Poland 27 nov 2015
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Eve of St. Andrews Day – Polish Halloween

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As conservative, as Poland is or seem to be, there is one day in the year on which fortune telling, witches, “magical” rituals and socializing takes over the country. By many considered a Polish response to Halloween, but really this holiday has very deep roots in Poland’s history. But how do we celebrate it?

What are we even talking about?

In the Polish language the holiday is simply known as “Andrzejki” and is celebrated at night between 29th and 30th of November. That explains where the”Eve” part comes from. The Polish name comes from Names day of Andrew. Normally it was celebrated at home with our loved ones or friends, and was taken pretty seriously. The main point of the holiday is to deviate your future for the next year. You also look for some live-lasting prophecies.

Obviously, as with every holiday nowadays, Eve of St. Andrews Day was commercialized. In practice it means: themed club parties, home parties and fortune telling all over the city. I will get to the fortune telling part in a moment, but what about the parties and what are the differences between EoSAD and Halloween?

Not quite Halloween…

There are couple of differences between the Halloween and EoSAD. First and most important: No dress code. If you wanted to take your Halloween costume out of closet, don’t do that. As far as it is spooky and mystical there are no spiders, fog, graves and monsters involved. More candles, whispers, auguries and laughing together.

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Warsaw has provided some parties as “Szaleństwo andrzejkowej nocy” in UPRZEJMIE DONOSZĘ[1] club, but I encourage you to stay at home, invite some friends create a spooky atmosphere and get those omens talking. Here are some popular divinations you may want to try.

Divinations…

  • Wax pouring

Most popular and one of the easiest to do. You pour melted wax, from a candle to cold water. Different shapes or shadows of created sculptures means different things. Some of the basic ones :

  • House – removal or starting a family
  • Cloud – Quit having your head in the clouds. Time to stand still on the ground. Get busy.
  • Dog – A warning. It may mean somebody not loyal in your closest environment.
  • Mountain/Mountains – A lot of troubles ahead of you. You have to be patient in the next year.
  • Egg – Fertility. You or somebody close to you may become a parent this year.
  • Coin – Fineness. Money will be most important for you next year. It may be both, either you will need it, or you will have it.
  • Butterfly – Changes. A lot of changes will happen next year. You should be careful, but on the other hand you may evolve significantly.
  • Heart – Full shaped heart means luck in love, but beware. Half of heart or ripped heart means unhappy love.
  • Apple/Fruit – Love growth. If you love somebody secretly it is a good sign for you. Most positive of all divinations.

 

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  • Apple peels

A very simple, but fun one. To do it you have to peel an apple in a way that peel is long and in one piece. Then you throw it behind you on the floor through your left arm. Letter that will appear is a first letter of a name of your one and only significant other.

  • Apple fishing

The last and in my opinion the simplest one. You need : apples, big bowl and some water. Apples contain about 25% of air, so they float. Task is simple. Catch the apple without using your hands, just your teeth. If you do it, you will have luck for the whole year, but if not you will have to deal with bad luck for the next 365 days.

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Get your friends together, throw a party and foretell your future for the next year. Enjoy the wax, apples and parties responsibly. See you there :)

 

[1] https://www.facebook.com/events/1661214980789165/

One Response to “Eve of St. Andrews Day – Polish Halloween”

  1. The divinations thing is amazing as it reminds me of Harry Potter! Where a dog was also a bad omen! <3
    Thanks for this post I had no idea about some of those!! :)

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