7 facts about Catholic Easter in Poland
Easter is the most important holiday on the Polish calendar, comparable only to Christmas. However, the Easter Feast is filled with loads of events and activities for months; as well as, the days after. Easter is not only important because of the spiritual dimension. It is a time when nature awakes to life again. What Easter customs prevail in Poland? Here they are!
1. Before the lent there are two days of indulgence.
First, it’s called Fat Thursday. It is said that day Poles eat only donuts (pączki in polish, pronounced ponch-kee) and as many as they can. The most popular are round donuts filled with rose hip jam and topped with powdered sugar or icing-sugar with candied orange peel on it.
The other day is Herring Night or Śledzik. On this night you must try pickled herring with … shots of vodka. The significance of Śledzik is basically just the end of the carnival.
2. Palm Sunday
Palms for Palm Sunday are colorful sticks, some towering several feet tall, that should be blessed by the Priest on this day. There are so many competition in polish cities, towns, villages, for the most beautiful handmade palm.
3. Blessing Easter Basket
Poles take their Easter basket the Saturday before Easter to church to have it blessed. The products that we can find in those baskets are not random and usually, there are seven basic things:
- bread – symbolizes the Body of Christ,
- an egg – a reviving life,
- salt – purification, the very essence of existence and truth,
- cheese – a symbol of the friendship between man and the forces of nature,
- horseradish – strength and physical vigor,
- cold cuts – to provide health and abundance and fertility,
- dough – a symbol of skill and perfection.
4. Pisanki – eggs
Each region of Poland has its own characteristic way of decorating eggs.They are a symbol of prosperity and emerging life. The easter eggs are in a solid color, and they are usually dyed with the use of natural dyes (nowadays also with commercial food pigments).The actual pisanki are created by drawing on the eggs with the melted wax and then dipping them into dyes.
5. The blessed food at Easter is often split among an entire family.
Easter breakfast often starts by giving the best wishes accompanied by sharing the easter egg with the members of the family. There are so many rich delicious dishes at the table and obviously those from the “holy basket”.
6. Home-grown easter grass
Poles buy little packets of sprouts and about a week before Easter, they begin to grow grass for their baskets or to place around the house. Usually, it is done in a large bowl or placed sometimes into little plastic eggs with chicks.
7. Festival called Emaus in Cracow
Emaus is the name of the festival, which always takes place on Easter Monday. The name of this festival comes from the biblical village of Emaus, to which the resurrected Christ was following.
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