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• Dyngus Day, Easter, Easter bunny, Easter cake, Easter eggs, Easter palms, Easter rituals, Good Friday, Holly Saturday, Maundy Thursday, Palm Sunday, Poland, śmigus-dyngus, Wet Monday, Wielkanoc

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

I think everybody looks forward to this time of the year no matter from which country they come from as it marks the commencement of the spring season and symbolises new life and rebirth. Yet, it is observed little bit differently in many countries. Let’s take a look how actually Easter is celebrated in Poland, England and Germany. It is also a great opportunity to learn new languages and learn more about different cultures.

Polish Easter traditions

Poland is known all over the world for its orthodox catholic church so Easter is full of Christian symbols such as crucifixion and resurrection of Christ and is observed in a traditional way.

Maundy Thursday (Wielki Czwartek) is a moveable feast and is celebrated to commemorate Maundy and Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles while Good Friday (Wielki Piątek) commemorates the crucifixion of Christ and his death. Easter celebrations in Poland start off with Holly Saturday (Wielka Sobota) when people go to church with nicely prepared baskets known as święconka (with eggs, white sausage, bread, salt, pepper decorated with a lamb and Buxus twigs) to be blessed by a priest. On Palm Sunday or Niedziela Palmowa (that precedes Easter – Wielkanoc), Polish people take palms and twigs (palmy wielkanocne, Easter palms), which symbolise Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, to the church that are again blessed and used at home as a decoration.

Polish Easter dishes

Easter is very important for Polish people as it brings the whole family together. On Holly Saturday when people come back from the church they share eggs and wish themselves all the best and eat Easter breakfast and dinner. All traditional Easter dishes are served on that day with żurek (white soup), herring, mazurek (Easter shortcake), babka or baba (Easter cake) to name a few. The Easter table is decorated with a nice white tablecloth, sugar lamb, Easter bunnies, chickens and pisanki (Easter eggs).

Easter games and rituals in Poland

Unlike in the West, there are not many Easter games in Poland. Easter Egg Hunt is sometimes organised but it is a quite new game to Polish people and came to Poland from Germany and English-speaking countries. Children sometimes get gifts such as chocolate bunnies, eggs and sweets. Easter Monday is the most anticipated day during Easter especially by children and teenagers because everybody splashes water on one another. This ritual is known in Poland as śmigus dyngus (Dyngus Day) (note: some people use an incorrect name śmingus) or lany poniedziałek (Wet Monday) and dates to pagan times and an ancient spring rite of purification and fertility.

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Hanna Gembus

Hanna Gembus is a professional Polish English and Polish German translator and communication specialist based in the United Kingdom providing translation, content, interpreting and market research services to small, medium-sized and large companies and organisations. She specialises in business, marketing and e-commerce, using linguistic and cultural knowledge to help both start-ups and established companies improve their presence on the market and increase sales. http://langoa.eu