DEE,
DYNGUS,, As A kid we took willow branches and ever so softly we beat the legs of our Ciotkas,.and they gave us pennies...(Never did know why)
DYNGUS
ODyngusy, Chodzenie z kogutem*
Caroling and trick-or-treating, once the day of Spring Equinox, now held on Easter Monday. Since the water has now been blessed, young men and women take it upon themselves to make sure this blessing is passed on to each member of the opposite gender. Many young girls are awakened at dawn by pails of icy cold water being unceremoniously tossed into their beds; the day continues with the girls getting even however they can. Even adults and little ones get into the act, taking pussy willow or juniper branches, dunking them, and whapping everyone they meet behind the knees, greeting them with a "blessing" of sorts. There are two explanations for this traditional drenching, called "oblewanki" in Polish - one is pagan and the other Christian. The pagan one is that Easter is a spring festival and that this Polish-made downpour summons the rains for the spring sowing - something that expresses the meaning of our English rhyme, "April showers bring May flowers." The traditional way to escape this "good will" is buying your way out with pisanki. Those not too busy sprinkling each other begin a new procession through town, called the Kogutek. A large wooden rooster, decorated with ribbons and greenery, is placed into a wagon, and surrounded by tiny dancing figures; the wagon is accompanied by Dziady Smigustne, men and women dressed in straw from head to foot, carrying canes to thump out the procession's rhythm, and adorned with large horns upon their heads. The revelers fan out through the countryside, singing, dancing, and announcing the arrival of Spring to the outlying areas that might not have heard the news, and, of course, receiving gifts of food and pisanki for their efforts. *(Strybel 2002)
