A long time ago, in a small village by the Vistula River lived a girl named Jana. She had a lot of admirers, but none of them hold her interest. It was the time of a year, when days were getting shorter and nights longer. One night, while sitting by a cozy fireplace, Jana’s grandma told her about a Polish tradition of Andrzejki (derived from a name Andrew). “On the magical night of Andrew, the girls practiced different oracles that helped them to see their future husbands” said grandma. Jana was so fascinated by the story that she hardly could wait till November 29th to test it herself.
So the Andrew’s night came and Jana invited her girlfriends to test the oracles once done by her mother and grandmother. “Let’s see who gets married first and we’ll use left shoes to find out” said Jana. Excited girls started lining left shoes one by one till they reached the threshold. Very quickly it turned out that it was Jana’s shoe and she would get married first.
After the first oracle, the girls got busy with peeling the apples without breaking the peelings. “Now we will throw the peelings behind us to see what letters we get” said Jana “It will be the first letter of a future husband’s first name.” The girls got so excited with guessing the names that Jana suggested another oracle with names “We need a bowl of water, a candle and a key.” (Back then the keys had big openings). “Now we will light a candle and pour the wax through the key’s opening into the water creating a letter.”
The last oracle involved straw pulling. Each girl got a bunch of straws and then counting started. According to this oracle if a girl had an even number, it meant marriage. An odd number meant spinsterhood. But according to this oracle all girls were supposed to get married, resulting in undeniable happiness.
Before the night has ended, Jana was wondering “Will the oracles come true. What the dreams will bring.” That night she dreamt of a tall man with dark hair. Since then, her thoughts were occupied by the image of the man of her dreams. A few months later a young carpenter settled in the village. They took the like of each other. And after the harvest a big wedding took place. Jana got married to the man of her dreams. Now, her girlfriends were waiting for the next Andrew’s day and a chance to see who would be the next to get married.
Andrew’s day is on November 30. However, the oracles happen a day before on November 29.
No comments:
Post a Comment