 | | A Polish Easter in Kidderminster
by Councillor Mike Oborski - Consul of the Republic of Poland for the West Midlands | |
|  | | The Polish church in Kidderminster |
| | Lambs made of butter and eggs made of wood… It must be a very traditional Polish Easter. Mike Oborski, Kidderminster based Consul of the Republic of Poland for the West Midlands, describes Polish Easter traditions. |
| | | Their Easter Church services would be immediately recognisable to all English Catholics. However, Kidderminster’s Polish community also maintain the age-old Polish Easter traditions celebrated by Poles worldwide as well as by their brethren at home in Poland.
The French call it Mardi Gras and the Poles call it Karnawal or Zapusty – a time of enjoyment with doughnuts and crepes with cheese – culminating on Fat Tuesday (Shrove Tuesday to the English).
After that Lent is a time for quiet reflection and reappraisal with all good Polish Catholics making sure that they get to Church and Confession.
 | | Coloured Easter egg |
In Kidderminster that means the beautiful little Church of Our Lady of Ostra Brama perched on the hillside on Pitt Street. There you will be warmly welcomed by our enormously popular, very hard working, and quite rightly, very demanding shepherd Father Jacek Trochim.
Today perhaps fewer Poles give up eating meat for Lent but herring and also zur (a meatless soup made from fermented rye flour) remain popular Lenten dishes.
Dancing during Lent is very definitely frowned upon. Palm Sunday is celebrated as by English Catholics. During the rest of Holy Week it is traditional to tidy and clean the home before the actual Easter weekend.
Colouring eggs for Easter is a very old tradition usually taking place on Holy Thursday or Good Friday and using natural dyes.
Today beautifully painted wooden eggs are also very popular as Easter decoration. In Kidderminster these can be purchased for £1.00 each - in support of Polish children in need - from Father Bernard’s Children’s Fund who can be contacted on Kidderminster (01562) 823911.
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