Celebrating Halloween is a very popular tradition around the world. It has been a vital part of Irish tradition since as early as the 10th century and from that time it has been spreading around and gaining fame in a multitude of different countries. Yet, in Poland still hardly anyone dresses up and goes trick-or-treating. Moreover, many people, mainly the elderly, find kids going door-to-door asking for sweets quite annoying and disturbing.
The reason for this aversion towards Halloween probably derives from the traditional christian character of our country – in the past dressing up as ghosts and monsters was considered a dangerous pagan ritual. That belief has been passed on though the ages and has stuck deeply in the conscience of the Poles. Another factor is that we were always more focused on celebrating All Saints Day, which in our culture is a very melancholic and pensive holiday, so it doesn’t correspond well with the festive and joyful character of Halloween.
Fortunately, as the world becomes more and more of a „global village”, we start to notice that celebrating Halloween couldn’t be further from being a mockery of the dead. In fact, it constitutes mainly of great fun for both children and adults. Each year on October 31st all sorts of parties and events spring up like mushrooms around the country. Even some schools organize dances for their students. Although trick-or-treating still isn’t very common, we can see occasional groups of kids in costumes going around the houses in their neighborhoods.
Hopefully, Halloween will finally manage to get rid of its bad reputation in Poland. It is undoubtedly an event which is able to bond the society together. And it also has one extremely important advantage: it helps us get through the gloomy days of autumn with smiles on our faces.
Here is a video I took while at a Halloween party at the New Hampshire farm. This party was during the day – kid’s friendly. I had a great time with my little girls and I wish parties like that would be more popular in Poland!
Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)
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My name is Kasia Scontsas. I grew near Lublin, Poland and moved to Warsaw to study International Business. I have passion for languages: any languages! Currently I live in New Hampshire. I enjoy skiing, kayaking, biking and paddle boarding. My husband speaks a little Polish, but our daughters are fluent in it! I wanted to make sure that they can communicate with their Polish relatives in our native language. Teaching them Polish since they were born was the best thing I could have given them!
I have been writing about learning Polish language and culture for Transparent Language’s Polish Blog since 2010.
Comments:
seamus:
dressing up and trick nor treat is an American invention, feck all to do with Ireland.
Joob:
@seamus Do your homework, Seamus:
“In North America, trick-or-treating has been a Halloween tradition since the late 1920s. In Britain and Ireland the tradition of going house-to-house collecting food at Halloween goes back at least as far as the 16th century, as had the tradition of people wearing costumes at Halloween. In 19th century Britain and Ireland, there are many accounts of people going house-to-house in costume at Halloween, reciting verses in exchange for food, and sometimes warning of misfortune if they were not welcomed.”
Kasia:
I so appreciate your comments. My heritage is Polish and Irish, and I grew up with the celebrations of the Irish nuns. I was therefore puzzled when the Polish nuns whom I came to know in LA, were do downcast about this celebration. Now my son-in-law also belongs to a Church that looks down at Halloween. Since it’s always been such a happy celebration, I say Here’s to Halloween, and hope that my granddaughters can eventually feel the joy of it. Thanks.
Shreenith Naik:
When is Halloween celebrated in Poland? I’m planning to visit Poland in 2 days and I really wish not to miss the Halloween night
SkinnyCatGirl:
I did not see anything to help me with school but thank you for your help.
Comments:
seamus:
dressing up and trick nor treat is an American invention, feck all to do with Ireland.
Joob:
@seamus Do your homework, Seamus:
“In North America, trick-or-treating has been a Halloween tradition since the late 1920s. In Britain and Ireland the tradition of going house-to-house collecting food at Halloween goes back at least as far as the 16th century, as had the tradition of people wearing costumes at Halloween. In 19th century Britain and Ireland, there are many accounts of people going house-to-house in costume at Halloween, reciting verses in exchange for food, and sometimes warning of misfortune if they were not welcomed.”
Kasia:
I so appreciate your comments. My heritage is Polish and Irish, and I grew up with the celebrations of the Irish nuns. I was therefore puzzled when the Polish nuns whom I came to know in LA, were do downcast about this celebration. Now my son-in-law also belongs to a Church that looks down at Halloween. Since it’s always been such a happy celebration, I say Here’s to Halloween, and hope that my granddaughters can eventually feel the joy of it. Thanks.
Shreenith Naik:
When is Halloween celebrated in Poland? I’m planning to visit Poland in 2 days and I really wish not to miss the Halloween night
SkinnyCatGirl:
I did not see anything to help me with school but thank you for your help.