This celebration technically took place yesterday, but I’ve been so busy celebrating Midsummer in all its many incarnations since last week, that the fact that I mentioned absolutely nothing about it on the blog has simply escaped my attention. I beg your forgiveness, and I promise we’ll do better next year, OK?
In the meantime, and better late than never, let me tell you about this, and incidentally - not so unique, Polish way of celebrating Midsummer.
First of all, we don’t call it Midsummer in Poland. It’s either “noc świętojańska” or “sobótki” (yes, in plural) or “sobótka” (yes, singular, take your pick). Some people claim it’s also known as “noc Kupały” but personally, I’ve never heard this expression until very recently.
The celebration is as old as the human civilization itself, and it turns out that different cultures in the northern hemisphere celebrate it not all that differently. Of course, as most celebrations these days, this one also has its origins in ancient pagan rituals. Then, when Europe adopted Christianity, in most places the occasion became known as “Feast of St. John the Baptist”*. New name, new image, yet the way it’s been celebrated throughout the centuries hasn’t really changed all that much.
So, how do Poles celebrate noc świętojańska? With bonfires, of course! The bigger the better. And some crazy people even jump over them. Supposedly for good luck, but really… more like for a long stay in a burn unit of your favorite hospital.
My most fond memory of noc świętojańska was hunting (because if you have a bunch of kids doing it, it can’t be called “looking”) for a blooming fern (fern flower – kwiat paproci) when I was a child. Yes, I know, I know, ferns don’t bloom, never have and never will, but it’s tradition and all that. Luckily for the kids, and in the name of tradition, our parents had the good sense to decorate a mighty fern with paper flowers, candies, lollipops and hide it in the woods. Leave some clues around, let a bunch of kids loose and you have a full-blown treasure hunt on your hands. Oddly enough, nobody ever got lost during this activity, at least not for longer than a couple of hours.
After the fern flower hunt, it was time for wianki (singular – wianek)– flower wreaths with a candle stuck in the middle. You light the candle and let the whole thing float away on a body of water of your choosing. This is a strictly ladies (some even say – unmarried ladies only) activity. Depending on the region (or even the country – different Slavic lands have different interpretation of this) this has something to do either with getting a guy’s attention, or getting married, or finding out who you’re going to marry, or as my grandma claimed – wishing for a long, fruitful life (which I suppose has everything to do with who you’ll marry, after all).
Then you gather around the bonfire with a stack of sausages and cases of alcohol and party the night away. This one is an equal opportunity party – both guys and girls are welcome, in fact – the more the merrier. And this is when the jumping takes place.
I’ve always used to say that Midsummer depresses me – after all what’s there to celebrate? The fact that now the days are going to get shorter? But I remember those traditional celebrations very fondly and honestly, I’m kind of sad I’m too old for the fern hunt now. Ah, such is life…
* and yes, this is the origin of the Polish name as well – noc świętojańska. “Święto” comes from święty – saint (as in Saint John the Baptist) and “jańska” comes from Jan - John (as in John the Baptist). See? Same, same!
Image: wikipedia
