Polaznik facts for kids
In Slavic traditions, a Polaznik is a very special first guest who visits a house around Christmas or other holidays between late October and early January. This guest is believed to bring good luck, success, health, and wealth for the new year. Sometimes, an animal can even take on the role of the polaznik, also bringing good fortune to the home.
This tradition is well-known among people in Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, and Bulgaria. Many believe the polaznik is like a messenger from ancestors, connecting the living world with those who have passed on.
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Special Customs in Different Countries
Poland
In Poland, the polaznik would visit homes and give people green twigs decorated with tissue paper. These twigs were called podłaźniczka. The polaznik would also wish the people living there good luck. This visiting custom was known as połazy or podłazy. In the Cieszyn Silesia region, the second day of Christmas is even called podłazy. In southern Poland, the polaznik often came on Saint Stephen's Day. Sometimes, priests didn't like the podłazy custom during Christmas. Men who visited relatives and neighbors would sprinkle oats around the house and on everyone present, wishing them well.
Slovakia
In Slovakia, a polaznik's visit is a bit like koledari (a type of caroling or visiting custom). If young, healthy children came with green fir branches, it meant the person who sent them wished the family happiness, health, and youth. However, people were worried if elderly or sick polazniki came, as it was thought to bring illness or death. In some Slovak villages, women were not allowed to be the polaznik because it was believed to bring bad luck.
In central Slovakia, the polaznik would bring a green branch and stick it behind a ceiling beam. This was meant to help bread and flax grow very tall. The first guest on Christmas Day was given bread so that the cattle would graze well in the summer. In the Zvolen area, even winemakers could be polazniki.
Sometimes, a shepherd would be the polaznik. They would come on New Year's Day with two branches, one from a spruce tree and one from a birch tree. They would gently tap the family members with the branches, which was supposed to bring them health. Families would keep these special twigs until spring, when they first took their cattle to pasture.
Moravian Slovakia
In the Moravian Slovakia region of the Czech Republic, the best polaznik was a boy or a small animal. People would make wishes using special poems called polazné vinše. It was believed that the polaznik had to come from the opposite direction of the river's flow (uphill, against the current). If they didn't, people thought the family's luck would "fly down like water." If a boy polaznik appeared, it was thought to mean a bull would be born. If a girl polaznik came, it suggested a heifer (young cow) would be born. The polaznik was given special bread baked in the shape of a cow, duck, or bird.
Lemkos
Among the Lemkos (an ethnic group), the host of the house could be the polaznik. When returning from the river, they would bring a sheaf of oat straw (called didok) and a bundle of hay. They would place these in a corner of the house. When the hostess asked, "Where are you from, Polaznik?", the host would reply, "From the cheerful, from the bright, from the good and from the happy."
Serbia
In Serbia, the polaznik wasn't chosen. It was simply the first person to enter the house on Christmas Day. The polaznik and the host would greet each other. Then, the polaznik would sit by the hearth (fireplace). They would move a special log called a badnjak in the hearth to bring good luck. They would also hit the hot coals with twigs they brought. As they did this, they would say a special wish, hoping for as many sheep, money, family members, and livestock as the sparks that flew from the fire.
The hosts would put a white, wool rug on the polaznik. Then, the polaznik was supposed to sit on a stool. But at the last moment, the hostess would pull the stool away, and the polaznik would gently fall to the floor. This was believed to protect the house from birds of prey or bring good fortune. Sometimes, a shoe from the polaznik's right foot was hung on a pole, which was supposed to make hemp grow tall.
Bulgaria
In western Bulgaria, families often had a special polaznik they invited every year at Christmas to prevent bad luck. This polaznik needed to be a good person, polite, wealthy, and healthy. People believed these good qualities would then pass on to the family members. A polaznik should not be blind, deaf, sick, or hunched over. They should also not come empty-handed or with an empty container. They should wear a fur coat so that no one in the house would get sick or die.
The guest would also take branches or straw from the yard. They would spread them by the fire inside the house, then sit on them and pretend to be a hen. This was meant to make the hens lay many eggs and keep the chicks safe. In the Rhodope Mountains, the person stoking the fire would do so to help chicks and babies be born quickly and easily, just like sparks from the hearth.
In northern Bulgaria, the polaznik would light the fire with a branch from an oak, pear, or plum tree. They would make a wish for everyone, hoping for as many chickens, goats, lambs, calves, foals, babies, honey, oil, and wheat as sparks. The hostess would sprinkle the polaznik with wheat, beans, nuts, and dried fruit, which was supposed to encourage fertility. Male polazniki were often preferred, as their arrival was thought to bring male offspring and animals. However, women and children could also be polazniki. In some places, women were preferred, as their arrival was believed to help cattle and poultry grow. Sometimes, a family member would be the first to leave the house and bring back straw. In southwestern Bulgaria, the hardest-working family member might also be the polaznik. On St. Ignatius' Day (December 20), they would light a fire in the hearth and bring a green branch.
Slovenia
In Slovenia, children often served as the polazniki. They would bring a log into the home and kneel on it while making rhyming wishes. They were given gifts to ensure the family's happiness. In Styria, after receiving bread, the polaznik would give a piece of it to their own family to ward off bad luck. Sometimes, people would even arrange with a neighbor to warn them about an unwanted guest. In Lendava, the polaznik would wish girls a husband (k moži, к moži) and boys a wife (k ženi, k ženi). In some parts of Styria, the polaznik had to come early on St. Lucia Day (December 13), while everyone was still asleep. They would give fodder (food) to the cattle and receive special bread called lucijžčak in return.
Welcoming the Polaznik
In South Slavic countries, the polaznik received special treats, baked bread, some flax, a shirt, a towel, socks, or wool, and some coins. For West Slavs and Ukrainians, the gifts were usually simpler. In Croatia, when the polaznik was given a meal, they had to eat eagerly to bring good fortune into the home. In some parts of Serbia, the polaznik was not fully honored until a year later, after the family saw if their luck had improved.
Animals as Polazniki
In some areas, certain animals were thought to be especially good as a polaznik. These included an ox, horse, cow, pig, sheep, or rooster. Sometimes, a young animal like a calf or lamb was preferred. The animal would be brought into the house during a winter holiday, walked around the table three times, and given a treat.
In Slovakia, a sheep was considered the best polaznik and was believed to "bring great luck" (prináša veľké śťástie). In Slovenia (Bela krajina), a rooster might be the holiday guest. It would be brought into the house and circled around the table. In Serbia, an ox might be given a special loaf of bread with a hole in it, or a harvest wreath placed on its horn. In Bulgaria, a small piglet was sometimes brought home. As the piglet kicked the ground with its snout forward, it was believed that everything in the house "will go forward" (shte vyrvi napred).
Special Decorations
A Christmas decoration with a similar name is also connected to the polaznik tradition. In Poland, this decoration is most commonly called podłaźniczka. It's the top part of a coniferous tree, a branch, or a special frame with green twigs. It's hung from the ceiling, usually above the table or in a special "sacred corner," as a Christmas ornament. The green tree symbolized life in ancient pagan beliefs. People also hung decorations called pająk ("spiders") made of straw and other materials.
These decorations could also be made from straw, rushlight (a type of candle), and reeds. They were often complex, with six or four sides, tied together with strings and decorated with paper chains, colorful paper, feathers, and cotton "clouds." Slovaks in Upper Spiš had a straw hen called polazňička pinned above their Christmas table.
Special Bread
In eastern Slovakia, polaznik is also the name for a special Christmas bread. It's baked the old-fashioned way, using coarse flour and no yeast, in a simple shape without decorations. Carpathian Ukrainians also have polaznik, which is a ceremonial bread wrapped with linen. This bread was given as a gift to the person who came as a polaznik during one of the winter holidays. Polaznik can also refer to a dish left on the Christmas table for the souls of ancestors who have passed away.
See also
- First-foot
- House blessing
- Wassailing
- Jasličkári
- Koliada
- Julebukking
Images for kids
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Carlton Alfred Smith, Christmas Eve
