drenching.  

Another night of laughing

Over the years this tradition has changed so that today everyone is in danger of a good splashing (although girls are more often the victims), and the tradition has even become somewhat of a problem. There was an instance in Kraków where groups of boys were standing outside the churches with whole buckets of water, drenching girls as they exited the church. Now there are Policemen stationed outside churches to prevent this from happening. 

Julia and Me

Children especially love this tradition and there is often anxiety in Polish households on wet Monday because the last one up usually gets the worst of it, or is awakened by a light splashing. It is supposed to be only a cup of water, not a deluge, but many individuals get carried away. Sometimes more considerate boys spray perfume, but that isn't much better as girls become a mixture of conflicting fragrances. 

Group Hug!

I happened to be traveling on Śmingus Dyngus, so I did not get to witness the events in Kraków. Unfortunately, it snowed so I hope no one got drenched out of doors. I will relate any good stories I hear on another occasion. 

Just having fun