The events mentioned in the post:
- Easter;
- Beatification of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II,
- Majówka,
- Eurovision,
- The Long Night of Museums (Noc Muzeów).
Easter in Warsaw
The Palm Sunday
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| © Alina Zienowicz (from: Wikipedia) |
This day is specially celebrated in Łyse, a village in Kurpie region (part of Mazovia) where there are contests for the most beautiful palm.
Holy Saturday
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| © Błażej Benisz (from: Wikipedia) |
Święconka is blessed during special short "mass" (it's over in around 10 minutes) and you can do it for most of the day, from morning to evening. In the countryside a priest may visit a village and bless święconka that was gathered for example in the village's mayor house.
Here are święconka made in my family and a photo from one of the churches in Wola region, where we had our święconka blessed.
Easter Sunday
My family goes to countryside to celebrate Easter. We meet together for the mass and Sunday breakfast (which is around the lunch time). Below you can see the photos of food we ate.
2nd up: Babka, a cake from yeast usually eaten for Easter. Vegetable salad with mayonnaise and another święconka.
1st down: tomatoes with onion, pasztet (pâté), raw cucumbers, ham, pickled mushrooms, pickled cucumbers, radishes and boiled eggs.
2nd down: hams, cucumbers, pickled mushrooms, vodka and eggs to share them with others and exchange wishes.
Wet Monday
Free holiday for all. It can be called Śmigus-Dyngus, but more common is "Lany Poniedziałek" (Wet Monday). Usually ladies are showered with water, and it's said that it brings them luck and fast marriage. Some ladies don't like this custom.
It's also practised on the Monday morning (usually) in the cities. Sometimes it can be overdone, and the police takes action. Before Monday there are warnings from police in the media. The water can be sprayed from buckets, water guns, or from above with water-filled balloons or plastic bags.
Fryderyki 2014
Fryderyk is the name of the most important Polish music award. It's Polish version of Grammy, so to say. The nomination and awards are voted by proffesional musicians and music-related people.
The name "Fryderyk" comes from the Polish spelling of Frederic Chopin's first name. This year the awards were given out for 20th time. This anniversary event was held on 24th April 2014 in the Congress Hall of Palace of Culture and Science.
Currently there are three categories: popular music, classical music and jazz.
The big winner of this year's Fryderyki was Dawid Podsiadło, who got 4 awards in popular music category. Namely: Album/Artist/Debut/Song of the Year (2013). The song below is the one that gave him the award.
Beatification of Pope John Paul II
On 27th April 2014 two ex-Popes: John XXIII and John Paul II was beatified, meaning made saints in the Catholic church. It was very visible in the churches (like on the photo from Holy Saturday) and in media. Everywhere there were news and programmes related mainly to the beatification of Pope John Paul II. After all he is called "Papież Polak" (the Polish Pope) so there was a craze about this event and him in the media. If you're curious, the other popes (including the retired and current pope) aren't referred by their nationality by Polish.
The Long May Weekend
First May, The Labour Day, is a free holiday. Third May, The 3rd May Constitution Day, is free too. Between them there is The day of National Flag, which is not free. But don't expect too much to do on this day, people are taking leaves so they can relax and enjoy the longer weekend.
Usually the days are referred to as "długi weekend majowy" or just "długi weekend". This year 1st May was on Thursday, so those who got free on the 2nd May could go for a trip outside the cities on Wednesday afternoon. Such a trip called majówka is not the only way to spend the long weekend. Those who stay in the town can be sure there will be special events to participate in. The trip can be spent actively, for example on canoeing.
Another popular activity is grillowanie (doing barbeque). Before the long weekend starts lots of shops have grill-related promotions (the devices, food, etc.).
Bookshops offers book promotions for majówka too.
If you don't mind a big traffic and hardships while travelling (like crowded buses, trains, etc.) you should get advantage of the Long May Weekend. Usuallly it's the first time during the year (spring) when you could enjoy good (warm) weather and spend a lot of time outdoors. And unlike Easter, it's not customary to spend it with your family, so you can just go with your friends, etc.
If you don't mind a big traffic and hardships while travelling (like crowded buses, trains, etc.) you should get advantage of the Long May Weekend. Usuallly it's the first time during the year (spring) when you could enjoy good (warm) weather and spend a lot of time outdoors. And unlike Easter, it's not customary to spend it with your family, so you can just go with your friends, etc.
I spent this long weekend at home and meeting friends.
Eurovision
Eurovision, held from 6th to 10th May 2014, is a big TV contest of music from various European countries. It has two semi-finals and final concert. Europeans and jury from participating countries can vote for their favourite. It always get a big coverage in media, especially public Polish TV (TVP) which takes part in the contest (represented by the selected artist) and airs it. This year won the controversial Conchita Wurst from Austria.
Polish artist got 14/26 place in the final. Polish song sparked as much controversy in Poland as Conchita. A lot of people (me included) didn't like the fact that models making sexual gestures and showing off breasts were part of the show. The music video earlier also heavily relied on sexual allure, tho artists tried to c"cover it up" with irony, etc.
I wrote a lot about Eurovision on For Culture's Sake, my other blog. You can read there my opinion on the contest, see the artists (songs) that I enjoyed, etc.
It wasn't the best night, as we had heavy rain falls, which later resulted with the flooding in Poland, but still a lot of people participated (including me) in it. See some of the Noc Muzeów 2014 photos (and video below) from the Warsaw hall website.
I took part in it, I participated in the lesson of Georgian language, I saw some photos exhibitions, etc.
I love the old buses used as the special (free) public transport during the night. Ah, some of the regular public transport lines got special time tables too, with longer hours. Thanks to this, I could go back home more comfortably.
I wrote a lot about Eurovision on For Culture's Sake, my other blog. You can read there my opinion on the contest, see the artists (songs) that I enjoyed, etc.
The Long Night of Museums
In Poland it's called Noc Muzeów. It's held in various Polish and European cities. This year it was on 17/18 May night. The activities in museums, galleries and sometimes caffes are usually held from 19:00 to 1:00. Over 200 places took part in this event. If you're interested you can see the 2014 programme in Polish (see the Informator on the right side, it'll take you to PDF).It wasn't the best night, as we had heavy rain falls, which later resulted with the flooding in Poland, but still a lot of people participated (including me) in it. See some of the Noc Muzeów 2014 photos (and video below) from the Warsaw hall website.
I took part in it, I participated in the lesson of Georgian language, I saw some photos exhibitions, etc.
I love the old buses used as the special (free) public transport during the night. Ah, some of the regular public transport lines got special time tables too, with longer hours. Thanks to this, I could go back home more comfortably.
Lots of events, week by week. And it just started. More events soon.
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