As you might suspect, Poland has a whole series of customs and traditions surrounding Easter, which range from pious to playful, to downright pagan. As a deeply Catholic country, Polish Easter traditions (PL:Wielkanoc) are taken very seriously. In fact, Easter in Poland is arguably the most important holiday of the year for the nation's most devout, but also an important time for more secular Poles to spend with family, regardless of their religious views.
WHEN IS EASTER CELEBRATED IN POLAND?
However, the Easter season in Poland starts earlier, with a festive holiday vibe establishing itself in the week leading up to Palm Sunday (March 24, 2024) one week earlier (read on).
HOW IS EASTER CELEBRATED IN KRAKÓW, POLAND?
The beginning of the Easter holiday season is around the time you'll start seeing traditional handmade ‘palms’ for sale in Kraków’s market square, particularly during the annual Easter Fair (March 21 - April 1, 2024) in the days before Palm Sunday (March 24, 2024) - the Catholic holiday so named for the palm branches laid on the ground before Jesus on his entrance into Jerusalem. As the Polish climate isn’t particularly conducive to palm trees, Polish Catholics invented their own ‘palms’ - essentially elaborately handwoven wands made from a variety of dried flowers and plants. Rather than trample them, however, Poles take their palms to church on Palm Sunday, in order to have them blessed before they decorate the home for the season.
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