Photo by Michał Tulinski
The Canadian Polish Congress (CPC), initially created under the name Federation of Polish Society in 1933, was founded to join the various Polish groups in Canada, as well as to acknowledge notable Polish lifetime achievements.
According to the 2011 census, the CPC caters to 1,010,705 people of Polish descent and their mandate is to consolidate, organize and unify Polish groups in Canada.
Building Vancouver
According to the CPC, much of the Polish immigration to Canada occurred before and between World Wars I and II. Polish engineers were brought to Canada during World War II to help in war efforts, marking an important part of Polish-Canadian heritage – building, designing and engineering in Canada. Polish Engineer Bogue Babicki played a large part in the building of the Vancouver Law Courts, UBC Thunderbird Stadium, the Museum of Anthropology and Science World (designed as the Expo 86 preview centre).
From Holy Saturday to Wet Monday
A performance from members of Vancouver Polish Theatre. | Photo courtesy of Vancouver Polish Theatre
Polish heritage in Vancouver goes further than engineering and architecture, as many Easter traditions have their roots in Polish and other Slavic cultures. the most popular being painted Easter eggs. On Holy Saturday, or Wielka Sobota, Polish people, among many others who now also practice this widespread tradition, paint hard-boiled eggs, or pisanki.
Although this and other Easter traditions are celebrated according to the Western Roman Catholic Calendar, rites passages and traditions such as this one are also heavily influenced by pagan tradition.
Rita Findlay, board member of Polish Friendship “Zgoda” Society, notes the most important activity on Holy Saturday is preparing the Święconka feast.
“The most important event of Wielka Sobota (Holy Saturday) is when Poles go to bless the food at the Święconka. No matter what life throws at you, to not have the Święconka on Easter is inconceivable,” says Findlay.
The idea of an Easter basket is sometimes thought as one for kids, filled with chocolate goodies or for an Easter egg hunt, but for the Polish it involves bringing a basket of sausage, butter, cakes and other foods to be blessed and eaten after mass.
The last festive day is Wet Monday, or lany poniedziałek, which originally involved boys and men splashing women they liked with water. Now, the day is more commonly known as Śmigus-Dyngus, Śmigus referring to the water splashing itself, and Dyngus meaning “ransom,” referring to the act of a girl offering an Easter egg in exchange for not being splashed.
While Śmigus-Dyngus is not as commonly or widely celebrated in Vancouver as other Easter traditions, Findlay says the risk of getting splashed still exists if one isn’t careful.
“My husband, who is not Polish, did not know the tradition of Śmigus-Dyngus until one Monday when he woke up with a surprise! You can imagine my husband’s surprise when he woke up to a cold glass water on Śmigus-Dyngus,” says Findlay.
On April 22 to 23, the Vancouver Polish Theatre will be debuting Kantata Na Cztery Skrzydła (Kantata for Four Wings) at the Evergreen Cultural Centre in Coquitlam. Described as a “comedy with elements of horror,” the piece will be performed in Polish with English subtitles.
For information, visit www.kpkbritishcolumbia.com or www.polishcommunitycentre.com.
For more information on Kantata Na Cztery Skrzydła, visit www.polishtheatrevancouver.ca.
