Jukace - New Year's Eve in Zywiec - Zabłocie

Caroling on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, the Zabłocie Jukace are an identical ritual group to Dziady in the villages of the Soła valley. However, the composition of the characters and the course of carol singing is slightly different. The most numerous group is the Jukace shooting on whips, among which the most important is the Cashier dressed in a red costume. Each of the Jukacs is girded with a belt with bells. On their heads are colourful cardboard "horned" hats, the so-called ciaka with the date, and on their faces are masks cut out of a patch of sheepskin. As they run through the city, they shoot with whips and ring bells. They encircle every stopped passer-by with a whip, ringing bells at their waist to make wishes: "Health happiness and sweetness the New Year Jukac wishes". The group, comprising a dozen or more men, also includes Chimney Sweeps, Devils and Babkas. At one time there was also Death and probably a Bear. The old costumes were dominated by fur and straw. The newer ones, often made together with a hat of one type of material and a mask cut out of cloth, resemble carnival costumes. Jukacy carol singing follows a specific ritual scenario. They begin on Old Year's Day before midnight. In the past, they used to visit one house after another in Zabłocie, collecting "for snuff", but they were also invited to New Year's Eve parties. When they entered the halls in groups, the orchestra played a special dance for them, while the masqueraders wished everyone well. After being paid, they went on caroling. Since 1960, on the initiative of the then parish priest, Father Stanislaw Slonka, a "Mass of the Dziad" has been celebrated in the parish church in Zablocie at 5 a.m. on New Year's Day, with the costumed carol singers taking part. The carol singing on New Year's Day lasts until midday and covers the area from the Brewery to the bridge over the Soła, which used to be the border between Zabłocie and Żywiec. As in the past, the Dziady make their rounds on the Żywiec bridge at noon with a cannonade of shots on whips. Traditionally, they do not pass into town.