Hi please, who brings the christmas presents in Radomsko? I want to leave a present behind my friends door and put a note - something like 'I was here, Santa Claus' but obviously i'm not going to write Santa Claus. Please, tahnk you :o)))))
Who brings presents in Radomsko or Poland in general?
Most people these days will probably say Santa.
As the Star man, Angel and Santa all come through the window. You could leave a cryptic message. Something like: "You didn't leave the window open, so I had to leave your gift at the door". Then it covers any of them.
As the Star man, Angel and Santa all come through the window. You could leave a cryptic message. Something like: "You didn't leave the window open, so I had to leave your gift at the door". Then it covers any of them.
Star man...? who is this....not David bowie i suppose...?
Hehehhe... :) In Wielkopolska the person who brings presents is called Gwiazdor, which literally means Star Man.
Gwiazdor also means celebrity in Polish. I swear one day i will dress up as Michał Wisniewski and scare the living crap out of my kid! ;)
"And who did you expect you little bastard!"
Gwiazdor also means celebrity in Polish. I swear one day i will dress up as Michał Wisniewski and scare the living crap out of my kid! ;)
"And who did you expect you little bastard!"
Star Man.
Oh this is a new one to me....so is the starman related to religeon , or more commercial..?
Gwiazdor emerged in the 19th c. as a kind of cross between a star-bearing caroller and św. Mikołaj. It was the custom in Wielkopolska for the star-bearer, who led the carolling party on its house-to-house rounds and was usually dressed in a long sheepskin coat worn fleece-side-out, to also quiz kids on their prayers and good deeds. He rewarded them with apples or other small treats but also had a bundle of switches along in case they got something wrong.
This custom was reinforced by Bismarck's anti-Polish/anti-Catholic Kulturkampf which was promoting a desacralised Weihnachstmann (Christmas man) in a long hooded robe as a substitute for św. Mikołaj. Eventually that figure became known as Gwiazdor in Wielkopolska -- reinforced by the fact that Gwiazdka (Star Feast) is also another name for Christmas in honour of the Star of Bethlehem.
Today, many if not most Wielkopolonian kids call the American garden-dwarf (Santa) Gwiazdor interchangeably with św. Mikołaj.
In some areas, a similar role to the head caroller was played by Stary Józef, a bearded, sheepskin-garbed visitor who also quizzed the kids. Back then, things were not as uniform, standardised and regimented as they are today and local variation was the name of the game.
This custom was reinforced by Bismarck's anti-Polish/anti-Catholic Kulturkampf which was promoting a desacralised Weihnachstmann (Christmas man) in a long hooded robe as a substitute for św. Mikołaj. Eventually that figure became known as Gwiazdor in Wielkopolska -- reinforced by the fact that Gwiazdka (Star Feast) is also another name for Christmas in honour of the Star of Bethlehem.
Today, many if not most Wielkopolonian kids call the American garden-dwarf (Santa) Gwiazdor interchangeably with św. Mikołaj.
In some areas, a similar role to the head caroller was played by Stary Józef, a bearded, sheepskin-garbed visitor who also quizzed the kids. Back then, things were not as uniform, standardised and regimented as they are today and local variation was the name of the game.
Thanks for the info.......i like to know about the old customs , much nicer than the commercial rubbish that is becoming normal around the world....I don,t follow any religeon , but i think its important that people don,t forget what Christmas is really about....I would prefer that Poland kept its traditions alive , but sadly i suspect that English and American ways will take over..... i am English by the way....