Śmigus-dyngus

This is accompanied by a number of other rituals, such as making verse declarations and holding door-to-door processions, in some regions involving boys dressed as bears or other creatures.

It continues to be observed throughout Central Europe and also in the United States, where certain patriotic American elements have been added to the traditional Polish ones.

[5] The occurrence of the celebration across the West Slavic nations of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia but also non-Slavic Hungary suggests a common origin in pagan religion.

This would be symbolically drenched in water and kept over the winter until its grain was mixed with the seed corn in the spring to ensure a successful harvest.

[6] Some have suggested that the use of water is an allusion to the baptism of Mieszko I, the Duke of West Polans (c. 935–992) in AD 966, uniting all of Poland under the banner of Christianity.

Deborah Anders Silverman writes that "The Easter whipping custom still exists in Central Europe; Laszlo Lukacs cites variants in Poland, Hungary, and Germany.

Whipping and other Dyngus Day customs are seldom observed in the older Polish communities of the United States, some of which date from the 1880s.

[12] In some regions, girls could save themselves from a soaking by giving boys "ransoms" of painted eggs (pisanki), regarded as magical charms that would bring good harvests, successful relationships and healthy childbirths.

They were blessed by priests on Palm Sunday, following which parishioners whipped each other with the pussy willow branches, saying Nie ja bije, wierzba bije, za tydzień, wielki dzień, za sześć noc, Wielkanoc ("It's not me who strikes, the willow strikes, in a week, holy day, in six nights, Easter").

The pussy willows were then treated as sacred charms that could prevent lightning strikes, protect animals and encourage honey production.

Then from a window would come the reply that Zośka is not frightened because Jasiek stands beside her with a bottle of whiskey to buy off all assailants and ransom her off from the penalty.

A parade of boys would take part in a march known as chodzenie po dyngusie – "going on the dyngus" – or z kogutkiem – "with the cockerel", a reference to the use of a live bird, usually taken without permission and stuffed with grain soaked in vodka to make him crow loudly.

[16] In some regional variants of po dyngusie, the boys would march through the village with one of their number dressed as a bear with a bell on his head – either wearing a real bearskin or a stand-in made of pea vines.

Girls had their own version of po dyngusie in which they would go from door to door carrying a freshly cut green branch or gaj, seeking food and singing songs welcoming the "new year" that followed Easter: Our green little tree, beautifully decked Goes everywhere For it is proper that it should We go with it to the manor house Wishing good fortune, good health For this new year Which God has given us.

There is an interesting parallel in the name of the tradition, locsolás or öntözés, which means "watering" because the girl is allegorically compared to a budding flower.

In Hungary, the pussy willow was also thought to have magical properties, such as hail divination and lightning protection, but it was not associated with the holiday.

Sometimes the locsolkodás is done in costumes, in Galgamácsa for example, the youth would wear white masks while circle dancing (maskurázás), though this tradition is more common on Shrove Tuesdays.

The text of the poem was often a playful threat.Ajtó megett állok Piros tojást várok, Ha nem adtok lányok

Mind a kútba hánylak.Which roughly translates to: I stand at the door Waiting for Red eggs, If you don't give them to me, girls

In recent years, diaspora Slovakians have made feminist complaints, regarding the dousing as a "stressful" reinforcement of gender roles.

These customs, "once believed to purify the soul and body, are the remnants of a complex system of Slovak folk traditions based around the seasons of the year."

The holiday is celebrated the Monday following Easter as "a day of folk traditions," with emphasis on its "secular," or at least pre-Christian, origins.

[31] Party-goers dress up in the white-and-red colors of the Polish flag and carry balloons saying "Happy Dyngus Day" in English.

[37] Dyngus Day in Macedon, New York, and its sister village Hoosick Falls, is celebrated with a town festival and folk dressed along Appian Way.

Notable politicos who have celebrated Dyngus Day in South Bend include Robert F. Kennedy; former Governor Joe Kernan; Senator Evan Bayh; former Congressman and New York University President John Brademas; former Maryland Lt.

Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend; former Congressman, 9/11 Commission member and former Ambassador to India Timothy J. Roemer; former President Bill Clinton; the famous philanthropist Thomas A.

[38] Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 appearance was marked by his downtown rally attended by a crowd of over 6,000, his participation in the Dyngus Day parade, and his leading of the crowds at the West Side Democratic Club in the traditional Polish well-wishing song Sto Lat (phonetic: 'sto laht') which means [may you live] "100 years".

Dumps are accompanied by light slaps by a twig from the courtyard tree, and a volunteering Senior reads a Dyngus Day poem (as songs are banned during dinner).