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Post by JustJohn or JJ on Mar 21, 2014 9:17:46 GMT -7
The Drowning of Marzanna - The Winter WitchToday, March 21st, Poles shoo away winter by drowning Marzanna (Winter Witch). By Kerry Kubilius "Marzanna Effigy in Krakow"Marzanna is a pagan springtime festival in Poland that signals the end of winter. It usually takes place on the fourth Sunday of Lent. This old custom predates Christian rites, so Marzanna is not universally observed throughout Poland, but the “drowning” of Marzanna is still conducted as a way for Poles to stay in touch with their ancient heritage and have fun with superstitions and festive traditions. Marzanna's Symbolism Marzanna represents winter or death, and the Sunday on which the Marzanna celebrations take place is sometimes called Death Sunday. On this day a straw or rag effigy of Marzanna (also known as Morena or Death) is constructed, sometimes by school children. The effigy is imbued with the negative qualities of the long, cold winter. The Burning and Drowning of Marzanna Marzanna is set aflame, sometimes with herbs, and with her burning, springtime is beckoned to come. Then, for the bearers of the effigy to be rid of the death and illness that Marzanna represents, they throw her into a river or a lake to “drown” her. Some superstitions are associated with Marzanna's drowning – it's best to turn your back completely on the submerged effigy to complete the farewell to winter. Related Winter Farewell Festivals The drowning of Marzanna is associated with other pagan festivals such as Maslenitsa. During Maslenitsa, and effigy is also burned, though customs vary slightly depending upon the region it's being celebrated. For example, Maslenitsa precedes Lent in Russia, though it also acts as a momentous farewell to winter. People in the Czech Republic and Slovakia also sometimes celebrate with the drowning of Morana or Marena.
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Post by Jaga on Mar 21, 2014 18:54:12 GMT -7
John,
this is such a nice tradition. We did Marzanna when I was a girlscout in Poland!
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Bob S
European
Rainbow Bear
Posts: 2,052
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Post by Bob S on Mar 22, 2014 12:59:14 GMT -7
Very nice Thank you for the wonderful photo. I am always something new about Poland.. I think those children shooed away winter towards us. Only now are we getting warm weather in Virginia.
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Post by pieter on Mar 22, 2014 13:46:14 GMT -7
MarzannaEffigy of Morana (Death Goddess). Czech Republic.Marzanna (in Polish), Morė (in Lithuanian) or Morena (in Czech, Slovak, Russian) or also Mara, Maržena, Morana, Moréna, Mora or Marmora is a Baltic and Slavic goddess associated with seasonal agrarian rites based on the idea of death and rebirth of nature. She is associated with death and winter and is often described as the goddess of death. As the Goddess of death and winter she appears in different guises. Her proficiency in different guises is a reoccurring trait that sticks out in the stories told about her. To this day in some regions of Poland, there is a festival held where an effigy of Marzanna is made in the month of March, and is burned to symbolize the triumph of springtime over winter. This is known as The Burning and Drowning Ritual of Marzanna. Some medieval Christian sources such as the Czech 9th century Mater Verborum also compare her to the Greek goddess Hecate, associating her with sorcery. 15th century Polish chronicler Jan Długosz likened her to Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture. The procession of Marzanna in the Slovak village Hladovka, 2008EtymologyVyacheslav Vsevolodovich Ivanov and Vladimir Toporov supposed her name was derived from the same root as the name of Roman god of war Mars, originally an agricultural deity. Other theories claim her name is derived from the same Indo-European root as Latin mors ' death' and Russian mor ' pestilence'. Some authors also likened her to mare, an evil spirit in Germanic and Slavic folklore, associated with nightmares and sleep paralysis. In some Russian dialects the word ' mara' means ' phantom', ' vision', ' hallucination'. Morana. Poland.TraditionsThe tradition of burning or drowning an effigy of Marzanna to celebrate the end of winter is a folk custom that survives in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. For many years, the Burning and Drowning of Marzanna was held on the fourth Sunday of Lent and it was not until the 20th century that the date 21 March was fixed, which coincidentally is the day of the vernal equinox (20–21 March). The rite involves preparing a doll dressed in female clothing, which can then be set on fire, drowned in the river, or both. The Church tried to Christianize the tradition of Marzanna and replace it by burning Judah or throwing Judah puppet from the churches' roof on Holy Wednesday. This tradition is cultivated in some Polish regions, but Marzanna tradition is known much better all through Poland. Burning effigies of contemporary MarzannyIn the Czech Republic or Poland, this is often performed during a field trip by children in kindergartens and primary schools.[5] The effigy, often prepared by the children themselves, can range in size from a puppet to a life-size dummy. This ritual represents the end of the dark days of winter, the victory over death, and the welcoming of the spring rebirth. Marzanna effigy, SlovakiaIt concerns the "drowning of Marzanna," a large figure of a woman made from various rags and bits of clothing which is thrown into a river on the first day of the spring calendar. Along the way, she is dipped into every puddle and pond ... Very often she is burned along with herbs before being drowned and a twin custom is to decorate a pine tree with flowers and colored baubles to be carried through the village by the girls. There are of course many superstitions associated with the ceremony: you can't touch Marzanna once she's in the water, you can't look back at her, and if you fall on your way home you're in big trouble. One, or a combination of any of these can bring the usual dose of sickness and plague.—Tom Galvin, "Drowning Your Sorrows in Spring", Warsaw Voice 13.544, March 28, 1999 Morena Slovak puppet on a postage stamp in 1998Popular cultureBlack metal composer Gleb Poro has a track named Morana. Source: Wikipedia
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Post by pieter on Mar 22, 2014 13:53:11 GMT -7
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