Edited by MCK Sokół | Lesser Poland
Last supper of God in Pieniny
Country: Poland
Region: Lesser Poland
Type of inspiration: Cultural customs
Inspiracja
The custom of wealthy hosts organising feasts, combined with prayers, to which mainly the poor and beggars were invited, was probably still practised by the Pieniny highlanders at the end of the 19th century, and possibly even in the 1920s. It is said that the last God's dinner was given by a host from Grywałd to propitiate God for his sins and to ask for the birth of his son. An account of it was recorded in the Illustrated Guide to Pieniny and Szczawnica, published in 1927. The feast began on the Feast of Our Lady of the Snows (5 August) and lasted a whole week. Earlier, for several Sundays, it was invited from pulpits in local churches. The divine luncheon was preceded by a solemn service for the organiser, which was attended by local priests. After the service, the benefactor distributed bochnacki, i.e. small breads baked especially for the occasion, among the poor, adding one silver coin to each willing person. The feast, which took place at lavishly set tables in the cottage, barn and orchard, attracted around 500 people. Two hogs, three heifers, a mendel of sheep, bread, beer and vodka were provided. The poor were served first. After each course, the most serious intoned a devotional song and said prayers together with the rest of the participants. There was no music, dancing or drunkenness. The feast continued until all that had been prepared had been eaten.
Much more often, the feast was an All Souls' feast and was dedicated to the dead ancestors. The power of the prayers recited at that time was supposed to be so great that, it was said, a single God's dinner could even save the soul of one of the parents from hell. As the preparation of the feast was costly and time-consuming, it was rarely decided upon, only in special situations. Whoever gave a divine dinner gained social prestige. As 18th century documents indicate, the tradition of divine dinners was also known in the past in the Beskid Sądecki region, especially in the parish of Łącko.
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