Tydzien Sześć / Week Six: Cultural (19.03.2012 – 25.03.2012)

Spring has definitely arrived in Poznan! On Wednesday, we welcomed the first day of Spring in a very unique way. Every year on the 21^st March, the Polish people signify the end of Winter and the beginning of Spring by sinking ‘Marzanna’, an old pagan custom. Children make cloth dolls called ‘Marzanna’ which were traditionally placed on large sticks, burnt and then thrown into rivers.  ‘Marzanna’ is said to represent winter, and so by burning these dolls they are destroying the dark days of Winter and welcoming the Spring spirit. Nowadays, it is not so socially acceptable to pollute the rivers with these dolls, so instead, our school simply ties the dolls to large sticks in the ground and leaves them there to burn, while chanting and singing. 

All the children and teachers dressed in bright colours and the parents sent their children to school with food which was then set up in the hall as part of a Spring festival. Needless to say, this was a very enjoyable part of their culture, particularly as the teachers were allowed to go back for seconds and thirds. While taking part in this Polish custom, I found myself comparing it with Northern Ireland and came to the conclusion that due to the amount of health and safety risks involved in making a fire in the middle of a playground, this is something that would never happen at home. Therefore, I was so glad that this happened to be one of our placement days, as it was an extremely interesting part of their culture to be able to witness.

Dressed up and ready to welcome Spring!

Speaking with members of staff gave me some insight into the views of the teachers around some of these aspects of their culture. They informed me that traditions such as these food centred events are very common, particularly in international schools, giving children a chance to sample food from other cultures, as well as creating a strong sense of school community. I am looking forward to spending time in school as we get closer to Easter. As Poland is a predominately Catholic country, I am interested to see whether the schools have any special activities planned in the build up to Easter and comparing these with what would be taking place in schools in Northern Ireland at the same time.

This weekend my parents came to visit which was lovely and allowed me to do some more touristy activities for a couple of days. After being here for six weeks I still haven’t managed to see the famous goats at the town hall. Every day at noon the two mechanical goats emerge from the top of the town hall and head butt each other twelve times, something which seems to draw in crowds of tourists. The beautiful weather meant we were also able to visit a local park and palm house, similar to the Botanic Gardens in Belfast. Having my first visitors from home made me realise how familiar I now am with Poznan, but also how I appreciate the city much more now than I had done at the start of my time here. This weekend was the first time that I was able to fully explore some local places of interest, so this is something I plan to do more of to ensure I make the most of being here. As well as exploring the local area more, we are also beginning to plan some trips away to visit other cities such as Berlin, Krakow and possibly Vienna, something I am very excited about.

Me and my mumsie