Podłaźniczka

''Podłaźniczka'', ''polazňička'' is a traditional Polish and Slovak Christmas decoration. It was usually made from branches or the top of a conifer tree turned upside down, which was then decorated with colored paper cutouts ('' wycinanki''), candies, apples, nuts, typical Polish '' świats'', or stars and crosses made of straw. The ''podłaźniczka'' was then hung from the ceiling rafters over the ''Wigilia'' dinner table on Christmas Eve.

History

The tradition of hanging a ''podłaźniczka'' dates back to an ancient Slavic custom of suspending a decorated branch of fir, spruce, or pine from the ceiling rafters, during the time of the Koliada winter festival.Janota E. Lud i jego zwyczaje. Lwów, 1878, str. 41–42 The custom of ''podłaźniczka'' is also connected to a later folk tradition of the '' połaźnik''. The ''połaźnik'' was the first guest to visit a house on Christmas Eve, often bringing with them a decorated evergreen branch. This custom also existed in Slovakia and Bulgaria; in Lemko tradition, the '' didok'' was brought instead. In Serbia, such a branch was called ''šumka od položenjca'' ( sr-Cyrl, шумка од положења), or ''polaznikova šumka'' ( sr-Cyrl, полазникова шумка, link=no).

Poland

In Poland, the ''podłaźniczka'' was known mainly in the regions of Lesser Poland (particularly in the Goral lands) and Upper Silesia. The ''podłaźniczka'' was made in various ways, it could be a conifer tree branch, a conifer tree treetop turned upside down, or a riddle (''przetak'') ring to which evergreen twigs were attached. The ''podłaźniczka'' was attached to a ceiling rafter, often directly above the Christmas Eve dinner table, or in a sacred corner. ''Podłaźniczka'' is considered to be the prototype of modern Christmas tree in Poland.

The ''podłaźniczka'' was usually adorned with decorations made from colored paper cutouts. They were also decorated with the ''światy'', which were pieces of wafer joined together. The wafer was used to make various shapes, such as crosses, stars, etc. They were made on the day of Christmas Eve (), which gave rise to another name for this ornament: ''wilijki''. Sometimes ''światy'' became an independent decoration, in which case they were separately hung under the ceiling beams. Also, the ''podłaźniczka'' was decorated with candies, apples, cookies, nuts, or gilded flax seeds, and later in the 20th century with baubles. The ''podłaźniczka'' was supposed to bring prosperity and good luck to the household, and protect farm animals from wolves and diseases. A straw '' pająk'' was a similar decoration.

The ''podłaźniczka'' was also called ''połaźniczka'', ''połaźnik'', ''podłaźnik'', ''podłaźnica'', ''jutka'', ''sad'', ''sad rajski'', ''boże drzewko'', ''rajskie drzewk''o, ''wiecha'', and ''gaik'' depending on the locale.

Slovakia

In Slovakia, the ornament called ''polazňička'' was also known – it was a straw hen (e.g. in the upper Spiš region, where it was hung over the Christmas table), which symbolically corresponded to a green conifer ornament, Christmas tree, or a branch of coniferous tree brought by a ''polaznik''. This was also the name of the ritual Christmas bread. In the Slovak-Moravian borderland, polazňička was called "happiness", which is related to the Polish belief that podłaźniczka brings good luck.

See also

* Didukh
* Badnjak
* Koliada
* Saturnalia
* Yule

References

Bibliography

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

{{Christmas trees

Polish traditions
Slovak traditions
Christmas in Poland
Christmas traditions
Christmas decorations
Christmas trees