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Witches abroad!

Country: Poland

Region: Lesser Poland

Type of inspiration: Cultural customs

Inspiracja

"St Lucia was a festival of sorcerers. God forbid you should go to anyone on Saint Lucy's Eve, because you would bring misfortune and bad luck". The ban, remembered by the villagers of the Beskid Sądecki region, is a relic of the once widespread belief in the Carpathian Mountains that 13 December is a time of increased activity of witches, wizards and guzmasters, requiring a number of protective measures, but at the same time perfect for unmasking those suspected of 'spoiling cows'. 
 
It was common to avoid borrowing or spending anything from the house, believing that only the person who wanted to conjure something was borrowing at the time. On St Lucy's Eve, in order to protect their cattle from witchcraft, on St Lucy's eve they would sprinkle poppy seeds on the thresholds of the stables, incense the sheds and animals with smoke made from holy herbs, grease the stables' pillars with garlic, and put wax from a paschal in the walls of the buildings. The Sącz highlanders used to hang straw garlands on the walls of their barns, tied specially for the occasion. In Szczawnica, the custom of warding off evil powers with noise was well known - on the eve of the holiday, children would bang pots with lids or wooden pestles while shouting: "Carownesses for the borders!". 
 
Ethnographic records from the past contain tips on how to effectively unmask and disarm a person suspected of witchcraft. Among other things, a magic stool was used for this purpose, which the host would planchet up from St Lucia's Day onwards, "but in such a way that he would do something around it every day and only finish it on Christmas Eve itself". After the Christmas Eve supper, he had to go round the house on it three times, and then the person who had been grooming the cattle would appear. According to other instructions, the stool had to be taken to the shepherdess' service and knelt on it during the raising. One could then see all the sorcerers and witches as they stood with their backs to the altar. Wood put aside a little each day from Lucia until Christmas Eve had a similar unmasking power. It was burned in the cooker on Christmas Day itself, cooking the pins in a new pot. As ethnographer and researcher Seweryn Udziel noted, "Then the one who spoiled the cows must come and ask: What are you cooking? Then you have to hit him with this pot and the spell will change'.

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