lamus-dworski: ‘Pająk’ and ‘dziad wigilijny’, old elements of Christmas

lamus-dworski: ‘Pająk’ and ‘dziad wigilijny’, old elements of Christmas decorations from Polish countryside, which origins can be dated to pre-Christian customs. Pająk is a protective decoration made of straw, decorated with colorful elements for example stripes of paper. It was hanging down from a ceiling in cottages in order to protect the household and its inhabitants, and to bring luck and prosperity to the house. They were prepared for various feasts throughout the year. I described them in more details in this article. Dziad wigilijny is a dry sheaf, neatly tied together. It was made out of the very last stalks of grain cut from the family’s crop field during the harvest season. The whole process of cutting and tying of the so-called ‘last grain’ was done in a ritual manner, and the sheaf was carefully stored until December. This decoration had many symbolic meanings. It symbolized the householders’ ancestors who can’t celebrate with the family anymore (the word ‘dziad’ means literally a grandfather or an old man), and ensures a strong protection of the house. The dziad wigilijny was often put on a chair and sat by the table for the Christmas Eve to ‘dine’ with the family as a reminescent of those who passed away. It often had its own spoon and bowl, and a remnant of that old custom is the Polish tradition of leaving an empty seat usually with a whole set of dishes by the table on the Christmas Eve, nowadays said to be left for an ‘unexpected guest’ (more about the Polish Christmas Eve customs here). Straw as such was used in many protective decorations and rituals of old-Slavic origins in Poland. It was often treated as a ‘magical barrier’ during various celebrations throughout the year. Straw was believed to have strong protective powers, the best if it was collected and dried by the user themself. All the elements mentioned survived on the Polish countryside up until the first half of 20th century, syncretized with the customs related to Christmas and other holidays. Photos taken in Sanok Ethnography Museum © Paweł Bialic. -- source link
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