A ghostly ambiance transforms Poland into a mystical glowing burial ground filled with thousands and thousands of flickering little lights.
by Staś Kmieć
Przez życie trzeba iść serdecznie,
niosąc w otwartych dłoniach Światło,
bo tylko tacy żyją wiecznie,
którym w miłości serca gasną.
(One must go through life heartily,
carrying the Light in open hands,
because only such people live forever,
whose hearts fade in love)
October passes in a dance of leaves; the colors press into the eyes until the soul sings. Soon, in November there is a time of reflection… on the essence of life and the inevitable law of nature. Zaduszki – a day shrouded in myths and legends related to the afterlife and spirits is a time to “feed souls” and “burn fires.”
A ghostly ambiance transforms Poland into a mystical glowing burial ground filled with thousands and thousands of flickering little lights. All over the country, countless people visit the graves of their relatives – lighting candles there and additional candles for those sites that are forgotten and abandoned. It is a day of remembrance and togetherness.
In cemeteries, there is a hushed, respectful, and peaceful stillness. The trees are full of yellow and red; the ground, a carpet of colorful leaves. Candles flicker in the dark, illuminating the chrysanthemums and the leaves in the trees above. There is a poetry to the unearthly glow of the immense candlelight, the murmur of prayer, the subtle smells of the incense, fresh flowers and burning wax, the silhouette of the trees, the wet mist, and the surreal complement of the supernaturally charged, yet tranquil atmosphere. With every candle on every grave there is a story, a life, and a past.
As October turns to November, visitors expecting a Halloween full of costumes and debauchery may be surprised to learn that in Poland, the October 31st holiday is completely overshadowed by the rather sobering, somber proceedings of November 1st and 2nd. All Saints’ Day (Dzień Wszystkich Świętych) and All Souls’ Day (Dzień Zaduszny) are two days dedicated to prayer and paying tribute to the deceased.
Hallowe’en – which literally means “holy evening,” dates back to pagan times and is thought to have originated with the Celtic festival of Samhain – a celebration of the end of the harvest season, meaning “summer’s end.” Although the custom is gaining some popularity, in Poland there is the idea that Halloween is contrary to the respect for the dead and their memory.
The word “Zaduszki” comes from Dzień Zaduszny, which could be translated as day of prayer for the souls. This name was related to beggars who were asked to pray for the souls of the dead. All Souls’ Day is also known as Wspomnienie Wszystkich Wiernych Zmarłych, Święto Zmarłych or Dzień Zmarłych (which means “Day of the Dead”) – names that had been adopted during the socialism period in Poland, as they did not contain any reference to religion.
History
The feasts of the departed have been celebrated in a special way for centuries. Their rituals and customs date back to pagan times, and only in later centuries were they adapted into the Christian faith.
All Saints' Day is derived from the celebration of the martyrs who offered their lives for faith. In 610, Pope Boniface IV received from the Emperor the ancient pagan temple of the Pantheon, where he ordered numerous relics to be placed, and then consecrated this building to the Church of Our Lady of Martyrs. May 1 was named a memorial day for all deceased martyrs. Pope Gregory III in 731 transferred this celebration to November 1, and in 837 Pope Gregory IV recognized the day as a Feast of All Saints of the Catholic Church. It is considered a joyful day for the faithful – churches bells ring, the organ plays, and priests celebrate Mass in white, festive robes.
On November 2, there is a completely different mood – instruments are silent, the faithful say prayers for the souls suffering in purgatory, priests celebrate the liturgy in black robes and mention the names of the deceased during the so-called “gifts” (wypominki). The celebration of All Souls' Day in Christianity began in 998 by St. Odilon as a counterbalance to pagan rites where the souls of the dead were worshiped. In the 13th century, this tradition spread throughout the Catholic Church. While All Saints’ Day honors all those who are saved after death, All Souls' Day is devoted to prayers for the deceased awaiting final reconciliation with God. The origins in Poland date back to the 12th century. In the 15th century, Zaduszki was already known throughout the country
Pagan Origins
All Souls' Day celebrations are as old as humanity. The origins were in the pagan Slavic celebrations, which occurred four times a year. Initially, the Catholic Church reduced the number of death remembrance days to two per year, and then only one has been kept since the 10th century.
The Polish people from pagan centuries retained many beliefs related to Zaduszki. It was believed that the dead had the power to rise from their graves and come to earth as spirits at that time. People once said – “Ghosts from that world come to All Souls' Day.” It was believed all over Poland that on the night preceding All Souls' Day, the shadows of the dead come out in procession from the cemetery, go to a nearby church and listen to a mass celebrated by the deceased parish priest. The souls of deceased relatives and friends visited their old homes, so they could warm themselves and partake in the special meals prepared for them.
Various superstitions have traditionally surrounded this day. The beliefs are often frightening; some include that on the day of All Souls: the souls of the dead come to visit the living, asking that the living pray for them; bad weather signified a year of numerous deaths; if the sun did not shine, the following year would be filled with misfortune; and if trees are still fully covered with leaves, it will be a year of black death.
Church Practices
Christianity fought against pagan rituals and introduced other holidays in their place, and at the same time Christianized and adapted some of them. On this day, the Church prays for the salvation of souls undergoing penance in Purgatory. The existence of purgatory was proclaimed by the Church as a dogma at the Council of Lyons in 1274; at the twenty-fifth session of the Council of Trent (1545-1563), a decree was announced that the souls staying in it could be helped “by making their petitions before the throne of God.” Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI have declared that the term “purgatory” does not indicate a place, but a condition of existence.
The Western Church prays especially on this day for the suffering souls in Purgatory. Soul services are read out – evoking names and surnames of the deceased combined with a prayer for their intention. Each priest on that day is obliged to say three funeral Masses. One - for their own intentions, the second - for the intention of all the deceased, and the third - for the Holy Father.
In the past, processions of four stations were organized in cemeteries during Zaduszki. Mourning songs were sung, prayers were said, and the memory of the dead was honored. The procession ended at the fifth station in the Church.
With respect to the Grandfather
All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day in olden days could not take place without the prayers of Żebracy or Dziady (Beggars, Forefathers/Grandfathers) who, according to belief, had contact with the dead. Beggars, very mysterious people, coming out of nowhere and heading in an unknown direction have been treated with reserve for centuries. During their wanderings, they rubbed against various places and events, bringing the wisdom flowing from these experiences to thatched roofs. Their specific appearance and old age suggested the possibility of contact with the underworld or of seeing God’s face. The grandfathers' prayers were believed to be remarkably effective.
The special position of “begging grandfathers” was seen during All Souls' Day. At that time, they were given special favors and privileges. They were allowed to remain peacefully in church and in the cemetery, and they were treated with respect. Far from the affairs of the temporal world, they had time for contemplation, concentration, and prayers, which they prayed for the intentions communicated to them. For their special prayers, the “beggars” were given small amounts of money, food, and bread baked especially for this occasion. In some regions, even a special feast called chawtura, was held for them. Sometimes, it was believed that the ghost of a deceased ancestor might come in the form of a grandfather or a begging grandmother.
This celebration dates back to pagan times and was once called the Goat's Feast. Later the folk ritual was called Dziady. In Polish literature, the tradition was preserved by the national poet Adam Mickiewicz in his poetic drama Dziady (Forefather’s Eve). It is considered one of the greatest works of Polish and European Romanticism.
Folk Tradition
The cult of the dead, formed in the Church during the 9th to 11th centuries, contained ancient, archaic customs and rites for many centuries. These rituals and beliefs, and elements of pagan holidays, were preserved in the folk tradition until the 19th and early 20th centuries. As a general rule, it was accepted in the teaching of the Church that the dead, after having performed a cleansing penance, could intercede for the living in their earthly life, and also at the hour of death.
The deceased were devoted to the periods of the spring and autumn solstices. In those times, it was believed, the boundary between darkness and brightness and the world of the living would be blurred with the world of the dead, and that souls were to return to their homes and families. The ceremonies of that time were of waiting for the dead and communing with them – candles and fires were lit, and there were feasts at cemeteries.
Not only were the graves cleaned and tidied up, but also the houses, because it was believed that the souls of the dead would return that day to the places where they spent their entire lives. Gates, windows, and doors were left opened so that souls could enter the houses. A clean towel was hung, water, soap and a comb were put next to it, so that the souls could wash and groom themselves.
It was customary not to perform certain activities, so as not to hurt, crush or insult the soul visiting the house. It was forbidden to churn butter, trample down cabbage, spin, weave, thresh grain, pour out dishwater washes and spitting. In general, not undertaking any work and going to bed early was preferable during this time to not interfere with the activities of the spirits.
In 1923, ethnologist Adam Fischer published “The Feast of the Dead” – devoted to rites related to the cult of the dead, including culinary rites. Beggars or wandering storytellers – the Dziady were asked to pray for the souls of the dead, and in return they were offered ritual delicacies.
Depending on the region, soulful breads had different shapes, decorations, and names. It could be cakes, buns, or flatbreads. These baked goods were brought to the cemeteries, a custom that slowly disappeared after 1945. Fischer wrote that in the vicinity of Malbork, even the poorest family made cakes. In Dobrzyńsk, priests and grandmothers were given bread called peretycze. Long loaves of rye bread were brought to the cemetery near Inowrocław, and in the Mazowsze region, pancakes, groats and dried meat were offered.
In Kurpie, rye bread was baked and taken to the cemetery with pots of millet and buckwheat, boiled pork and bacon lard. Elsewhere, rye-flour dumplings were baked, and a piece of meat was put in each.
Ethnographer Oskar Kolberg noted that in Lublin, on All Souls' Eve, every housewife baked twaróg/quark cheese filled rolls, which were called powałki – because after taking them out of the oven, they cooled down on a special beam suspended from the kitchen ceiling. Each housewife brought as many rolls to the cemetery as the number of relatives buried there. They had an oblong shape and were decorated with an imprinted cross in the center or patterns that were favored by the deceased.
Long rolls called peretycze, peretyczki, or perebuszki were known around Ciechanów in north central Poland and in the Kurpie region. They were prepared from boiled potatoes, with the addition of flour, eggs, yeast and spices and could only be brought to the cemetery after being blessed by a priest.
In Kujawy and southern Pomorze, full carts of “empty rolls” were brought to the cemeteries, which were intended for nameless souls, about whom either no one remembered or the people closest to them also had died. They were handed out to beggars.
In Żarki, near Częstochowa, groats were produced, and therefore for several hundred years there has been a tradition of baking bread made of buckwheat flour. Tatarczuch is dark and sweet. Apart from buckwheat flour, milk, water, and yeast are added to it. When the leaven rises, the dough is put on trays and baked in a bread oven for two hours. Today, it is registered in the list of regional and traditional products of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Our pre-Slavic ancestors already believed in life after human death and in the mysterious world of the dead, governed by its own rules. They believed, above all, in the superhuman knowledge and power of the dead, and in the fact that they can influence the fate of living people. Finally, they believed that at certain times of the year the spirits of the dead were to leave the afterlife and be invisible among the living or come to them during sleep.
In the vicinity of Mielec, it was believed that if one had a dream about the deceased, it was a sign that help was needed from the living; one should pray for them and make a gift offering.
Feeding souls
In traditional cultures, such as Poland, food had a cultural, even ritualistic dimension. Until the beginning of the 20th century, there were many rituals in the Polish countryside related to the preparation of food and feeding the souls of the of the visiting deceased. All the dishes, together with a bottle of vodka, were left on the tables and the door of the house was opened for the night so that the souls of the dead could visit in peace and eat their fill.
In Pomorze, it was common practice to leave the favorite food of deceased household members on the doorstep and on the windowsill. In the morning, no remains of food were to be found which inevitably meant a visit and a feast of guests from the afterlife, or the work of household animals.
All Souls’ fasting closely resembled Christmas Eve, and was strictly observed. It was forbidden to eat meat, and the main dishes were cabbage, barszcz and dumplings. It was not carried to the cemetery because it came from the world of the living. On the eve of the day of the dead, special bread and dumplings were baked, broad beans and groats were cooked. In the eastern territories of Poland, the custom of preparing a special grain-honey kutia for this occasion was known. During the next day, all these dishes were taken to the cemetery and placed on the graves, and a few drops of vodka were poured over them.
In the past, after visiting the graves of the deceased, family members would return home together to dine on seven dishes that were “shared” with the dead souls visiting Earth – again, the windows and doors were left open to facilitate their arrival and departure.
Light for souls
Another group of customs were the rites related to fire. It was believed that, in addition to food, the departed souls needed light to find their way home through the darkness and warmth to warm up. Therefore, during holidays, special bonfires (grumadki) were lit at crossroads, at cemeteries and on the graves of relatives of the deceased. Fires were also burned on the graves of suicides and those who died tragically. The twigs and wood for such fires were laid all year round. The fire from these graves had a cleansing power, and gave protection against evil powers and spirits, who were very often present on the graves of suicides.
The rituals associated with burning fires have long been forgotten, the only manifestation of them today is the burning of candles on the graves of loved ones. Many have the conviction that after the death, not everything dies inside us. By lighting candles, the shadows of the dead will walk away from the cemeteries. These special candles (znicze) can burn anywhere from 24 hours to a week, depending on their size. At night, during the week following All Saints’ Day, they give the cemeteries of Poland a glow that can be seen from many miles away.
Today, many folk customs are no longer practiced, yet the most important and much needed memory of our deceased relatives remains. Displayed in a Zakopane cemetery is the sentence – Ojczyzna to ziemia i groby. Narody, tracąc pamięć, tracą życie (The homeland is land and graves. Nations lose their lives by losing their memory).
“May perpetual light shine upon them…” Prayers for the dead waft to the heavens.
Zaduszki: the Most Mystical Night of the Year
Polish American Journal, October 2020
