Advent marked the beginning of the new liturgical year in the church. It began on the first Sunday after St. Andrew's Day. In Podlasie, the northern reaches of Mazovia and the Lublin region, the arrival of Advent was announced by playing ligavas - instruments shaped like a long wooden horn. The spreading sound resembled a loud rumbling and could carry for several kilometers. Oskar Kolberg wrote about the ligavka as a ceremonial instrument: "Ligavas large in addition to giving shepherd signals for cattle, warning of wild animals throughout Podlasie were also used for the trumpeting of Advent, they were like a symbol of the trump of the Archangel, meant to herald the imminent coming of the Savior to the world. During Advent, rural folk enter the church every Sunday at 4 o'clock in the morning to attend the rorations, so that barely one person remains in the hut on guard. Throughout Advent, however, around 8 o'clock in the evening, farmhands play their tunes on ligatures made from willow or linden wood, split and then gouged inside, finally folded again and covered with straw. It is riveted with wooden rings and has a little bell at the narrower end for blowing, and in order to make its sound loud and pleasant they put the ligavette in a cattle watering orifice and freeze it. At the time of the Holy Eucharist, some people come to Church with these ligavas and play them during the Elevation and at Mass." The tradition of playing the ligavas has been preserved to this day. Since 1974, the Ciechanow All-Polish Competition of Playing Shepherd's Instruments has been organized, which is very popular among lovers of the instrument.
The signal of the ligava announced that lavish weddings and parties should be abandoned, as it was a time of tranquility and penance. On Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, fasting was mandatory. No meat dishes were eaten then, and in some areas even dairy products were given up. Efforts were also made to avoid all stimulants such as alcohol and tobacco, and no colorful clothes or ornaments were worn.
Throughout Advent, Catholic churches held morning votive masses in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known as roratas, which were attended by entire families. Religious songs were sung on the way to church. They also carried lighted lanterns, which called to mind the biblical virgins waiting for the coming of Christ with gathered oil and lamps. During Mass, a large wax candle called an annual or roratnica was lit, which, decorated with a blue ribbon, symbolized the Mother of God. In addition to the roratnica, four candles arranged in a special wreath were also lit to indicate the following Sundays of Advent.
In the past, after the service was over, maidens on their way back from church would accost the men they met and flirtatiously call out: roracie, roracie, what is your name? From the answer they would learn what their future spouse's name would be. In the countryside, Advent was a time for matchmaking between couples, known as swaddling time.
During this time, no field work was allowed, so as not to "disturb the land", as the disturbed land might not produce crops. Proverbs say: "whoever plows the earth in Advent, it makes him three years ill" and "in Advent the earth rests holy".
Long autumn evenings were conducive to social gatherings. Women would gather in their homes for plucking or soirées - communal quilting, feather spinning, flax spinning, hemp spinning, pea shelling, mending worn clothes or simply talking about the news in the village. They also told stories about witches, demons, drowned men and ghouls. It was not uncommon for bachelors to come to the windows of the room where they sat and scare them. It also happened that they would burst into the chamber with a great shout and play all sorts of tricks. Pop-ups often turned into a merry game.
Advent time was also devoted to preparing Christmas decorations with their own hands. This was done primarily by children, using tissue paper, pieces of straw, nuts, apples and candy silver, which they painstakingly collected throughout the year. Men repaired shoes, planed in wood or took to maintaining farm equipment. Rehearsals for caroling performances also began. Costumes and accessories for these performances were prepared. In Pomerania, caroling celebrations began as early as Advent as a sign that Christmas was near.
Advent was sought to be experienced in community. During the partitions, books by Henryk Sienkiewicz or dramas by Adam Mickiewicz and Juliusz Słowacki were read aloud to maintain Polishness. Children and young people participated in the preparation of nativity plays and nativity scenes.
The last day of Advent was Christmas Eve.
Text: Joanna Radziewicz
Photo. pixabay.com
Sources:
1. Blazejewska S.: Advent in Polish tradition. https://www.polskieradio24.pl/
2. Advent in folk tradition. naludowo.pl
3. Kraczoń K. Advent rituals and customs. kulturaludowa.pl
4. Fila A.: St. Lucia of the day is thrown. Advent in folk tradition. businessistyl.pl
