Superstitions about chimney sweepers and snake in Polish gardens

I have many questions about Poland.

1. Chimney sweepers wear black and you are supposed to hold your button if you see them, why?

2. I saw a snake in my garden yesterday, are there any poisonous ones and which are most common?, (for a lot of you this might be normal for me it is something to write home about, as there are no snakes in Ireland).

I have drawn a blank but I will post more questions when I think of them and please feel free to post your own questions

good luck


some are, but a few and mostly inhabit Bieszczady region.

Oops wrong: apparently there are some all over in the woods in Poland : crossed vipers (żmija zygzakowata)and their are poisonous. You better check if what you saw was a garden snake: zaskroniec or a viper, for which you need a......serum injection if bitten.

Vipers are not common, so no bother it was a grass snake.

ha ha ha, ok is there anything else you can tell me about chimney sweepers that adds to this?


It didn't bite me or anything, I also thought I saw a lizard yesterday, is that possible? I did not catch a good look at it but the way it ran was like a newt.

3. There are lakes near Krakow with sandy beaches, was this whole area covered in water hundreds and thousands of years ago? also there is a dessert in Poland, WTF?

---

That is my first time using WTF, does it mean "what the feck?"?

---

The snake was brown in colour but i did not see it's head

sorry, what I meant was: it brings good luck;)

why are the Polish, Polish??

wrzuta.pl/slideshow/dir/43te4sTYUx

There is big probability that you saw a lizard

if you see a chimney sweeper you know that your chimney is ok so your home will be warm in winter and you will get hot meal. He is a household ranger. So it is a custom that is believed to bring good luck and the button is just an amulet

That is a good question, Poland has been attacked many times by many different peoples from all round the world and still they are Polish, you could write a book on that, I am sure.


Wow, they are really beautiful, did you take those photos?

---

4. I was told when I brought a bottle of vodka to a party that I had to drink first, my friend said (maybe) jokingly that it is a tradition in case it is poisoned, is there a story about that from the time of your Kings? Also you drink a shot and fill it for the next person, anything in that?

---

I know some questions are going to be silly but that is the nature of not knowing. I also know I could google all this stuff but I am a people person....on a computer too

Ive been told never take a light from a candle, something to do with sailors at sea

Any further explanation?

ok so the new name for Poland is just 'Land' so now you are all Landish instead of Polish :)

But Poland has moved several times, so land would not be the exact thing, would it?
You are probably taking the mickey but you still come up with questionable things.

i guess not, maybe the people of the 'unamed' land could vote for a name :)

they say that every time you do it one seaman dies;)

yes it does: webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.asp

can find more at that link

5. Are there fairies, trolls, sprites etc in Poland?

6. What were the major religions before Christianity here?

It regards all slavic tribes: winterscapes.com/slavic.htm

https://polishforums.com/archives/2005-2009/history/slavic-mythology-23642/

Thank you bramkaz, you are most helpful.
I especially liked the snake pictures

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C5%82%C4%99d%C3%B3w_Desert


You welcome!

6) In Poland it is bad luck, or something, to shake someone's hand through a doorway.
Why?

Somebody changed the title of this thread....
Now it would not make sence if I were to just ask random questions about Poland.

and kissing in a doorway too apparently

Hi sausage,
I didn't know about that one, maybe it is in case the door slams shut? No I do not know, just a shot in the dark.

I was told this after kissing in an interior doorway... unlikely to slam shut...

I thought I heard something once about what one's supposed to do when you see a nun or nuns?

Bless yourself? or bow your head?

maybe.. i heard this from someone in Poland a few years ago but it escapes my mind now...could be something the older generation knows about.

doorway as a threshold symbolizes a division (outside-inside, room-corridor), so the popular belief is that greeting someone in a doorway will divide these 2 persons and they'll simply have a fight (quarrel). Unfottunatelly, I don't know how it all started (as most superstitions have their roots in a remote time)

Thank you Krzysztof, I do not expect a clear explanation for the superstitions thank you for your comment.

---

I read on another post somewhere that you can walk along the coast and pick up Amber, how likely is this? what is the best time to go, summer/spring, I would imagine tide out.

Has anyone actually gotten amber this way?

Light houses used to use candles to worn of rocks. Some lighthouse keeper accidentally put the candle out trying to light a smoke, and a ship crash into the rocks as a result.

or

Fishing boats used to carry water tight lanterns so they could see each other through the winter darkness. If a light went out it meant the North Atlantic had claimed another boat and more lives. So it came to be that the flame of a candle represented a spirit. To light a cigarette off a candle is not only disrespectful to the sailor that died, but steals some of his spirit away.

Very unlikely in most places nowadays it seems although I believe there is an annual amber collection festival still. How much is actually collected I cant tell you but would have thought not very much


Thanks for the answers - makes sense

Yes, I've found amber walking along the beach in Chłopy. I've heard the cold months are better, but I don't know how truthful that is. Also, don't be fooled by sea glass. There's a test that you can do to see if it's real amber. It holds friction, so if you rub it briskly on a cotton cloth and tear off a tiny corner of paper, it'll pick it up.