03/05/2025
Popielec, or Ash Wednesday, is the day when ashes are sprinkled upon the heads of worshippers in the churches of Poland.
This ceremony is well known to Roman Catholics, yet it might seem strange to others. On Wednesday, the first day of Lent, during mass, priest sprinkles parishioners’ heads with ashes and says the words from the Bible ‘From dust you have come and to dust you will return’ or ‘repent and believe in the Gospel’.
This rite is not only performed in Poland, but in practically every Catholic church in the world. The only difference is that in Africa and the United States Catholic priests do not sprinkle the head with ashes, but instead draw the sign of the cross in ashes on the forehead.
Interestingly, Greek Catholics do not have such a tradition at all, but it is seen in some Protestant churches.
According to polls, around 85% of
Polish citizens are Catholic. The tradition of going to church on Popielec, or Ash Wednesday, is alive here and very popular. Despite the fact that the Wednesday Lent begins is a work day, Poles still tend to go to church en masse on Popielec and take part in the rite.
Once, this day was called Introductory Wednesday (Wstępna Środa). Often Poles would celebrate and enjoy themselves all day. Then at night they would go to church where ashes would be sprinkled on their heads and the 40-day fast would begin.
The tradition is different now. On this day, the church asks parishioners to observe a strict fast, all partying and holidays must end on Tuesday. In a few regions of Poland, it was once common to eat a special Lenten version of ‘żurek’ soup on Ash Wednesday, however today few Poles make this soup for this occasion.
There is still another forgotten tradition connected with the beginning of Lent. A few centuries ago a holiday known as ‘mid-Lent’ was observed in Polish villages. On the day when the first half of Lent was over, boys would run through the village, banging wooden blocks together and would break clay pots filled with ashes on the doors of the houses. For this reason, ’mid-Lent’ is also often called the Day of Broken Pots.
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