Polish Easter Traditions

Well, Easter is over… unfortunately. It is always anticipated impatiently and then passes so quickly. Every student ( and a teacher) is waiting for this spring holiday to catch some breath and to have some fun. Why? Well…

Easter in Poland lasts two days. After long Lent, we celebrate the Holy Week starting with Palm Saturday. On that day worshippers bring to a church palms made of different sorts of painted grass or branches of catkins decorated with paper ribbons and flowers. The palms blessed by a priest and brought back home are thought to bring luck to all inhabitants all the year round.

Next important day is Holy Thursday. In churches bells fall silent and rattles and clappers take their place. On Good Friday Christian community commemorates Jesus’ path to crucification. In the evening many people go to church for a special service called “The Adoration of the Cross”.

The power of tradition is particularly visible on Holy Saturday, when crowds of people head for churches with beautiful baskets filled with food called “święconka”.

The preparation of the baskets is perhaps the most popular Easter ritual. The baskets, which are lined with white napkins, usually contain coloured hard-boiled eggs, bread, cold meats, horseradish, pepper, salt and of course – Easter sugar lamb. Another popular Polish tradition is painting Easter eggs – children like it very much. The easiest way to get eggs of a golden-brown colour is to put the eggs into a pot filled with water and onion skins. The longer the eggs are boiled the darker the colour they obtain. In some regions they scratch beautiful floral patterns on eggs boiled this way. After these preparations families go together to church bringing with them the food in their Easter baskets to be blessed by a priest and eaten next morning at Easter table. On Easter Sunday many families sit down to Easter table after the Resurrection Mass, which is held at dawn. The whole family gathered at the festive table pass around best wishes. Then, especially in big cities the whole family go for a walk from church to church to admire the decorated symbolic tombs of Christ.

The funniest moments, however, happen on Easter Monday or Wet Monday. In Poland it is called “Śmigus-dyngus” and you must be prepared to a decent shower of cold water, or in some social circles – sprinkle of perfumes. Which is better? Well… both are good I think, if the water doesn’t come in hectolitres nor the perfumes are mixed together and choking.