The spring cleaning is done, the window panes gleam like polished crystal,...

 

The spring cleaning is done, the window panes gleam like polished crystal, cakes and pâté are baking in the oven and children are decorating eggs - this is a sign that Poznan’s households are getting ready for Easter. This spring holiday, when the world awakens after months of winter slumber, is among our favourites.  

Poles have a particularly soft spot for two holidays: Christmas in winter, and Easter in spring. Disputes about the superiority of one or the other have been around for ages; in Poland, this discord has almost become a byword for an infinite debate in which no party manages to convince the other. Some people are especially partial to Christmas Eve, with wafer and gifts, while others prefer Easter eggs and bunnies. 95% of all Poles uphold the centuries-old tradition of bringing food to church on Holy Saturday to be blessed by the priest. Even those who are not especially pious in their everyday lives bring painted eggs, bread, butter and ham to church on that special day. 

 

In Poland, Easter time begins on Palm Sunday. Symbolic palms, crafted using dry flowers or willow sprigs, are blessed in churches across the country.

 

The Easter Triduum, i.e. the actual religious celebrations, start on Maundy Thursday. The liturgy of that day is quite extraordinary. The Catholic Church remembers the institution of the Holy Mass which commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus and his disciples. Good Friday is dedicated to the events related to the passion of Christ and his death on the cross. Most Poles, even the least devout, observe a period of fasting and have only three meatless meals during the course of the day. However, their favourite day of the entire Easter period is Holy Saturday, which most Poles also follow the tradition of. Nobody can imagine Easter without a splendid breakfast, composed of previously blessed food. That’s why on Holy Saturday most churches are bursting at the seams with people who have brought their little baskets of goodies to be blessed.

 

Easter begins with the traditional morning Resurrection Mass. As tradition dictates, the mass should begin at the break of dawn, although in some churches it is held at midnight. After the mass, families have their traditional Easter breakfast, when food blessed on Saturday can finally be eaten. The table is covered with a white tablecloth, which offsets the colours of platefuls of cold meats and bread, eggs and boxtree leaves (buxus sempervirens) - an evergreen plant used to embellish everything from sausages, ham, horseradish roots and butter lamb to frosted pound cakes with raisins, cheesecake, poppy seed cake with nuts and Easter wheat bread. In each home, you will find blessed eggs cut into quarters and neatly arranged on a decorative plate. Family members share little bits of these eggs and wish one another all the best for Easter.

 

Easter Monday is often called “wet Monday” (Lany Poniedziałek) in the Polish tradition, because of the so-called “śmigus dyngus”, the pagan custom of pouring water on people as a sign of purification. Ancient though it is, the tradition has been preserved virtually intact until the present day. When you go for a walk in Poznan on Easter Monday, be on the lookout for packs of children with icy water itching to get you soaked to the bone. However, everybody should allow themselves to be at least sprinkled with water, just to carry on the unique tradition.