Damages Dream Realm

St. Andrew's Night - Tradition of Fortune Telling

There is a long tradition of fortune telling especially for non-married girls on the November 30th in Poland. We need to remember that every day has his patrons in Polish calendar. Since November 30th is a day under a patronage of St. Andrew this habit is fortune telling is called St. Andrew´s Night, in Polish briefly Andrzejki. Similar tradition is celebrated by girls in Germany, Slovakia, Czech, Russia, Romania, Ukraine and even in Greece.

The main purpose of the fortune telling is to predict the future of unmarried girl, especially the marriage. St. Andrew night was celebrated since the turn of XVI and XVII centuries.

The young bachelors used to have their fortune telling tradition on the night of St. Catherine (November 25th).

Let me describe the rituals that I remember from my childhood.

Pouring hot melted wax (in the past also melted tin or lead) through a key into a bawl of cold water. Hardened wax is held up to the light and the future is guessed from its shadow cast on the wall. The lights are usually off (except the light of the candle). It not only help to read from the shadow but also helps to keep an unusual atmosphere of this evening. The shape of the shadow is observed from different angles and the future of the girl (especially her marital future is guessed from it). In the past not a usual key was used to this ritual but a key from door in the church was the best.

Preparing pieces of paper with men names on the edges of the bowl. The bowl is filled with water with a candle floating in the middle of the bowl. The first burn paper piece indicates the name of the future husband.

Another ritual - preparing three cups flipped upside down to cover marriage ring, small cross and a piece of green plant. The girls were choosing one cup and it indicated their future fate- the ring of course signified the marriage, cross - life as a nun in monastery and the green plant was predicting the unmarried life. Sometimes the small doll was placed under the cap - a symbol of the illegitimate child.

When the dusk came you should listen to the dog bark - from this direction the future husband will come.

Another tradition was to toss the shoes. Shoes of all the girls are arranged one after another along the wall and moved gradually in the same order to the door. The girl whose shoe would first cross the doorstep would be married first.

Maids were also predicting their future from cherry twig. If the cherry branch blossomed until Christmas it would suggest marriage soon. If it blossomed after Christmas a girl had to wait for marriage longer. If it did not blossom but dried out - it predicted the spinsterhood. Some believe that one should check in the calendar the name of the patron in the day when the cherry blossomed - this name could be the name of the future husband.

The other belief - the husband could appear in a dream in St. Andrew night. Or look at the water reflection in well or in the mirror at midnight to see his face.

Presently people do not take seriously the fortune-telling in St. Andrew Day but this day is still celebrated because of Andrzejki´s fortune telling and because it is a namesday for all Andrews in Poland. Andrew is definitively one of the most common man names.

Written by Jagoda Urban-Klaehn, August 20, 2000 (article #14)

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