Image by Mary Lou
April World Holidays
Dyngus Day
(Click on the link above for more information)
Image Indie Politics.org
“Dyngus day – also known as lany poniedziałek and Dingus Day in many Polish American communities – is a holiday that falls on the Monday immediately after Easter Sunday. It is a day that not only celebrates Polish culture, but is also a day to blow off a little bit of steam after the restrictions imposed by Lent have ended. This holiday can be traced all the way to a holiday called Śmigus-Dyngus that is celebrated both in Poland and the Ukraine.”
“It is believed that the origins of this holiday can be traced back to the 10th century when Mieszko I of Poland had mass baptisms performed all over the country to convert the mainly pagan populations of the country to Christianity. Before this time, Smigus and Dyngus were two separate religious festivals to celebrate two different pagan gods. Dyngus was a god that represented water and Smigus was a god that represented thunder. Therefore, it is said that the Christian baptism ritual was used to change the nature of these pagan deities.
The tradition was brought to the United States by Polish immigrants and records of it being celebrated in this country can be found going back all the way to the 19th century. Today it is celebrated in many cities across the U.S, particularly ones that have large Polish populations such as Chicago, Illinois; South Bend, Indiana; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Bristol, Connecticut; Elizabeth, New Jersey; Cleveland, Ohio and Buffalo, New York.”
This past November 2018 I took part in the Nibvember 2018 Challenge. Day 27 prompt was Lettering and I came up with the design below. It’s easy to see where my inspiration came from as I’d participated in the A to Z Challenge Lessons Learned in 2016. So, feeling the call to try once again for A To Z Challenge 2019, I decided to sign up for this years using this design as my inspiration.
(c) Image by Mary Lou
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My theme for 2019 A to Z Challenge is:
April World Holidays from A to Z
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Here’s what it’s all about:
As many Poles as I know, I’ve never heard of this…
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The internet says it’s true! 😀
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And I have even used the word Dyngus and had NO IDEA.
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It sounded familiar. I’d never heard of this either. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
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Mary Lou,
I’m playing a bit of catch-up on my challenge comments after two very full workdays. I’m struck by how many holidays are ‘pagan’ festivals co-opted by Christians! Now to go check out B and C….
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I decided, for the most part, to stay away from religious holidays Janet. You’re right. World wide many holidays unite us in many ways. ❤
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