Today is Thursday, June 4, 2015. It is a holiday in Poland. A religious holiday. In Polish, it is Boze Cialo. In English, we would say Corpus Christi.
Corpus Christi (Boze Cialo) is a Catholic feast celebrated as a public holiday in Poland. It is the day when the Catholic Church commemorates the practice of Holy Eucharist, or Communion.
What do people do?
Large groups of people take part in outdoor processions in many villages, towns and cities in Poland. The processions include children dressed in white who scatter flower petals on the streets. Some of the procession’s participants stop to pray at temporary shrines. Many homes are decorated with religious icons during Corpus Christi.
Corpus Christi is a festival that the Catholic Church has celebrated to honor the Eucharist since 1246.
On this day, government offices, businesses, etc. are all closed. Alicja warned me yesterday and she had a list of things for me to buy at the grocery store since they would all be closed today. Of course, her pharmacy was closed today so she had the day off and was able to stay home.
I told her that today would be a good day for me to do some work around the house. Specifically, she has wanted me to sand and clean the iron gate in the front so I can paint it. I mentioned that. She very seriously told me that would not be proper because it would be disrespectful toward the church and the holiday. So, I heeded her warning.
We live on a fairly major street here in Malbork. It is Aleja Sprzymierzonych. (Say that three times real fast). Anyway, she told me that the procession often comes down this street. Sure enough, about 10:45 this morning the police parked almost directly in front of our house and started diverting traffic. A few minutes after 11:00 am the procession came marching by. I managed to get some pictures although I was not in time to catch the actual beginning. These were taken from an upstairs window.
This afternoon, I cooked ribs on the grill and drank beer. Much like I would do on a holiday back in the U.S.
Very coolant! Today is my husband's birthday. I wonder if my very Catholic MIL knows about this holiday? I'm so glad you are always sharing things like this-I love learning about my Polish heritage!
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