Getting married might be one of the most popular dreams of many women and men out there, the possibility to spend the rest of your life with the person you love the most is something that motivates a lot of people.
But let’s face it, many people who are still single they feel that they will spend the rest of their life alone and with 10 cats, even though they are only 25 years old. Those people will look for help and make the impossible to find the boy/girl of their dreams and accomplish that dream of getting married.
In Poland, there is a day during the year where all of your priers of getting married will be heard. This day is on November 30th, when St. Andrew’s Day (Andrzejki in Polish) is celebrated.
What Andrzejki Celebration is in Poland
St. Andrew’s Day is celebrated in some countries around the world, especially in Russia, Scotland and Greece, but in Poland this day has a slightly different meaning.
It is believed that on this day, Saint Andrew can help young unmarried women to find their future husband! But in recent years, this tradition is not exclusively for women, young men have also started to ask for help to St. Andrew. But originally the day to find love for men is on Katarzynki which is on November 25th.
When Andrzejki is Celebrated
This celebration starts on the night of the 29th of November and it continues till November 30th (St. Andrew’s Day).
The tradition has been remembered and celebrated since 1557. This day also marks the beginning of Advent, which is when catholic people start preparing for the Christmas celebration.
How Poles Celebrate Andrzejki
Everything started centuries ago, when Poles wanted to predict their future with the help of St. Andrew. It was believed in those days that the spirits of the ancestors were the most accessible, because they descended back to earth during this time.
In order to call the spirits and discover if a girl will get married next year, a widow, unmarried woman, or divorcee required to be in the same room in order to light thirteen candles and this would call the spirits into the room, and the future would be revealed!
Nowadays this is different, on the night of November 29th, a group of friends (only girls with girls or only boys with boys) meet somewhere in order to discover their future in terms of love. Normally, it’s just a friendly meeting, even some parties are organized in order to do it more interesting and fun.
Polish Customs to Predict the Future
It is said that there are hundreds of different ways to predict the future on this day, but there are a few predictions that are the most popular and the most effective ones to find your perfect half.
1. Using Hot Wax to Predict the Future
This is the most popular prediction tool during Andrzejki, you need 3 things to make this work: Hot wax, a key and a bowl full of water.
What you need to do is to pour the hot wax into the water, but the wax must be poured through the hole in the key (if not it won’t work)! Then, when the wax is cooling in the water, a shape will be starting to form. When it’s cold you just need to hold that form in front of a light and in its shadow you will see the appearance of your future husband!
2. Throw Apple Skins
This prediction is exclusively for girls. In a room, the girls need to peel the skins from apples and then they need to throw them over their shoulders, when they do this the apple’s skins might form a letter, and this means that this will be the first letter of their future husband’s name!
3. Shoe Race
This might be the funniest and easiest prediction technique.
What you need to do is the following: In the room, all of the attendants must take off their shoes, then you need to locate the furthest wall from the main door, and each person must put one shoe at a time in front of each other in the direction of the main door. All of the attendants have to do this, until the first show crosses the doorstep! The owner of this shoe will be the person who will get married first!
4. The Magic Pillow
This one is an ancient prediction technique and is not that popular nowadays but it is interesting. Before the girls go to sleep, they have to write down names of boys, each name on a different piece of paper, then they need to put all of those papers under their pillow. When they wake up the next morning, the girls have to take out only one piece of paper, and this will reveal the name of their future husband!
5. Picking the Name From a Card
This is really simple, you basically have to write on a piece of paper in a shape of a hearth all possible male/female names that you know. When you are done you need to ask one of your friends, and he/she needs to make a hole in the other side of the paper. The name which is closer to that hole will be your future husband or wife!
If You Are Single Don’t Worry… Just Come to Poland During Andrzejki
I know that finding a girlfriend or a boyfriend is not easy, so in case you really need divine help just come to Poland during the last days of November and you might find the love of your life! Who knows, maybe you will stay in Poland forever and ever just like me! :)
1 Comment
Interesting. Never knew anything about St. Andrews Day. Thanks for sharing.