Easter in Poland

After 40 days of Lent comes a week before Good Friday. On Good Friady people don’t eat meat. On Saturday before Easter Sunday people go to church so that the priest can bless eggs, which are in a decorated basket. Eggs are specially decorated, too. They are called „pisanki”, „Kroszonki” etc. It depends on the part of Poland. In the basket there are also: bread (in memory of Jesus), meat and cureds (they resamble a lamb) and salt (it saves us from sins). Easter eggs symbolize new life.

On Saturday people go also to Christ’s tomb. Tradition orders, that Christ’s tomb must be looked after young boys or men. At first Easter was celebrated on the day of Jewish Passover. Now people celebrate Easter on first Sunday after the first full moon in Spring.

Celebration begins on Sunday. On Sunday morning there is a procession around the church and the Easter mass. The mass is called Resurrection. After the mess people eat dishes, which were in the blessed basket. There is also a lamb (it symbolize arrivel of Jesus) and pound cakes on Easter table.

A new tradition is an Easter bunny. Parents put „bunny” in the garden (there are sweets and small presents) and children search for it. On Easter Monday after mass boys pour water on girls. This tradition comes from antiquity. Our great – grandfathers poured water on fields and on themselves. In this way they woke up ‘The Earth Mother’. Nowadays this holiday is a fun, which is called ‘Smingus dyngus’. For some people (especially for young girls) this habit is very tiring. Easter is an aldest Christian tradition and main secristan holiday.