Fat Thursday in Poland

Polish Fat Thursday can be compared to Pancake Day celebrated in many English speaking countries or Mardi Gras because it is all about being gluttonous and losing yourselves in partying before the time of Lent comes - everything is allowed, except moderation, diet, listening to music on low volume, modesty!

Fat Thursday is celebrated on the last Thursday before Lent by eating pączki (pon-chqi) - fist-sized large doghnuts filled with rose jelly (classic version), plum preserve or eggnog (in Poland known as advocaat). The outside of these hefty treats is usually coated in a sweet glaze just to ensure you get plenty of sugary goodness in every bite. There will be no more chance to celebrate before Easter, so you have to eat as many pączki as possible!

Traditional Polish pączek

Some bakers fill a few pączki with almond paste instead of marmalade and encountering this filling is said to bring good luck. An old Polish superstition states that if you don't eat at least one doughnut on Shrove Thursday, you will no longer be successful in life.

Another traditional treat consumed on Fat Thursday is faworki - ribbon-shaped, thin strips of crispy pastry dough sprinkled with powdered sugar.

For confectioners and bakers it is one of the busiest time of the year. Statistics SHOW that for the past few years around 100 million doughnuts and many hundreds of kilogrammes of the faworki are eaten on Fat Thursday in Poland. The money spent on Fat Thursday delicacies today would buy 200 apartments of 50 square metres in Warsaw and as many as around 430 in Bydgoszcz, northern Poland.

Queue to the confectionery in Warsaw

Waiting for pączki on Chmielna street in Warsaw

Here you will find an easy recipe for traditional Polish pączki with step-by-step photos: http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/polishdesserts/ss/paczki.htm
and for faworki: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4kLT1ZfVes.

Presents from St Nick!

Probably you have already noticed that in Poland we celebrate much during autumn and winter. That's because during those seasons we don't get much sunlight here and we have to focus on something joyful. You have heard about Andrzejki recently. Nearly week after it we enjoy Mikołajki - Saint Nicolas Day. It's not only Polish tradition, you can meet it in many other countries, but the way it is celebrated is slightly different everywhere. Even in Poland there is a variety of ways to celebrate Mikołajki, depending on a region you are currently in...

Most popular gifts for Mikołajki are gingerbread cookies or Santa Claus made of chocolate. (piernikarnia.blogspot.hu)

In some parts of Poland, probably in the south, people have believed that St Nicolas is a patron of shepherds and that he saves the ewes and cattle from wolves. On 6th December, people used to offer St Nicolas wreaths made of flax and some herbs. They also put eggs, which are a symbol of life and fertility, on them.

In the north of Poland, in Kaszuby, St Nicolas was called 'Gwiazdor'. He acted like St Nick but he looked different - he was wearing fur and all his face was smutty.

In Poznań people believe that at night on 5th December, Santa Claus looks through a window and if he sees that all shoes of in the household are clean, he leaves a gift for each member of the family. But if the shoes are dirty - he leaves a rotten potato.

In the centre of Poland (Mazowsze), over hundred years ago on 6th December somebody from a village dreesed up like a St Nicolas and in a company of an angel and a devil he visited all the children who lived in a town. He asked them if they know all the prayers well and he asked their parents if their behaviour was good. If the child was polite, was given a small present (gingerbread, apple, nuts) if not - he received a rod!

Polish story about St Nicolas tells that he was a bishop of Mira (some area in today's Turkey). One day, a man living in Mira has gone out of business and he lost all his possessions. The worst was that he wanted to send away his daughters to become prostitutes. To save them from this fate, bishop Nicolas is believed to pop three sacks packed with coins through a chimney of the man's house. The coins fell on the floor and you could find them strewn around, even in shoes, slippers and socks. That's why on 5th December night people (I mean Santa Claus :) give each other small gifts (sweets are most popular) by hiding them inside big colorful socks or under the pillow.

Gwiazdor - St Nick from Kaszuby

Fortune-telling in Poland

If you want to know the name of your future husband or what is waiting for you in future you should know more about Andrzejki, the old Polish tradition celebrated during the night on 29th November, which is believed to be magical. 29th of November is the St Andrew's Day, which is well known also in Scotland, Greece and Russia. In Poland St Andrew's Day is the last day to party before adwent begins. Adwent is the time before Christmas which is meant to be spent in peace and a holy reflexion. Andrzejki is the last chance to have some fun :)

In Poland this night is all about predicting the future. Originally, it was only for unmarried women to gain knowledge about their future husband or the time they will get married. Currently, nobody believes in this all 'fortune telling' and does it only for entertainment. There are several traditional ways to tell the future...

Wax future telling: You take a candle and pour a wax to a jug or a bowl filled with water. There is one condition: you have to pour the wax through a key-hole. When you finish, take the wax out and see what shadow does it give on the wall. Whatever shape you will see, this thing is your destiny.

What is it???
taken from: garnek.pl

Shoe race: Girls gather together in a room (the bigger the better). Every girl taking part in a shoe race takes off her shoe. They put shoes in a line towards the door. Then they take the last shoe from the line and put it at the front. They do the same with the rest of shoes until they reach the door. The shoe which will be the first by the door wins the race and the owner of the shoe is the first one to get married.

Drawing lots: You have to find a box and put different things inside: a leaf, a ring, a beadroll, a coin. Close your eyes and pick the first thing coming to your hand. A leaf means that you'll become a spinster, a ring - that you'll get married very soon, a beadroll - that you'll become a nun and a coin - that you'll be very rich someday.

Predicting future from cards: Take out four aces from a deck of cards. Then close your eyes and pick one of them. Ace hearts means peaceful and calm home you will build in future; ace spade means that your husband will be commanding and strict but very loyal to you; ace club means that you should expect a big suprise in your love life. Ace diamonds is good news coming soon.

Hołubiec-step

What about...a little bit of Polish Folklore? Student's Action „Wytnij Hołubca” during the Polish National Dance Day

7th October – this date will definitely go down in history For the second time Polish students tried to teach people how to make a HOŁUBIEC STEP – a Polish national dance step. It is supposed to express joy and happiness. What's the aim of the action? - We want to show people that the is nothing to be ashamed of! On the contrary, The Polish Foklore is very representative and we should popularize this type of culture since it's deeply rooted in our tradition. We mey go even further! Why not mix folklore with modern forms of artistic expression: music, dance, design?
Take a look at the short movies screened during the action and see how young Poles mix folklore with electro music :)

Guess where this film has been made!

Hołubiec  in Warsaw with a song of Monika Brodka, well known Polish singer.

A video from Olsztyn

Poland celebrates the International Day of Chocolate!

Sunny summer is coming to an end so it is good to make your life sweeter. That's why the International Day of Chocolate was invented. On this particular day, on De Gaulle Rondabout (this one with a famous palm) cups of delicious milk chocolate are served to the pedestrians.

To celebrate the Day of Chocolate you should visit one of the E.Wedel shops. E.Wedel is the oldest Polish confectionery. Founded by Karol Ernest Wedel in 1851 it produces variety of high-quality chocolate. It's the most popular chocolate in Poland. But not only chocolate is the Wedel's speciality. You must try also "Ptasie Mleczko" - chocolate covered marshmallow; "Mieszanka Wedlowska" - assorted chocolate covered candy; "Torcik Wedlowski" - a large, circular, chocolate covered wafer with hand-made decorations and "Pawełek" - chocolate bar with a flavored filling that contains a small amount of alcohol.

On De Gaulle roundabout in Warsaw there is a palm made of chocolate!

The chocolate is served to the pedestrians by E.Wedel

Enjoy :)

You can make a trip to see the chocolate factory in Warsaw in Kamionek district. It is located on Prague on Zamoyskiego Street no. 7. Here you can check E.Wedel shops around Poland: http://www.wedelpijalnie.pl/pl/lokale

How to survive WET MONDAY?

And what the f... is Wet Monday!@$#? Some DRY facts you can find as always in Wikipedia, but I'd rather recommend watching attached movie first. It's self explaining.



So, wet Monday (called also Dyngus day) is a way of celebrating Easter Monday in Poland. People pour water over their friends and relatives, children make fights with water guns, boys attack girls with buckets of water, hooligans attack everyone....

Who is at risk? Everyone! Attractive girls most.

HOW TO SURVIVE:

1. Avoid groups of people holding buckets with water. Meeting such group means instant shower.
2. Look around carefully. And look up! Avoid passing under someone's windows. You can be attacked by water bomb (plastic bag or a condom filled with water).
3. Do not stand next to the door in a bus.
4. Pack your camera, mp3 player and laptop into plastic bag when going for a walk.
5. Avoid bicycle rides through villages and suburban areas.

IF THE ABOVE FAILS:

6. DON'T PANIC. IT'S ONLY WATER.

More movies:

Usage of water bombs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29mJRJBsrkM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHYG3h4ByBA&feature=related

Read more about Polish easter traditions here:
...And the winner is... 
Palm trees - do they grow in Poland?

Palm Trees - do they grow in Poland?

Not exactly... Apart from the one in the middle of Warsaw (aritificial to be honest...) we do not have them. So what is the PALM SUNDAY ? Well...
It's very colorful and interesting event taking part each year before Easter. More details in Wikipedia of'course. The next Palm Sunday is on APRIL the 5th 2009.

If you're staying in Warsaw it's not a far drive do Łyse (appr 150 km)
If you're staying in Krakow, you can go to Lipnica Murowana - each year this two places competite for having the highest palm in Poland.


Wyświetl większą mapę



Wyświetl większą mapę
If you don't want to go anywhere, just take your camera and go for a walk - pictures with pepople holding colorful palms will be a good souvenir from your trip! Some of my pictures taken several years ago in Łyse: