Polish people have two favourite holidays: in the winter its Christmas and in the spring Easter. The dispute about the precedence of one holiday over the other has been going on for ages. In Poland the dispute is even the synonym of an endless discussion in which one of the sides cannot convince the other. Because some people love more the Christmas Eve, the wafer and presents and others the blessing of food, Easter eggs and Wet Easter Monday. On Holy Saturday 95 % of Poles come to church with food to be blessed. Easter eggs that is dyed eggs, bread, butter and ham are brought even by those who aren’t very religious on a daily basis.

The Easter period begins in Poland on Palm Sunday. On that day the solemn blessing of symbolic palms takes place in churches. In Poland the palms are made from dried flowers or young branches of willow trees waking up to life.

Easter Triduum that is the religious ceremonies begin on Maundy Thursday. The liturgy of the Maundy Thursday is unusual. In the Catholic church this is the memento of the establishment of the Holy Mass that is the Last Supper which was eaten by Jesus and his apostles. Good Friday is devoted to experiences connected with the passion and death of Christ on the cross. On that day the majority of Poles, even those who are less religious, fast. They eat only three non-meat meals during the day. However, the favourite day connected with Easter is Holy Saturday. Also on that day the majority of Poles observe religious traditions. Because nobody can imagine Easter without a ceremonial breakfast and during that breakfast the food which was blessed earlier is eaten. Therefore, on Holy Saturday the churches are full of people who came with “the food to be blessed” that is a basket with dyed eggs, bread, a lamb made of butter, some cold meat and salt.

Ceremonies connected with Easter begin during the morning resurrection mass. According to the tradition it should begin at dawn. In some churches however, it is celebrated already at midnight. After the mass the family begins the traditional Easter breakfast. Only then the food blessed the day before can be eaten. The tradition says that the table should be covered by a snow-white tablecloth.  This is a background against which the plates with cold meat and bread, colourful Easter eggs and the green colour of boxwood, the eternally green plant which ornaments all present nicely: a roll of sausages, ham, pieces of armoracia root, a lamb made of butter, a cake with icing and raisins, cheese-roll cake, round cakes with nuts and Easter wheat bread. In each house on a decorated plate there is one of the blessed eggs cut into four pieces. Sharing the egg the household members give each other best Easter wishes.

The second day of Easter holidays in Polish tradition is called “Wet Easter Monday”.

And it’s all because of the so-called śmigus dyngus that is a pagan custom of pouring water as a sign of purification. The tradition is a few hundred years old, but it has survived in an almost unchanged form until this day. Thus, we should be very careful walking the streets of Poznań on Easter Monday because a bunch of kids can come from around the corner and they will throw cold water on us. However, each of us should be sprinkled with some water so that traditions are observed.