K+M+B-2012 - formula on flats in Poland

This formula has appeared over their doorways of milions of Polish flats, as Poles inscribe the presumed names of the Three Kings with chalk blessed in church on the Epiphany.

Such piousd practices including the opłatek sharing, blessing of Easter baskets and blessing of newlweds-to-be by their parents before heading for church are enriching, heart-warming touches that set Poland apart from re-zoologised socieities wallowing in sterile, secularist, materialist scum.

A friend of mine got so fed up with the neighbours putting it on his door every year that he painted an upside down pentagram on his door. They took the hint.


Bit harsh to call Polonia secularist.

Of course, Polonius doesn't live in Poland. In fact, he's never lived in Poland.

What makes his post especially cute is that he completely fails to mention whether he has it on his own American door.

Generalizations....

Some are, Some aren't.

The OP's place of residence has no bearing upon the topic of this thread. You need to stop trying to take thread's off-topic Delphiandomine or you will be suspended again.

Actually it does: if he had been to Poland in the last decade, he'd know how quickly this inscription is becoming a thing of the past.

Mods?


Actually, "millions" is a bit of an overstatement. You'll rarely see it in modern developments, and in older developments, those with their own doors (rather than the original) tend to shun it as well. I'm thinking of several of my neighbours - my flat was built in the 80's, and you'll only find this chalked on the "old" doors.

To someone who has actually been in Poland at all (ie, not you Polonius/Des) - have you ever seen this chalked on a "new" flat door?


Opłatek sharing has little to do with religion these days in Poland - it's becoming a secular tradition very quickly.

As for the final part of your post - why don't you live in Poland, rather than living in a country full of "sterile, secularist, materialist scum"?

(incidentally - Poles are as materialist as they come. You have seen the mass of disgustingly garish big houses in the Polish countryside, right?)

^Hahahahaha


Have you counted?


Really are you the smarmy British expatriate Argus with the ability to view all of the door jambs in the whole of Poland?

More flaming.

Mods?

Actually I have. There's an old woman who lives in my block who has it on her new door. But she only has a new door because her son (who I assume will be inheriting the flat when she dies) appears to give her home improvements as Christmas presents (she got a new uPVC window for a couple of years and a new door another year).

It used to be chalked up a lot more than nowadays, that's for sure. btw I was a little surprised to hear that people give the opłatek to their dogs. Apparently you can buy special coloured ones for the purpose.

for animals not exclusively for dogs.


Say in two - three doors in ten.

It'll depend on where we're talking about. Generally, more old people = more inscriptions.

But a decade ago it was noticeably more common.

no WONDER the world is going to hell lately. it's obviously due to a lack of wafer swapping and tap water dispersal.

Polonius3 for president, Santorum as his running mate.

I would add that it is seen more in the smaller towns and villages and less in the cities. I lived in a new block and I did see it. I think 2 to 3 out of 10 is quite accurate. In my osiedle in Warsaw I have not seen it- I live in an osiedle with 20 houses- but my previous osiedle which had 90 houses had probably about 40 doors with this on it.

Not everyone bothers with that. And most who do don't live up to it.

A really heart-warming comment from someone who is evidently filled with brotherly love. A true Christian.

Anybody know how common it is for Poles who are outside Poland to put K+M+B-[year] on their doors? More than 20 to 30% or less than that? I'd be guessing from the way that they vote that it would be more but I've never lived in a Polish community outside Poland.

In some villages it was a way of saying "We're not (any more, at least) the J word." A virtual anti-Mezuzah.

I live in a high end Rezydencja in Warsaw there are a total of 22 Villa apartments, the residents are made up of Polish intelligentsia, foreign diplomats and business people. At least 60% have the blessing ' Christus Mansionem Benedicat ' on their doors. Furthermore I have just returned from the Stare Miasto with my family, after visiting church for the Epiphany service, we spoke to the priest and he informed us that all over Warsaw the services have seen larger than average gatherings. So lets just keep to the facts, more people are actually coming back to the church especially in these times of economic uncertainty, just because you have not seen the blessings on the exterior doors, does not mean the houses have not been blessed, the local priest will visit over the next two weeks, and will conduct a blessing of the house while there, so some people choose not to put the inscription on their doors.

So for you non Polish Atheists in Poland, ask yourself a simple question, how many Polish family homes have you visited and not seen, some form religious insignia ? I do not know one.Then again I do not mix with people who are involved in trendy lifestyles and are fashionably against the church...


Polonious3, you are 100% correct, Polish traditions are what set Poland apart from other countries, although Poland is very materialistic as well.

Is 50zł still ok or should I offer more, inflation being what it is and all?

In many cases a purely technical factor comes into play -- the Three Kings inscription is seen more commonly on dark-coloured wooden door frames where it is plainly visible. On the white PVC door frames it is invisible and apparently no-one in the Chruch has thought of introducing coloured chalk to remedy the situation. Reckon I'll have to mention it to Primate Kowlaczyk.

They just chalk it on the door in these parts.

Half of the people who let them do it aren't remotely religious but don't want gossip and an earbashing from the priest's post-menopausal fan club who come round the block with him while he's doing it - more to see inside their neighbours's homes than any act of faith.

As I understand in Poland,you give what you can afford there is no set fee.

Ha! My friends moved to Skierniewice and the wife came home from work to find the priest interrogating her husband about their household income and standing there with a calculator telling him how much they have to pay. And some people actually fall for that!

I don't know what you are talking about here JonnyM, it is only the priest that visits your home, there is no gathering,someone in the building arranges the time for the neighbors and he visits everyone individually, it is a private blessing for the household only.

Not in my block - there's a crowd of coffin dodging old bags and their long-suffering husbands who come with him.

I think a lot of people talk sh1t about what the church expects, I have also heard that it is a ' shame on you ' to give anything less than 20 PLN per family when visiting church on Sundays. As a family of four we give the small change we have in our pockets, normally between 5-10 PLN. We assist other families through the church, who have real needs, not because we feel morally bound to do it, more because we want to do it.

I have also been at dinner parties and having drinks with Polish people, when they start to joke about what the priest requested, I have never experienced that in Poland so I can't confirm or deny, although I think mostly it is just ' tall stories'.


We have had different experience's in Poland, your experience sounds more like being on the receiving end ' Hyacinth Bucket ' from keeping up appearances.

The thing about priests in Poland is that they represent a cross section of the male society, so there will inevitably be good ones and bad ones. And equally inevitably, the bad ones will draw more attention than the good ones.