ST. ANDREW’S DAY ST. ANDREW’S DAY IN POLANDIN POLAND

Sandra DąbrowskaSandra Dąbrowska

ANDRZEJKIANDRZEJKI is the day of St. Andrew’s, who is the saint patron of Scotland, Greece, and Russia.

In Poland, the holiday is celebrated on the night the 29th to 30th of

November. Traditionally, the holiday was only celebreted by

young single girls, though today both young men and women join the party to predict their future.

HOT, MELTED WAXHOT, MELTED WAXOne of the most popular Polish traditions

performed by the young girls during the St. Andrew’s Night is pouring hot,

melted wax through a keyhole into a bowl of cold water.

After the wax has set solid, it is held up against the

light and its shadow cast on the wall must be

specified to predict the future. Usually the only

light comes from a candle, which not only helps to

read from the shadow but also to keep a mysterious

atmosphere of the evening.

While guessing the girl’s future for the upcoming year, it’s best to

observe the shape of the shadow from different angles.

SHADOWS SHADOWS DICTIONARY:DICTIONARY:

A heart or a man – loveA star – prosperity and

happy lifeA flower – nice surprise

A ring – engagementAn owl, a fox or a house -

danger

SHOESSHOESAnother popular Andrzejki game that involves

unmarried young women is shoe- lining. Participants line their shoes up in a straight

line one after the other starting from the back of a room. After all the shoes are lined up, the person at the end takes their shoe and puts it

at the front of the line, and so on, until someone's shoe reaches the door. It's believed

that the owner of the first shoe to cross the threshold will be the first one to get married.

The second prediction is done by throwing a left shoe from the

middle of the room by the arm. If the shoe falls down facing the

door, its owner will get married soon.

NOTES UNDER THE PILLOWNOTES UNDER THE PILLOW

The most popular

prediction for women was

putting pieces of paper

with male names on them

under the pillow the

evening before St.

Andrews’.

First thing in the morning the girl would take

one piece out, and check the name on it. That

would be the one of her future husband.

THE FUTURETHE FUTURE

Apart from these, there was a draw

for the objects with symbolic

meaning, and the object you've

chosen (like money for richness,

book for wisdom, ring for marriage,

etc.) were to decide about your

future.

DREAMSDREAMS Dreams are also

important during

that night.

Remember them as

they might be

revealing what the

next year would be

like.

APPLE PEELS APPLE PEELS

Each girl taking part gets

one apple. All of them

must peel the fruit. The

girl with the longest

peeling wins and she will

have the longest

relationship with her

boyfriend.

Next is throwing one’s peeling over the arm. The other

participant guesses the shape that the peeling gets. If it is

a letter of an alphabet, that will suggest the initial letter of the future boyfriend’s name.

OTHER BELIEVES OTHER BELIEVES

In another game, a scarf, a ribbon, and a rosary are placed separately under three plates. A girl, with

her eyes blindfolded, turns around three times

while other girls rearrange the plates. If she draws a scarf, a scarf, it means marriagemarriage; a a ribbon ribbon - single for single for

another yearanother year; rosaryrosary - becomes a spinster or becomes a spinster or

a nuna nun.

ANOTHER WAY TO FORTUNE-ANOTHER WAY TO FORTUNE-TELLINGTELLING

In another traditional way of fortune telling, girls stand in a circle leaning over a bowl

of water with a small floating walnut shell containing a tiny

lighted candle. Each girl pastes a slip of paper with

the name of a favored young man on the inside edge of the

bowl above the water. To whichever name the lighted candle sailed to and burnt, a marriage proposal from him

could be expected.

PINSPINSFor that predicion we need 7 or 13 pins. We

must put them in a cup, shake them and throw them out on the table. Secondly,

we read the letter built by spill pins.

MEANING OF PINS:MEANING OF PINS:

A A – trip or removalE E – happiness in love and workHH – marriageKK – succes at workLL – be carefulTT – help of friendsWW – be afraid - the cheater round the

corner VV – somebody wants to use youXX – happiness

DATE OF BIRTHDATE OF BIRTHDate of birth must be expressed in one number, which will be the

sum of the whole date , for example :

21.01.1996 2+1+0+1+1+9+9+ 6 =

29 2+9 = 11

1+1= 22

MEANING OF NUMBERS: MEANING OF NUMBERS: 11 – Ambitious2 2 – Gentle33 – Trustworthy4 4 – Obstinate and sentimental55 – Cheerful6 6 – Social7 7 – Romantic8 8 – Underestimated99 – Independent

But whether you believe in fortune-telling or not, today Andrzejki is

mainly about having fun with your friends and enjoying your youth -

while you still have it!