Marzanna is an ancient pagan Slavic goddess, and one of her domains is Winter. On the vernal equinox which falls on March 21st, we make an effigy of her, set it on fire and then drown it in the river so that Spring will come.
My Marzanna from last year
So, where does this tradition come from?
Slavic Pagans, of course.
Although Christianity in Poland has worked hard for the last thousand years to assimilate and conceal the multitude of wonderful pagan traditions within its Catholic celebrations, the drowning of the Marzanna persists despite many attempts to eradicate it. In fact it's traditional for pre-school children to make the effigy in class and then have a little field trip to drown her. Sometimes, older children will cut out paper numbers- symbolising their bad grades- and throw them in the water as well.
Your typical Marzanna should be made of straw, and dressed in white- or, as they do it in some regions, wound out of rags and wearing a colourful maiden's dress. The puppet would be paraded through the village so that she might draw out misery, hunger, sickness, and all the evils of the cold seasons out of every house. Once that duty was fulfilled, she would be set on fire and dropped into the water- and woe be unto those who looked back at her on their way home. Even torn to shreds, the goddess could still take vengeance with a curse.
The burning of Judas which was meant to replace it somehow never really caught on...and I am glad. Marzanna must die as the Winter cedes to Spring, but she will return next season to live again. Her burning is a symbol of the natural order, while tormenting a straw effigy of Judas only serves to translate guilt into angry righteousness.
Another ancient tradition would have us greet Jaryła, the god of Spring and fertility, with dances and rituals. Slavic religion persists in several modern-day faith groups, but so far my attempts to get in touch with them have been fruitless, so alas I can't give you an account of anything more authentic than the secularised drowning of Marzanna.
So. I haven't done this in a while, for lack of good company, but last year I found two friends who thought it was a great idea. We made our Marzanna from wood, rags and hay, so she should decompose well. The Ner river is pretty dirty already, but there was no need to contribute to the pollution.
Hello, Spring, goodbye, Winter!
You do have to set her on fire before you drown her.
As a bonus, here's a rather lovely video of the traditional drowning, shot last year by some Poles in...Glasgow. ;) Apparently they're doing it again this year, on March 25th. If you're in Glasgow, go join in the fun!
This is probably one of the most awesome things I will ever write about.
Every year in January, Poland explodes with a nationwide charity event called The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. The organisation collects money for a different cause every year, usually focusing on pediatric care and neo-natal medical equipment.
WOŚP, or GOCC- literally the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity.
This sounds ordinary enough until you find out that...
In 1993, during the very first Orchestra, the foundation raised 1,5 million U.S. dollars, an unexpected success. So, the Foundation was formed and a new event organised every year for the next 19 years...
And so, in justONE day last year, the amount raised came toover 13 million U.S. dollars.
One day. Crazy, no?
And the sum of 19 years of such days is a staggering 125 million USD.
It's an unquestionable fact by now that in Poland, for just one day, everyone's pockets open up. Children bring their jars of pennies, adults donate precious items and jewellery. A small coin or a bill- every little bit counts, and the evidence is in the numbers. Thirteen million dollars last year bought much-needed equipment to help hospitals treat newborns and young children with urological and kidney diseases.
A heart made out of copper coins- people are encouraged to bring their smallest change and throw it
into the pattern. Many companies and businesses also brought bags of coins to add to the pile.
This year, the money collected will buy equipment to save prematurely born children, and insulin pumps for pregnant diabetics.
Thanks to the Orchestra and the equipment they finance, certain medical conditions which used to be a grave issue are now 100% treatable in Poland.
I believe that's the definition of awesome. The Orchestra's motto is 'We will play until the end of the world and one day longer', and for 20 years now they have lived up to it.
So, how do they do it?
Peace, love, and rock'n'roll. The hippyish philosophy works wonders on this one day a year. Free concerts are set up all over the country, with celebrities, musicians, sound and light companies and many, many other people donating their time. The national television's Channel Two dedicates the entire day to the event, transmitting live from all over the country.
The City Guard ride through Łódź brandishing the GOCC banner.
120 thousand volunteers walk around Poland that day. That's 120 thousand people who have to be trusted not to take the money and run- and, as the Foundation points out, the numbers suggest that an overwhelming majority proves to be honest. I was a volunteer a few times, it's a popular thing to do when you're a teenager- statistics say 11% of Poles were volunteers for the Orchestra at least once in their lives. You get a cardboard money bank, a laminated ID card, and several sheets of heart-shaped stickers. There are a few rules- you may not solicit any money before, or after the Finale Day. And knocking on people's doors is not allowed. But whoever drops money into the box gets a sticker, and so for the next few weeks you will see people walking around town with red hearts stuck to their coats and hats.
My friend and I way back in 1997 when I volunteered for the first time.
The angel wings definitely got people's attention.
Pony sporting heart stickers during this year's horse parade in Łódź
Similarly, the equipment bought with the foundation's help is also marked with their symbol- you will see the red heart on quite a few hospital machines and ambulances.
But the streets is not the only place where it happens. Items of value are donated for special auctions- online, even regular users can decide to donate their proceeds to the Foundation thanks to an official partnership from the auction site. And celebrities do their part- this year for example we have an auction for an invitation to an NBA match from NBA player Marcin Gortat, a fountain pen belonging to the late president Kaczyński, and even a special custom made bike from Paul Jr. of Orange County Choppers.
The day in which all the collections take place is called the Great Finale. It starts bright and early in the morning with tv transmissions from the man behind all of this madness- Jurek Owsiak, a cheerful 59 year-old in bright red glasses with a characteristic stutter. With the donated help of airlines, helicopters and various transport companies he travels around the country, going from town to town before returning to Warsaw for the "Light to the sky". At eight pm all over the country fireworks go off as a thank you to everyone who took part in the event, and everyone is encouraged to light a candle, flashlight, phone, anything they can, and raise it to the heavens to show that we are here, that we are one, and that we CAN achieve great things together.
GOCC Finale in Łódź, 2011.
Another way of saying 'thank you' is the yearly Woodstock Festival, also organised by the Orchestra in the summertime. It is currently the biggest open-air concert in Europe.
This festival, while also free to attend is financed separately from the January charity event, through different sponsors. One of the important things about GOCC is their careful and detailed account of how they spend the money- it makes them all the more trustworthy in the public sight, and that matters when you're trying to save children's lives!
As if all that weren't enough, the Foundation also teaches CPR in schools, recruits special Peace Rescue Patrols that volunteer in dispensing first aid at public events, and run nationwide programs for early cancer diagnostics, hearing screenings, treatment of retinopathy in preemies, and diabetic therapy for children. And then some more. In 2010, they organised an additional, almost spontaneous collection for the victims of heavy floods from that summer- handing out special, blue heart stickers.
Here's an English-language film they produced explaining what they do.
And if you're abroad, you can take part, too! Either by bidding on an auction, by donating, or by joining the crew. Here is a list of foreign staff bases- we have them in the US, on the British Isles, in Germany, and even in Afghanistan.
Tomorrow is the 29th of November, the eve of St. Andrew's day, which many European cultures associate with the telling of fortunes. In Poland, where close attention is always paid to the patron saints of a given date, we call it Andrzejki, or in some regions, andrzejówki or jędrzejki. Andrzej or Jędrzej are the Polish versions of the name Andrew.
A little pronounciation lesson is in order here: where you see the r and z come together as rz, they are pronounced as a voiced palato-alveolar sibilant. No, I don't really know what that means either, the last phonetics lesson I took was over fifteen years ago. I refer you to Wikipedia. Incidentally, the letter ż is pronounced the same way, just to make spelling harder.
We'll take a look at the Polish alphabet (of thirty two letters!) later. Let's get back to that magical night: Andrzejki.
The prophecies are usually matrimonial. We say that St. Andrew takes care of maids, while St. Catherine (whose Feast is celebrated on November 25th) worries about the bachelors. So, how exactly does one find out the identity of their future spouse?
On St. Andrew's eve, as on all magical nights, dreams gain special power. To see your future lover in a dream, place a basin of water next to your bed, and build a little bridge of twigs over it. The dream will walk across it to reach you.
Be careful, though, of attracting evil spirits into your dreams. To ward them off, rub garlic over doorknobs, doorsteps and windowsills. If you want to be extra careful, swallow a couple of garlic cloves just before you fall asleep. (I guess ghosts are afraid of stinky breath!)
Even our ancestors knew vampires don't make good lovers.
In some regions, ghosts were kept away by bonfires that burned through the night. To add to the fire's magical power, one could throw in a blessed herb, or part of a woven palm leftover from Palm Sunday. Thus fed, St. Andrew's Fires were said to cause deep sleep and prophetic dreams.
Fire was used again in lighting two wisps of unspun wool, one for each lover, and sending them flying up into the sky. If, on their way up, they should find and join each other, the lovers' fate was sealed.
Fire is magic. Everyone knows that.
But fires aren't a practical solution nowadays. You may prefer to write down some names on pieces of paper, place them under your pillow, and pull one out in the morning as soon as you wake up.
You can find a fence, and count the posts like you would count the petals of a daisy, repeating: bachelor, widower, bachelor, widower... Or else simply see if the number is pair; that promises a relationship.
At home, take your left shoe off. Throw it over your shoulder. If it lands with its nose towards the door, you will marry soon. If there are several single people in one house, take off your shoes and line them up, one after the other, to see whose shoe will touch the doorstep first.
These are just a few things you can do, but the most popular way to tell your fortune, and one that doesn't necessarily focus so much on finding a partner, is the pouring of wax or lead.
Lead, as we know now, isn't a safe thing, so grab a couple of wax candles and follow these instructions.
You will need to fill a vessel with water, and light a candle so that it casts a sharp light on the wall. You will also need a key, an older key with a large hole.
Melt some wax in a pot. Try to get a real candle, not stearin or paraffin- the magic comes from the bees who made the wax.
Take your key, and hold it over the basin. Slowly, pour the melted wax through the key hole onto the water.
By the way, little drops of wax floating in the water symbolise coins. You'll be rich!
The wax will quickly cool and set into a shape. Take it out of the water and hold it up in front of the candle. What kind of shadow does it cast?
Look carefully. The shape you see represents your future.
