Literally, I am wishing you a happy–holiday–great night. So, my wish for you, in English, is “Happy Easter!”
Easter (Weilkanoc) is a big holiday in Poland and, Like Christmas, is celebrated with two days off, both Easter Sunday and Easter Monday. How cool is that? The Easter traditions all have their roots in Catholicism, since Poland is a very Catholic country. Easter, in a sense, starts 40 days earlier with Ash Wednesday, and end to “carnival” and partying, and a start of 40 days or penance and fasting. Along the way, a week before Easter, is Palm Sunday (Niedziela Palmowa).
In Poland there are no palm trees growing, but Poles still celebrate by crafting “palms” out of willow or or other trees. Depending on the time of Easter, pussy willows may be used, too. In some areas, they craft huge palms, in other, they purchase them and take them to church to have them blessed. All of this is to commemorate the biblical story of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. You can read more and find some really great photos of this celebration in Poland if you click here.
The week following Palm Sunday leads up to Easter. Good Friday and it’s (often quite long) service with the reading of the Passion. Holy Saturday, a quiet day but one which culminates with the evening service commemorating Christ’s resurrection. Holy Saturday also brings with it the Polish tradition of the blessing of the Easter basket, called swieconka. In this basket are placed small portions of traditional foods that will be eaten the next morning for Easter monrning breakfast: sausage, ham, bread, salt, horseradish, lamb cake/candy and perhaps other items. The basket is taken to the church there the food is blessed. The food cannot be eaten until the next day, however. You can read more about this tradition and see more pictures and links if you click here, and you can read more about some Easter Saturday traditions in Poland here.
And then of course, the culmination of the whole season of Lent is Easter Sunday (Wielkanoc, the great night, in Polish). This is a day of celebrating and eating with family and friends. It is not a fast and furious holiday like Christmas, but is more laid back and quiet, my Polish friend Jurek told me. Still, it is a national holiday with most businesses closed, and people visit with family and friends. Of course, the Easter breakfast is the more solemn feast of the day. You can read more about all the various Polish traditions surrounding Easter here. Among the things you will learn will be about some of the foods and their tradition and significance, the customs surrounding decorating boiled eggs, as well as other minor customs–these can vary from region to region. But the stories are very fascinating.
But wait, Poles are not yet done celebrating after Easter Sunday. There is still Easter Monday, again a national holiday. Easter Monday has a long tradition as Smigus-Dingus. Click that link to learn more, and to find out why umbrellas and towels get plenty of use on Smigus-Dyngus! The origins of that custom may go back to pagan time. But to read about it, it sure sounds like a very fun and festive time to be had by all.
I hope you took the time to look at some of the links. Poland has a long and rich Christian history and many traditions. At one time the largest country in Europe, through the centuries, many different traditions and practices have wound their way into Polish culture. It is a country that I truly love. I hope some day to spend Easter in Poland. Boy, they I’d really have some stories to tell, and the pictures to back it up. But for now, Wesołego Alleluja and Szczęśliwych Świąt Wielkanocnych–Happy Easter!
