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Message: [QUOTE="Toga, post: 1031776, member: 365"] Oh those crazy Poles ... [I][URL='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9Amigus-Dyngus']Śmigus-Dyngus[/URL][/I] (Polish [I]Dyngus[/I] or [I]lany poniedziałek[/I], meaning [I]Wet Monday[/I]) is the name for Easter Monday in Poland and the diaspora. In the Czech Republic it is called[I]velikonoční pondělí[/I]. In Slovakia [I]veľkonočný pondelok[/I], also called [I]Šibačka/Polievačka[/I] or [I]Oblievačka[/I]. In Hungary [I]Locsolkodás[/I]. All countries practice a unique custom on this day. In Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic[URL='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Monday#cite_note-4'][3][/URL] traditionally, early in the morning boys awake girls by pouring a bucket of water on their head and striking them about the legs with long thin twigs or switches made from [URL='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willow']willow[/URL], [URL='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birch']birch[/URL] or decorated tree branches. Another related custom, unique to Poland, is that of sprinkling bowls (garce) of ashes on people (starts men on women) or houses, celebrated a few weeks earlier at the "półpoście." This custom is almost forgotten, but still practices in the area around the borders of Mazuria and Masovia. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The world's largest organized Dyngus Day celebration occurs in [URL='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo,_New_York']Buffalo, New York[/URL]. In Buffalo's eastern suburbs and the city's Historic[URL='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Side,_Buffalo,_New_York']Polonia District[/URL], Dyngus Day is celebrated with a high level of enthusiasm. Although Dyngus Day was celebrated in traditional Polish neighborhoods of Buffalo dating back to the 1870s, modern Dyngus Day in Buffalo had its start with the Chopin Singing Society. Judge Ann T. Mikoll and her late husband Theodore V. Mikoll held the first party at the Society's clubrooms in the [URL='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Central_Terminal']Buffalo Central Terminal[/URL]. The Society left the East Side in the 1980s and moved to new clubrooms in nearby [URL='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheektowaga_(town),_New_York']Cheektowaga[/URL], where the festival attracted a new generation of revelers. In recent years, the focus of Buffalo's Dyngus Day celebration has returned to the Historic Polonia District in the form of large parties at the Buffalo Central Terminal, [URL='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Stanislaus_-_Bishop_%26_Martyr_Church']St. Stanislaus - Bishop & Martyr Church[/URL], the [URL='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Mickiewicz_Library_and_Dramatic_Circle']Adam Mickiewicz Library and Dramatic Circle[/URL], and at many family-owned Polish taverns. The World's First Dingus Day Parade, inaugurated in 2006, makes its way through the Polonia District from the Broadway Market to Buffalo Central Terminal. In 2008, the parade attracted more than 25,000 people.[URL='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Monday#cite_note-10'][9][/URL] In 2012, it was reported that more than 50,000 revelers attended Dyngus Day events.[URL='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Monday#cite_note-11'][10][/URL] In 2006, two-time [URL='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammy_Award_for_Best_Polka_Album']Grammy Award[/URL] nominated [URL='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polka']Polka[/URL] band Jerry Darlak & the Touch recorded the "Everybody's Polish on Dyngus Day" polka. "The polka is meant to capture the uniqueness of the Buffalo Dingus Day celebration," explained the song's composer, Ray Barsukiewicz. Lyrics include references to willows, the sprinkling of water, polka dancing and parties that last until daylight. That same year, [URL='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenny_Gomulka']Lenny Gomulka and the Chicago Push[/URL] released the "Dingus Day in Buffalo Polka" to recognize Buffalo's time-honored traditions. Gomulka is regarded as one of the nation's premiere polka stars, having been nominated for 11 Grammy Awards. In 2007, the world's oldest working fireboat, the [URL='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_M._Cotter_(fireboat)']Edward M. Cotter[/URL], received the honor of being named the "World's Largest Dyngus Day Squirt Gun". "This could explains [sic] why the Cotter is painted red & white," said Marty Biniasz, alluding to the colors of the Polish flag and the Cotter's current livery. "It's only right that The Dyngus Day Capital of the World should have the World's Largest Squirt Gun. We are proud to now make Buffalo's most-loved ship part of our Dyngus Day Buffalo tradition." [/QUOTE]

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