What will you do for Easter?

[valpomike]

What does your family do for Easter? Is there a special thing that your family does? What is it?
What foods do you eat on this day?
Do you, and when do you, have your food blessed?
What do you do for the children, for Easter?


Michael Dabrowski

[Bonobo]

Mar 19, 2008 17:41:09 GMT 1 valpomike said:

What does your family do for Easter? Is there a special thing that your family does? What is it?
What foods do you eat on this day?
Do you, and when do you, have your food blessed?
What do you do for the children, for Easter?
Michael Dabrowski

Before Easter all families are busy cleaning their places. Windows, carpets, furniture. everything.

We paint eggs and make a basket full of food, carry it to the church to be blessed, always on Saturday.

We eat eggs with horseradish, sausage, cakes.

Children have free time at Easter, they don`t go to school, that is a sufficient satisfaction for them, so they don`t get any presents. hahahaha
They can also admire szopka displays in church.

You can see it all here:
polandsite.proboards104.com/index.cgi?board=customs&action=display&thread=85

[Bonobo]

Mar 19, 2008 17:41:09 GMT 1 valpomike said:

What does your family do for Easter? Is there a special thing that your family does? What is it?
Michael Dabrowski

We certainly don`t do what people do on Pampanga Island in the Phillipines. Voluntarily getting crucified.




I think it isn`t too proper. But, if people do it in good faith, let them......

The Philipino Church bans such ceremonies but to no avail.

[Bonobo]

Apr 7, 2009 17:43:34 GMT 1 valpomike said:

Here is a list of several languages, saying Happy Easter, can you guess where they are from.

1. Gezuar Pashket
2. Ondo izan Bazko garaian
3. Sretan Uskrs
4. Vesele Velikonoce
5. God paske
6. Joyeuse Paques
7. Frohe Ostern
8. Kellemes Husveti Onnepeket
9. Gleoilega paska
10. Selamat Paskah
And if you want more, I have several more, or if there is a special one, ask me, and if I have it, I will post it.
I will get back later with the answers, by numbers.
Mike

I know our neighbours greetings: 4 is Czech, 7 is German.





POLISH EASTER TRADITIONS. Happy Easter and Smacznego Jajka!
Cleveland Plain Dealer
April 02, 2009



POLISH EASTER TRADITIONS

Easter is traditionally is the most important Christian holiday, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Polish Easter's original folk and religious character and it not changed much during the centuries, but due to the rich variety of many regional traditions in Poland, some published information might be little different.

Easter observances in Poland actually begin on Ash Wednesday, when pussywillows called in polish "bazie" or "kotki" are cut and placed in the water. These pussywillow twigs are used later on Palm Sunday as "palms" to be blessed in the church. Holy Week (Wielki Tydzien') begins on Palm Sunday, which is a commemoration of Christ's entry into Jerusalem.

Ash Wednesday / Sroda Popielcowa
The Polish Easter celebrations, beginning with Ash Wednesday. Most of the Poles try to go to the church for the mass, where priests mark their heads with a cross of ashes while saying: Remember, man thou art dust and to dust thou shall return".


Lent / Wielki Post
For Polish Catholics, Lent is the most reflective spiritual season. During this time people are fasting, going to the confession, praying and visiting the specially decorated churches to see "Our Lord's Grave". Each parish strives to come up with the most artistically and religiously evocate arrangement in which the Blessed Sacrament, draped in a filmy veil, is prominently displayed. During the Lent most of the people do not eat meat on Fridays.


Palm Sunday / Niedziela Palmowa
On this day people bring the pusssywillow branches or other custom made wild flowers bouquets instead of palms to the church for the blessing. Some older folks say that swallowing one of the buds from the pussywillows branch will ensure health all year. Parishioners processed with the palms through the streets around the parish, celebrating the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.


Holly Saturday, Food Blesing/Swieconka
On Saturday people take to churches decorated baskets (Swieconka) containing a sampling of traditional food to be blessed. Swieconka is very popular Polish tradition (see below). Also this day typically Polish ceremonies are performed in the church yard. It is the blessing of the fire, the reverence which goes back to pagan times.

Food Blessing / Swieconka
Swieconka is one of the most enduring and beloved Polish traditions. On Saturday people take to churches decorated baskets containing a sampling of traditional food to be blessed: hard-boiled shelled eggs, ham, sausage, salt, horseradish, fruits, bread and cake. Prominently displayed among these is the Easter lamb, usually molded from butter and colorful pisanki.
Common foods brought for blessing include: eggs, bread, butter lamb, salt, horseradish, ham, and sausage.
The food blessed in the church remains untouched until Sunday morning.

Written Eggs / Pisanki, Kraszanki, Malowanki, Drapanki, Wyklejanki, Nalepianki
The custom of coloring eggs for Easter is still observed in Polish custom. The eggs are decorated with many traditional Polish symbols of Easter. Most popular are lamb, cross, floral designs or Easter's greetings such as Wesollego Alleluja. The eggs decorated with the use of treated wax are called "pisanki". Another technique involved gluing colored paper or shiny fabric on them. The eggs which are painted in one color are called "malowanki" or "kraszanki". If patterns are etched with a pointed instrument on top of the paint, the eggs are then called "skrobanki" or "rysowanki".


Easter Sunday / Wielka Niedziela
On Easter morning, a special Resurrection Mass is celebrated in every church in Poland. At this Mass, a procession of priests, altar boys and the people circles the church three times while the church bells peal and the organ is played for the first time since they had been silenced on Good Friday. Following the Mass, people return home to eat the food blessed the day before.

The Easter table will be covered with a white tablecloth. On the middle of the table in most homes housewife will put colored eggs, cold meats, coils of sausages, ham, yeast cakes, pound cakes, poppy-seed cakes, and a lamb made of sugar. Polish Easter Soup called Zurek or White Barscz is often served at the Easter meal, garnished with the hard-boiled eggs and sausage. There is also tradition to share blassed eggs with the members of the family and wish each other good health, happiness for the rest of the year.


Wet Monday / Lany Poniedzialek
Monday (just after aster) is a holiday in Poland and is called in polish "Lany Poniedzialek" or "Smigus- Dyngus". This is a wonderful day of fun. The ancient Polish tradition on Easter Monday, is celebrated by everyone with enthusiasm by sprinkling each other with water. Especially kids have fun this day. Some people say that by being splashed with water on Easter Monday will bring you good luck throughout the year.
Source:Polana website

[gigi]

A Traditional Polish Easter Basket



Maslo (Butter) - This dairy product is often shaped into a lamb (Baranek Wielkanocny) or a cross. This reminds us of the good will of Christ that we should have towards all things.

Babka (Easter Bread) - A round or long loaf topped with a cross or a fish, symbolic of Jesus, who is the Bread of Life.

Chrzan (Horseradish) - Symbolic of the Passion of Christ still in our minds.

Jajka (Eggs) and Pisanki (decorated with symbols of Easter, of life, of prosperity) - Indicates new life and Christ's Resurrection from the tomb.

Kielbasa (Sausage) - A sausage product, symbolic of God's favor and generosity.

Szynka (Ham) - Symbolic of great joy and abundance. Some prefer lamb or veal. The lamb also reminds Christians that the Risen Christ is the "Lamb of God."

Slonina (Smoked Bacon) - A symbol of the overabundance of God's mercy and generosity.

Sol (Salt) - A necessary element in our physical life. Symbolic of prosperity and justice and to remind us that people are the flavor of the earth.

Ser (Cheese) - Symbolic of the moderation Christians should have at all times.

Candle - Represents Christ as the Light of the World.

Colorful Ribbons and Sprigs of Greenery - are attached to the basket as signs of joy and new life in the season of spring and in celebration of the Resurrection.

Linen Cover - drawn over the top of the basket which is ready for the priest's visit to the home or the trip to church where it is joined with the baskets of others to await the blessing. The food is then set aside and enjoyed on Easter Sunday.

polishamericancenter.org

[jeanne]

Apr 7, 2009 20:49:54 GMT 1 Bonobo said:

Apr 7, 2009 17:43:34 GMT 1 valpomike said:

Here is a list of several languages, saying Happy Easter, can you guess where they are from.

1. Gezuar Pashket
2. Ondo izan Bazko garaian
3. Sretan Uskrs
4. Vesele Velikonoce
5. God paske
6. Joyeuse Paques
7. Frohe Ostern
8. Kellemes Husveti Onnepeket
9. Gleoilega paska
10. Selamat Paskah
And if you want more, I have several more, or if there is a special one, ask me, and if I have it, I will post it.
I will get back later with the answers, by numbers.
Mike

I know our neighbours greetings: 4 is Czech, 7 is German.

6 is French

[valpomike]

That is three out of ten, later I will post all of them, let some other try and answer them.

Mike

[gigi]

These are more challenging to figure out without the accents and diacritical marks.

#5 Danish

#8 Hungarian, although I think the last word should be 'Unnepeket'

[valpomike]

Here they are, by the numbers,

1. Albanian 6. French
2. Basque 7. German
3. Croatian 8. Hungarian
4. Czech 9. Icelandic
5. Danish 10. Indonesian

How much did you get? Do you want more? Tell me what you think.

Mike

[valpomike]

More

11. Buona Pasqua
12. isuta omedeto
13. Prospera Pascha sit
14. Sveiki sulauke velyku
15. Sreken Veligden
16. Szczelivej Wielkonocy
17. Xpnctoc backpace
18. Bona Pasque
19. Milostiplne prezitie Verkonocnych sviatkow
20. Vesele velikonocne praznike
21. Felice Pascuas
22. Heri kwa sikukuu ya Pasaka
23. Glad Pask
24. BennkoAhimn cartamn
25. Pasq Hapus

Will give you these answer, later, after all get a chance to guess.

Mike

[valpomike]

Also, my error,

8. Hungarian is Lellemes Husveti Unnepeket

Sorry.


Mike

[Bonobo]

Apr 9, 2009 14:57:48 GMT 1 valpomike said:

How much did you get? Do you want more? Tell me what you think.
Mike

Yes. I want Hebrew, Jewish and Arabic.

[valpomike]

Hebrew is chag pascha same'ach, I think, correct me if I am in error.

Mike

[valpomike]

Answers for #11 to #25

11. Italian
12. Japanese
13. Latin
14. Lithuanian
15. Macedonian
16. Polish
17. Serbian
18. Sicilian
19. Slovak
20. Slovenian
21. Spanish
22. Swahili
23. Swedish
24. Ukrainian
25. Welsh

I still have more if anyone wants them.
How many did you get correct, and which were they?

Mike

[tomek]

Merry Easter to every one. May be you healthy, wise, happy, with family around, and no worrys.

And in Polish tonge we speak: Delicious egg you have!

[Bonobo]

Easter in Krakow
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Nick Hodge
The Krakow Post



Palm Sunday in Poland (Lipnica Murowana) / photo Maciej Szczepañczyk


Largely thanks to its term behind the Iron Curtain, Poland is often perceived as an overwhelmingly grey country where rainbows fear to tread. But the truth is that Poles have always loved colour, and at no point in the year is this more apparent than at Easter - an inspirational time to travel the country.

In the days leading up to Holy Week, Krakow's Main Market Square will pullulate with dozens of stalls selling curious-looking totems. These paganesque concoctions, woven from dyed wildflowers, are in fact Polish versions of the Easter Palm (tropical palms were rather scarce in medieval Poland, and always full of fantasy, the Poles created their own alternative) . On Palm Sunday itself, processions will bring a kaleidoscope of colour to churches across the country.

Another classic feature of the Polish Easter is the painted egg, or rather painted eggs, for as with flowers, Poles like to see lots of colour together. These pisanki are an essential part of the Easter table, and the source of many folk legends.

Holy Week begins in earnest on Easter Thursday, and at Krakow's Wawel Cathedral (as at cathedrals nationwide), bishops wash the feet of twelve elderly men in an echo of Christ's gesture towards the apostles at the Last Supper. The following day - Good Friday - is one of the most intensely religious days of the year, and Krakow's churches will fill up with the faithful. The tone is deeply mournful, recalling Christ's crucifixion on this day.

Holy Saturday is a more cheery occasion, and from mid-morning, there will be a constant trail of families coming to and from churches. This blessing of little baskets of victuals, a custom known as Œwiêcone (literally 'the Blessed') has been practised since time immemorial. A typical basket includes eggs, salt, cake, sausage and bread, but there will also be painted eggs and always a small model of a lamb - Christ, the innocent "lamb of God." Not wanting to leave their pets out, children often bring a little something extra - you might even spot a packet of Whiskas or a chocolate rabbit peeping out from some baskets.

Each parish has been a hive of activity in the run up to Easter, and one of the peculiarities here in Poland is the tradition of the Grób Pañski (the Lord's Tomb). Priests, helped by local volunteers, construct fantastical, life-size renderings of Christ's entombment. These are not supposed to be high art, but they're full of character, and often extraordinarily inventive. The best offer a gloriously kitsch feast for the eyes.

Easter Sunday itself revolves around the home, and food that was blessed in church the previous day is consumed in an elaborate extended family breakfast, often involving a dash of alcohol. Krakow itself will be rather sleepy, and as with Saturday, there will be little open in the way of shops.

However, things go rather more upbeat on Easter Monday as the age-old custom of Œmigus Dyngus comes into play. In an echo of a pagan rite, Poles have carte blanche to soak each other with pails of water on this barmy occasion - you might want to take a water pistol as a cunning self-defense measure. Simultaneously, a popular family destination here in Krakow is the Emaus fair, which continues to be held, as it has been for centuries, by the Convent in the Zwierzyniec district. It's a short walk west along the river from Wawel Castle. Still, bear in mind that you may encounter some mischievous fellows intent on greeting you in the traditional aquatic style.

For a vivid journey into the realm of Poland's Easter traditions, head over to the Ethnographic Museum in Kazimierz. Fresh from a recent revamp, the museum is full of enchanting folk heirlooms. Their collection of painted eggs alone would give modern artists a run for their money.




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Wistariahurst in Holyoke celebrates Easter season with age-old tradition of egg decoration
By ELIZABETH R. LaFOND
masslive.com
Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Every exact, geometric line and shape in white, yellow, orange, red, black, purple and royal blue possesses meaning.

This meaning is carefully crafted upon delicate, whole, raw eggs of any size. Known as one of the most treasured, cultural, imaginative expressions hailing from Polish and Ukrainian traditions is the art of decorating eggs, known as pysanki.

On Saturday, 20 eager learners gathered at the Wistariahurst Museum in Holyoke to learn the art of pysanki from a well-known local artist Carol C. Kostecki.

Kostecki, who lives in Montague Center, was born in Greenfield of French-Canadian, German and Abenaki descent, and married into a family of Polish heritage. In the 1990s, she saw a demonstration in pysanki-writing (drawing) from a Ukrainian parish priest in the Pioneer Valley. She went on to apprentice with The Rev. Paul Luniw of Saint Michael's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Terryville, Conn.

"I took 12 classes with Father Luniw," Kostecki said. "I found it very relaxing, and when you're done drawing and dying, you melt the wax and see what you created."

The history and symbolism of these decorated eggs originates from pre-Christian Eastern Europe. The egg symbolizes the source of life, and decorated eggs were used as good luck charms to scare off evil spirits. The imagery and color reflect Catholic belief.

Today, the decorated eggs keep the Polish and Ukrainian traditions alive in homes all over the country. Kostecki decorates eggs of all sizes, from quail and miniature chicken eggs to large ostrich eggs. She never imagined she would be a teacher of the tradition.

"Teaching allows me to meet so many wonderful people," she said. And she also gets to extend the tradition to others.

Students at her workshop at the Wistariahurst complimented her first-class teaching style. Observing from afar, Kostecki's soothing voice and gentle nature plays a powerful role in the way she explains the steps involved and tips for making an ordinary egg into a piece of art.

Sandra K. Woods, of Ashfield, has always been interested in learning how to decorate an egg. "I've been trying to find someone to teach me," Woods said. "It was a great opportunity for me to learn how to design an egg. I'm so happy this was offered."

Patricia A. Walsh, of Richmond, says she has her own collection of decorated eggs that she's purchased over the years. She has at least 100 - one egg cost her $75. "I am of Polish and Ukrainian descent, and I remember this tradition as a kid, but as a kid I didn't want to learn," Walsh said. "Now as an adult, I want to learn!

The egg decorating process begins with a whole, raw egg. The artist writes or draws a design on the egg with a pencil, and covers everything that will appear white with wax. Then the egg is dipped into yellow dye. Once it dries, the sections that will remain yellow are covered in wax. This process of dipping the egg and covering sections of the design with wax continues with the colors in the following sequence: green, orange, red, black, purple, royal blue and dark red.

Once the design is complete, the wax is melted off the egg, and the design appears. The eggs are submersed in polyurethane to protect the die and to give the egg its special, lasting shine.

Kostecki recommends that the inside of the egg be drained 24 hours after dying.

Meg L. Bandarra, of Northampton, has no Polish ancestry, but is highly interested in arts and crafts and could hardly wait to learn. "This is the first time I've ever seen any of these eggs in person," she said. "It was great fun and I can't wait to come again."

Mary M. Varelas, of Springfield, was encouraged by her friend to sign up for the class. "I am of Polish heritage, but my family never did this," she added. "I look forward to coming again next year."

Ruth H. Epstein, of Holyoke, tried dying eggs during last year's Easter season. When she saw this class listed, she and her brother signed up. "Carol is a great teacher and this was a lot of fun."

Melissa D. Boisselle, director of the Wistariahurst Museum, said the Holyoke Cultural Council sponsored the egg-decorating workshop, and the response was so great, two sessions were offered. "It's a really unique tradition and a beautiful, cultural expression of the heritage."

Kostecki has two decorated eggs on display at the National Heritage Museum in Lexington. She's also had her work displayed at the Lowell Folk Festival. She only teaches sessions during the Easter season.

To learn more about Kostecki, or future art workshops at the Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., visit www.wistaria hurst.org/ or call [phone].




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Poles remember Soviet 1940 Katyn massacre

WARSAW, Poland, April 10 (UPI) -- Several hundred Poles traveled to the Russian town of Katyn Friday to pay tribute to victims of the Soviet massacre of 22,000 Poles in 1940.

Due to Easter festivities, commemorations to remember the "Katyn Genocide Memorial Day" were held all over Poland April 10 instead of April 13, Polish Radio reported.

During World War II, on April 13, 1943, German authorities denied communists' claims they were responsible for the Katyn killing and revealed information about the Stalin-era massacre in 1940 when Soviet NKVD secret police shot to death 22,000 Polish army officers, policemen and civilians taken prisoner from 1939-40.

On Friday, hundreds of Polish families paid respect to the victims at the graveyard in the western Russian town of Katyn, the radio said.

Discussion of the massacre in the Katyn forest was taboo during post-war communist rule in Poland and only in 1990 did Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev admitted Moscow authorities were responsible for the massacre.

Polish cemeteries in Katyn were opened to public in 2000, on the 60th anniversary of the massacre, the radio said.