 
In Poland's folk tradition ceremonies are connected with a calendar year and a liturgy year. They are called annual ceremonies..Hardly ever there are ceremonies which were connected with official transactions.
Customs and ceremonies connected with calendar and seasons. Winter is the time of waiting for Christmas, Christmas Eve.
Christmas Eve
There was a conviction in the villages that if a woman came home as a first guest on the Christmas Eve, there would be a haifer in the cow-shed. If it was a man who came first -in the cow-shed would appear a bull.
On Christmas Eve borrowing money was forbidden because the family could suffer because of the lack of money in the next year.
In general, everybody was convinced that what the Christmas Eve was like- the next year would be similar.
Houses were clean, they hung "spiders" made of straw and blotting paper just under the ceiling. People fasted all day. In the evening the whole family sat by the table. Everybody wore Sunday clothes and gathered around the table which was covered with white tableclothes with little hay under it. There was one free place for a wearied wanderer. There was a holy water on the table which had been earlier brought by an organist (church musician). Among different kinds of holy water there was one which was pink or blue- it was for animals (cows, horse, etc.) After the prayer the oldest man shared the holy water and wished everybody Merry Christmas. The wishes preceeded a formula: "We share angel's bread it allows us to meet in God's Kingdom".
After the Christmas Eve Supper household went to church. There was a midnight mass. After this mass a farmer went to the cow-shed and gave them a piece of Holy Wafer and announced:" My dear cows-Jesus has been born".
The first day of Christmas was a fan\mily day, on that day work was forbidden. On the second day of Christmas young boys wandered from house to house with "Herods".
On 6th of January church celebrates the festival of Three Kings. After the mass at church people wrote above fron doors three crosses with chalk which was consecrated durind the mass. At times people wrote three letters KMB meaning Kacper, Melchior, Baltazar-The Kings' names.
At the end of carnivall disguised people went from house to house. They sang songs and wished:
"Przyszli my tu na ostatki,
ni mom ojca ani matki...
Dajta pączka na widelec
bo to jutro jest popielec..."
Za kolędę dziekujemy
zdrowia, szczęscia winszujemy
aż na cały rok
Abyście długo zyli,
a po śmierci w niebie byli
Hej kolęda, kolęda
They disguised themselves as: a bear, devil, a gipsy man or lady, etc.
2-nd of February - in the church there were paschal candles which were consecrated to have power as a cure and could protect against fire.
Two weeks before Easter women went from home to home with special tree which was decorated with ribbons and they sang.
On Palm Sunday in church palms (in our area it were catkins decorated with billberies and white or pink ribbon). Nearby Wreczyca they added grass or hazel-tree, nearby Ogrodzieniec - ears of corn. Seed from this ears a farmer throw into the soil on the Good Friday. It should provide good harvest and protect crop against fire and hail-storm.
Eating one catkin protected against illness for next year.
On Thursday just before Good Friday in churches were prepared grave to render memorable Death of Jesus.At his grave vocal firemaus kept guard. They wore special "Roman" uniforms.
 On Easter at 6 o'clock there was a mess called "rezurekcja". During this mass defonations was heard.
On Easter monday children carried wooden cock and colected money or sweers. Older boys poured single women with water
Zielone świątki - the houses was decorated with special grass.
There were procession in the village, which stopped Corpus-Chrish' - across village in front of four altars which were set up on this day.
A week after Corpus-Chrish' wreaths were consecraced. They protected against lightening as well as birch twigs from four altars.
On sunday after harvest young girls made wreath with corn, they decorated it with ribbons and brought it to church after mess they brought it to the manor-house. They sang song to everybody from manor-house
During long winter evenings young girls gathered in one house worked with feathors. Boys came to enjoy and to play cards.
On the St.Andrews Eve young girl told them fortune about marriage.
"Płocie, płocie trzynsę cię.
Święty Andrzeju proszę Cię
Przyjdź mi we snie,
to do mnie w karnawale trzaśnie."
"Płocie, płocie trzynsę cię.
Święty Andrzeju proszę Cię
Choćby o jednym oku,
aby tego roku."
They came in the evening and called: "Told me dog, where is my belowed"
From the side where dog was barking the housband should come.
Boys was telling a fortunes simillary in St.Kates day.
Family ceremonies are connected with the holidays, they become a religious, social and personal experience. Family is also a christmas eve, common meetings, but some habits are strictly connected with personal life of each person; from the birth to death and a grave.
When boy was becoming a man he was adorating a lady on a zmówiny.
On thursday he was going to the bride with the foreman for the zrękowiny.
Foreman was choosing a gifts with their parents that they would get we wianie where they will live...
After about three weeks there was a wedding. In the sunday, groom was inviting groomsmen and a foreman. Then they were going to the bride that was making a breakfast for them.
There was a dancing after breakfast. Bride's mother was giving a shirt to the groom, and foreman's wife was dressing the lovers.
Mother was placing a white sheet in the house opposite the picture.
In the time of ceremony the foreman's wife was singing with the bridesmen.
"Uklęknij Marysiu na białej serwecie
proś Matki Boskiej o szczęśliwe życie, za swoje panieństwo
proś swoich rodziców o błogosławieństwo.
A chodźże mamusiu ze święcona wodą,
Poświęć pobłogosław, naszą parę młodą..."
After saying goodbye to the parents the lovers was going to the church. All people was singing a song ...
" Zajechali do kościoła i poklękali
z uczciwością, nabożeństwem ręce podali:
Śłubuję Ci aż do śmierci,
Dopomóżcie wszyscy święci,
I Ty Boże nasz..."
After the wedding the dinner was served - kasza jęczmienna prażona z barszczem, kapusta z grochem i kasza jaglana z mlekiem.
Everybody was eating from one bowl. After dinner the foreman's wife was singing and taking a money from the guests.
Then the bride's wreath was taken, her hairs have been cut and she had to put a cap on a head.
"przypatrzcie się wszyscy ludzie, jak wianeczek z głowy idzie,
przypatrzcie się wszystkie dzieci jak wianeczek z głowy leci"
Young was leaving the wreath
"...Mój wianeczku, jak mi cię żal,
na główce nie będziesz ciężał.
Teraz czepek gorzej cięży
Niż jabłuszko na gałęzi..."
Tutaj można posłuchać przyśpiewki weselnej śpiewanej przez naszych uczniów.
Next day there was poprawiny, and later lovers were moving to their new home where they were live togheter.
Pregnant woman wasn't gloring to anybody.
She couldn't "watch on a fire", deformed man or innatural shapre of things because child could born unhealthy.
She couldn't also walk under the ladder, ropes or strings etc. because the baby could suffocate with the umbilical cord.
If she asked for something, everybody was giving her everything or else the mouses could come and destroy it.
If somebody was made her angry the pregnant woman he should spill an ash behind her to stop evil forces.
After birth people had to put a sacred rosary on her neck, and bottle with a sacred water on the edgde of her bed.
After that there was a baptism ceremony. Usually the grandmother was baptizing the baby using sacred water just
after birth by saying:
"Robosiu-bobosiu ja Cię chrzczę
niech Ci będzie Wojtuś"
Birth is also an acceptance of a new member in family, and the grave is a goodbye with the person close to family and exclusion from the community.
In the grave eve neighbours were comming to the deceased's house and were saying prays for his soul together.
The dead man also should goodbye with the others so it was a tradition to knock three times on a threshold with the coffin.
People was taking the coffin to the last figure outside the village. Then one of the landlords was having a speech.
He was mentioning all life of the dead, his contributions and sometimes he was talking about his bad habits.
Later there was a grave party and a fortune of deceased was splitted.
Lucyna Włodarczyk
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