114/365: Eggs for Easter

114/365: Eggs for Easter, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

April 24th

In Poland, on Easter Sunday, the first thing you eat is a slice of boiled egg. You go from person to person, wishing them a happy Easter...and whatever else you want them to be blessed with.

Then you get to eat everything else.

113/365: Family and assorted friends

113/365: Family and assorted friends, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

April 23rd

From left to right: Marcin, the Porzeziński Family (note Tosia hiding in the background), my dad, my mum, my sister and her boyfriend, imported from Barcelona.

In the photo, they are all standing by the Dominican Order Church, with their Easter Baskets in hand. Every year on Good Saturday, we take baskets filled with samples of the Easter meal to church where a priest blesses them:

They're a symbol of all the food that will be on our table that year. It's like saying grace before a meal, but with a long-term warranty.

Afterwards we go look at the grave in the church (where I don't take photos because people are praying) and then we fill a bottle with holy water from a barrel set out on the church steps:

Oh, and here's a bonus. My sister has a new boyfriend- David from Barcelona. Here they are in real life....

...and in egg form.

I am told he painted her and she painted him.

112/365: Mazurki

112/365: Mazurki, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

April 22nd

Also some babas and wine, and a poppyseed cake. We made less than usual this year, because half the usual guests are over in Finland where my half-brother's daughter's husband relocated with his family to work on building a powerplant. So no great-grand-nephew or great-grand-niece will eat these, alas. Well, more for me!

94/365: The Resurrection

94/365: The Resurrection, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

April 4th

Blackfriars in procession for the Resurrection (though since Christ has risen, they have symbolically thrown off their black cloaks and appear in white). The liturgy began at half past eight on April 3rd- this photo was taken five hours later, just after one am as the bells tolled for the rising of Christ. As the final part of the ceremony, the host is carried outside along with light from the new Paschal candle, as a symbol of the Saviour's return, and (unfortunately for any non-religious neighbours) the community is encouraged to make as much noise as possible to announce the good news. Many people carry their own little bells for that purpose.

The Paschal Vigil at the church of the Dominican Order of Preachers is a very special event. Thousands of people show up every year, which is remarkable considering the liturgy lasts about five hours, and you need to be there a good hour early to get seats.

The appeal is not only in the Dominican fathers' challenging and intelligent sermons and the warmth of this enormous, once-a-year community, but also in the mere artistic value of the ceremony. Their choir is impeccable, and they are accompanied by a wide range of instruments, from the traditional organ to djembe drums, cello and harp. This musical combination is incredibly moving, especially during the baptism of the catechumens.

For several years now the Dominican church in Służew has also been home to a Korean community, and they too take part in the liturgy singing hymns in their native tongue. They are unbelievable. I would challenge the hardiest atheist not to feel a tingle run down their spine when the soloists sing.

The Dominicans are a popular order, known for their wholesome approach to life and their many engaging youth programs and endeavours to promote the evolution of soul and mind alike. They're renowned for their intellect and openness. They're quality. And perhaps a little bit crazy, but that's not entirely a bad thing ;)

93/365: Blessing the food

93/365: Blessing the food, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

April 3rd

Święconka is a Polish Easter tradition, where on Good Saturday we take a basket of food to church for a blessing. The most common traditional basket contains eggs, meat, cake, bread, salt and pepper, horseradish and beetrot sauce, and a sugar lamb. They represent all the food we will eat on Easter Morning, after the Resurrection. Children in particular like Święconka as they are usually the ones to carry a little basket. I still use the same basket I brought to church when I was very small, I wouldn't have any other.

(later my cat Radesh broke into the dining room and stole all the meat from my basket. Which is just as well since I don't really eat meat anymore anyway...)

92/365: A cross of light for JP2

92/365: A cross of light for JP2, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

April 2nd

This cross of lamps was set up as part of the last station for the city's Stations of the Cross procession, on Piłsudski square where John Paul II spoke on his first visit home after becoming Pope. By a moving coincidence this year Good Friday falls on the anniversary of his death, and the Stations left later than usual as they were timed to arrive at the square close to 21:37, the hour of his death. We were there an hour earlier but we stopped to light a candle.

91/365: Mazurek

91/365: Mazurek, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

April 1st

500 grams of flour
250 grams of butter
150 grams of powder sugar
3 egg yolks

Mix the flour and butter until it has the consistency of breadcrumbs
Mix in the sugar and egg yolks until you have a dough. If it is too dry, add a little cream.
Wrap up in cellophane, refrigerate for about an hour.

This is your pie and cookie dough. Roll it out thin, and be careful that it doesn't burn in the oven. And let the crusts cool before you take them out of the pans and pour in the filling.

The filling is chocolate, and you're on your own there- it's a matter of preference. The general rule is to sit a pot inside a saucepan of simmering water, and melt down a combination of dark and milk chocolate. You can add nutella, you can add fudge spread- just be careful that it doesn't get too hot and start clumping.

Pour it into the pie crusts, shake them gently to spread it evenly. And then start decorating.

For the above I used mini choux, green pumpkin seeds, almonds, milk dragees, and a cookie.

Done? Congratulations, you have just made a traditional Polish Easter cake, the mazurek. But you can't eat any of it until after the Resurrection!

The idea is to get creative with your decorating. As a child I used to play with cookies and that horriffic coloured icing which comes in little tubes and requires samsonic force to be squeezed out...until somewhere around 2007 I discovered seeds.

Seeds look classy. They look sophisticated. They look rustic, quaint, traditional.

They taste better than the icing. Although I did make some of my own almost-royal icing this year and used it on some of the cakes- particularly those with no nuts, meant for my sister who claims nuts make her sick. Also, if I get too comfortable with the seeds my mother complains that there are 'no crazy mazurki'...

So, for your appreciation, here are all the Easter treats we baked this year:

...and in 2009...

...and in 2008.

How's that to make your mouth water?

Here, I made a flickr set with ALL of my mazurki pictures from the last three years.

87/365: Palm Sunday

87/365: Palm Sunday, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

March 28th

Palm Sunday is the last Sunday before Easter. It commemorates the day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem, and people greeted him by waving palm fronds and crying out 'Hosanna!'.

In Poland, we do not have palm trees. We do, however, have extremely rich folk traditions which date back to pre-Christian times, and which have largely survived in the Catholic custom. Such a tradition is weaving palms for Palm Sunday, and it is most alive in the colourful Northeastern region of Kurpie.

Only there will you find such elaborate palms made out of crepe paper and dried flowers, so tall that they cannot be carried upright. The village of Łyse, which I visited this year, is one of those that hold a contest for the tallest and most beautiful palm. People from all over the region work hard for the fourty days of Lent to make their entries.

The day begins with a mass and a procession (both of which I unfortunately missed as the bus left late) and is then occasion for a market where the locals sell their handmade wares- palms, painted eggs, lacework, pottery, carvings, as well as regional food such as honey, bread, meats and beer.

But be not mistaken. These palms are not only a testament to the rich folklore of Kurpie, but also a sign of religious devotion. Palm Sunday does not mark the beginning of a feast, nor is it a festival, but is the first day of the week in which the Christian God was killed by the very people who first greeted him with such joy. These amazing palms are first and foremost an offering to Jesus and a hope that we may be strong enough not to betray Him again and again as his first followers did, and we have no doubt done many times in our lives.

You can see more photos from my trip to Kurpie in this Flickr set.