– I remember that it took at least 3 days to cook for Christmas. But first, shopping, said 58-year-old Ewa, a resident of Warsaw. – There was a long queue to buy ham, gammon and meat. Those who had friends in the countryside went to buy cold meats from “the peasant”. My parents-in-law beat the pig, my mother-in-law made cold meats.
There were only vinegar and some individual products on the shelves. It was also the time for cards. These were not times of prosperity and abundance like now. So the parents had to try for everything. Young people don’t know it now, but back then there was even a problem with poultry or other meat
– added 60-year-old Małgorzata, who celebrated Christmas in both larger and smaller cities. – We were in a slightly better situation than others, because my mother was a doctor, so patients often brought “gifts” as thanks, for example a fish or a hunted hare. Thanks to this, we didn’t have to wait in lines and had to pay cards. I remember that there was often a deer soaking in the basin, or a rabbit or wild bird hanging on the balcony and waiting for the meat to tenderize.
“They turned the house upside down as if it was some kind of soul cleaning”
– It wasn’t like now that you could order catering or a lady would come and cook, bake and clean up. But everything had to be prepared by hand with my grandmother and mother. The men also had something to do. My father dealt with meat and such heavy things. He was assigned various tasks, e.g. he had to sweep and beat carpets. There was a beater in the estate and there was a queue to get there because everyone had to shake the carpet. However, nice, lighter activities, such as painting eggs, making a palm cake, baking cakes, were women’s activities.
– A week before Christmas, Grandma Krysia came and ordered cleaning. There was a housekeeper in our house because my parents were very professionally active. And the grandmother and the housekeeper turned the house upside down, as if it was some kind of soul cleaning, that is, scrubbing everything, washing windows, washing curtains, hanging and starching bed linen, and, yes, wreaths. Such an ablution of everything.
Now you can turn on a Roomba and clean it regularly. Same with cooking. There were no Thermomixes or other amenities. Everything was done by hand. As a child, I kneaded the cake dough with a wooden spoon and then onto a baking tray. I had a lot of fun doing it. Grandma and I often sang together during these activities.
“Everyone walked with the holy candle, believers and non-believers. In party families they walked ‘silently'”
Traditionally, eggs were painted on Holy Saturday. Both children and adults had a lot of fun. However, there was no question of sachets of coloring powders or stickers sold today in bunches. It was done naturally.
– You painted the eggs yourself, more or less crookedly, for the children it was fun and a Christmas ritual. Eggs were also boiled in onion and the marks were scraped out with a needle. They painted Christmas motifs with wax and dipped them in paints. Often school watercolors – Ewa mentioned.
Soup on the table, perfume on my head, and ‘going to church and coming back dry was bordering on a miracle’ photo: National Digital Archives
– It was a whole ceremony, because first we peeled red and golden onions – said Małgorzata. – We cooked these shells in separate pots with the eggs and that’s how they were colored. No ready-made dyes, only natural dyes. Then we drew various patterns on them with sticks. And we had nice two-colored eggs in the basket.
On Easter Saturday, there is a mandatory Easter celebration. Everyone walked then, believers and non-believers, practitioners and non-practitioners. And in party families they walked ‘quietly’
– said Ewa.
Soup on the table and perm on the head
– Easter was an event back then. You sat down at the table with your immediate family, everyone dressed up and having their hair done. Our mothers often had permanent nails done for the holidays and painted their nails. There is a white tablecloth on the table, decorated with boxwood. The Easter baba was a must-visit in every home. Sour rye soup made from home-made sourdough, beef broth, not bone broth, my mother-in-law’s house includes goose and duck. You have to remember that after months of eating mortadella, brawn and dumplings, such a festive table, full of dishes that were usually rare, looked and tasted amazing – Ewa recalled.
“Going to church and coming back dry was bordering on a miracle”
– On Wet Monday, the children would get together and pour water on each other – said Małgorzata. – There was no beating with buckets like in the countryside. In my case, it was more like pouring water from these plastic eggs. It was important to be poured a little, but it was more like trying to be a “pourer”. But everyone was usually wet anyway. It didn’t matter if it was warm or cold. The water flowed evenly. It happened that boys filled plastic bags with water and threw them off balconies, but that was just stupid fun.
– Easter Monday was a challenge. Going to church and coming back dry was almost a miracle, Ewa laughed. – I remember my mother waking us up in the morning, splashing us with water and shouting “śmigus-dyngus!” Water poured from roofs, into buses, and people jumped out of nooks and crannies. Buckets. Children with plastic eggs with a hole. I remember how, on my way back from church, I was doused with such a bucket from the roof of the service pavilion. How did the boys get in there? I have no idea. Standing wet, even dripping with water, a little boy finally ran up and sprayed an egg, happy that I wasn’t running away.
In those days, there was no searching for chocolate bunnies in the grass (chocolate was a luxury item, although it was also available at Easter), bunny gifts and colorful, artificial Christmas decorations. There was only a Palm Sunday palm tree and green branches sprouting leaves. And Święconka with a sugar lamb made of marzipan or bread, blown eggs and wooden eggs.
“Children went to their godparents and got eggs. It was called ‘redemption’ or ‘wołoczewna'”
In the countryside, traditions were similar. It might seem that the availability of products was even more difficult than in cities, but in some cases it was quite the opposite. After all, meat and eggs were basically within reach. This was told by 82-year-old Janina from Podlasie.
– The holidays started with Palm Sunday. So first there was the blessing of palms, and then various church celebrations, cleaning, shopping. Cooking was done mainly on Good Friday, when you had to prepare the meat, cakes and other dishes yourself.
Soup on the table, perfume on my head, and ‘going to church and coming back dry was bordering on a miracle’ photo: National Digital Archives
– During the times of the Polish People’s Republic, people also worked on Saturdays, then they hired every second worker, so there was more freedom. But even if you worked until one o’clock, you won’t make so much money in this house later. After all, when I was 30, 40 or 50 years old, everything was a piece of cake. And if I was 82 then, like I am now, I could kill myself. Even though it was a commune, there were even more believers than now. You went to church with a candle. Inside there is an egg, a sausage, a lamb baked from dough, and these decorated baskets.
On Easter Sunday, people ate breakfast and then rested. They didn’t cook anything, they just ate what was prepared earlier. This one day was also free. We also had children go to their godparents and get eggs or sweets. Where I come from, they called it “redemption”, and in my grandfather’s it was called “wołoczewna”. [lub “włocewna”]. Some people just went from house to house on Christmas, singing and getting, for example, eggs. The next day, Śmingus-dyngus [pisownia oryginalna]. Boys were chasing girls, and it wasn’t because they sprayed them with a bottle or something. They poured out whole buckets. They didn’t look at whether there was weather or not. That was the tradition
– Janina recalled.
Also check out our gallery at the top of the article. There you will find more Easter memories from the times of the Polish People’s Republic. All immortalized in photographs.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
