POLES FROM NORTHERN BUCOVINA

Starting with the 14th century, more and more Polish craftsmen, merchants and farmers began to move to Bucovina, a process that gained momentum after the annexation of the land to Galicia in 1786 by the Austrian Empire. Among the refugees in Bukovina were many peasants who were dissatisfied with the slavery in Polish territory.

The Polish Muntenians systematically arrived in Bucovina, finding a new way in search of better living conditions. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Poles created special rural communities in Bukovina. Small communities appeared in Pătrăuții de Jos, Tereblecea, Crăsnișoara Veche, Solonețul Nou, Cernăuți and Clocucica. In 1910 the number of Poles in Bukovina was 36,219. The Poles of Bukovina were primarily farmers, but they were also specialists in mining, craftsmen in wood and glass processing, railway workers, teachers and ministers of the Church.

Currently, about 5,200 Poles live in the Chernivtsi region, according to Wladyslaw Strutynski, president of the “Adam Mickiewicz” Society for Polish Culture in the Chernivtsi region. Since 2003 in Chernivtsi, the administrative center of the region and district of the same name, there is a Polish Cultural-Educational Center, carrying out its activities within the Gymnasium no. 3. Children learn the Polish language, the traditions of the Polish people, elements of culture and spirituality. The Polish language is taught in the villages of Crăsnișoara Veche, Panca, Pătrăuții de Jos and in Cernăuți. There are 10 Catholic churches in the Chernivtsi region, visited by ethnic Poles.

In 1883 in Chernivtsi the newspaper “Gazeta Polska Bukowiny” was published. The publishing of this publication was interrupted, so that in 2007 there would be a real rebirth of this newspaper of the Polish community in northern Bukovina. The newspaper appears monthly, sometimes every six months, being dedicated to the life of ethnic Poles in Bucovina.

The legend of the treasures of the noble Skibniewski and the healing magnolia

In the 19th century, more and more parks began to appear in Bucovina: with decorative trees, bushes and shrubs. The European tradition of developing parkland has been taken over from Europe, especially by ethnic Poles. The trees were brought from Austria, Holland, Germany, France, Poland, Italy. In Bucovina, park trees were also brought from the Carpathian Mountains or the Czech Republic.

In 1890, on the initiative of the Polish nobleman Stanislav Skibniewski, a royal park appeared in Hliboca (Adâncata). It was a very beautiful park, which delighted visitors and locals alike. The park was designed after the model of those in developed European cities. Near his retreat on the territory of Poland, Stanislav Skibniewski, according to the local legends, narrated by the Chernivtsi journalist Iurie Ciornei, buried the treasures of his estate family on the territory of the park. The nobleman thought of returning in years to beautiful Bukovina or to send his descendants the message that they would find gold and silver in the park in the Hlibocii area. The people of Bucovina say that no one has ever found those treasures, and there is no information about the place where the nobleman’s riches were buried. The road to the park in Hliboca and a walk through it would be a real tourist itinerary that could be developed in the future.

We don’t really know if the nobleman’s treasure will ever be found or if it is more of a local legend, but the trees in the park are a real tourist attraction.

In this park, which appeared due to the efforts of the noble Skibniewski, over 100 years a magnolia was blooming. The noble plant has its own legend. It is said that the daughter of the Polish nobleman was seriously ill. The landlord called the doctors from Chernivtsi, but nothing helped her to heal. A magnolia was growing under the young lady’s window. At one point, it began to flourish. The nobleman’s daughter looked at her intently and felt better. Members of the Skibniewski family said that the flowering magnolia had a healing influence on the little girl. The legend of the healing magnolia surrounded the former Austrian Empire, but was forgotten during the Soviet Union. In the 70’s of the last century, the magnolia was struck by lightning. No one thought the plant would ever bloom again. But it was to be – the magnolia was reborn and blooms every spring in the small town of Hliboca, in the park of the Polish nobleman, in an area full of legends and myths.

Customs and traditions of the Day of the Dead

Many of the Polish traditions and customs are related to religious holidays, they are the oldest and most respected for confessional reasons, with a specific ethnic background. For example, in northern Bukovina localities, ethnic Poles keep a number of traditions and customs related to the Day of the Dead or All Saints’ Day. Ethnic Poles are mostly Roman Catholics and attend the 10 churches that operate in the Chernivtsi region.

Believers go especially to church and cemetery, clean the graves around November 1 and beautify them with flowers, in memory of those who once accompanied them on the path of life.

On the night of November 1, each tomb becomes a small altar of light. Thousands and thousands of candles are lit in memory of those who have passed into eternity. It is said that on the Day of the Dead the gates of the Afterlife open, and the dead come to visit the living.

On November 1, after the Holy Mass dedicated to All Saints’ Day, Poles spend the afternoon in cemeteries praying for the souls of the dead. This explains the origin of the consecration of the first day in Brumar as a day of remembrance of the dead. According to ethnic Poles in the Chernivtsi region, each tomb becomes a small altar of light: shrouded in the trembling light of candles, the crosses look like gates to the world beyond. A pious celebration, which, for hundreds of years, has meant a refusal to forget.

On this day, people also give alms in memory of the dead. In some villages, Poles take sweets or other pastries to the cemetery and give them to children.

Christmas Habits

Unlike Orthodox Christians in the Chernivtsi region, who celebrate Christmas in the old style (outside the Romanian community in Herta County) on January 7, ethnic Poles celebrate the birth of the Lord on December 25.

An important moment for Poles is the dinner on December 24. Fasting is held around Christmas. Some Poles go fasting a day before the Nativity. On the holiday table, the Poles necessarily put no less than 12 dishes, representing according to some explanations, the months of the year, according to other explanations – the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ. It is very important for Christians to celebrate the feast of the Nativity with peace of mind. The Poles must put two specific dishes on the holiday table – Strudel and Knidli. Strudel is a sweet filling wrapped in a split dough and then baked, and knidli – a traditional Polish piece, which is cooked in the villages of the Chernivtsi region from potatoes and mushrooms.

The Feast of the Nativity begins for Poles in northern Bukovina on the morning of December 24. Boys and girls go to the houses and say poems about the birth of the Baby Jesus, wishing the householders well. The carolers are waiting for the evening and the festive Christmas meal is being prepared. In the Chernivtsi region, Polish carols inherited from ancestors have been preserved.

The day after Christmas, boys and girls go watering, to relatives, acquaintances and girls. Entering the houses, they say special wishes and then wet the girls, not with water, but with perfume. On New Year’s Eve, the boys walk with the sowing, entering their houses they say special wishes for this holiday, after which they sow wheat, corn, barley, oats in the house, signifying the abundance of the household of that year. In some localities in northern Bukovina these customs have been fully preserved, in others partially.

International Folklore Festival “Bucovina Meetings”

According to prominent representatives of the Polish community in the Chernivtsi region, the most important cultural event for ethnic Poles is the “Bucovina Meetings” Festival. The event of European importance presents the folklore and traditions of Bukovina through the organizational participation of six countries, where former inhabitants of Bukovina and their descendants live: Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Hungary and the Republic of Moldova.

Under this name, the International Folklore Festival “Bucovina Meetings”, takes place annually, since 1989, the actions of the festival. The idea of ​​organizing this festival won two personalities: first, the Slavic philological professor of the University of Warsaw, originally from Chernivtsi, Kazimierz Feleszko and the ethnographer from the House of Culture of the Polish city of Pila, Zbigniew Kowalski. The beginnings of this festival have their origins in 1986.

In the town of Jastrowie, which is not far from the city of Pila – Poland, an amateur artistic group “Jastrowiacy” was formed, consisting of Polish emigrants from Bukovina.

The organizers of the festival soon realized that the impetus that led them to get to work and guided them in time was the need to preserve and promote the image of Bukovina, as a multi-national region, in which different ethnic groups they have lived and are living in good understanding and without conflicts between ethnic groups.

The main idea of ​​the “Bukovinian Meetings” is the belief that, as long as “the full support and presentation of Bukovinian values ​​in general, as well as their own cultural identity, are as necessary for Bukovinians, who live across the Prut and Siret, as they are emigrants from Bukovina ”, as Zbigniew Kowalski said, the organizers will keep the current form of organizing the festival.

According to the president of the Polish Culture Society from “Adam Mickiewicz” in the Chernivtsi region, Wladyslaw Strutynski, the artistic collectives from the region participate in this festival with great enthusiasm. These are the folk group “Vianecec” from Pătrăuții de Jos, the ethnofolklloric group “Eho Prutu” from Chernivtsi, the ensemble of children “Florile Bucovinei” from Chernivtsi, the student group “Culorile Bucovinei”, the folk group “Crinniiv” Folineanc “Valea Siretului” from Tereblecea. It should be noted that the folk group “Vianecec” from Pătrăuții de Jos, the ethnofolklloric group “Eho Prutu” from Chernivtsi and the children’s group “Kvity Bukovyny” (Flowers of Bukovina) from Chernivtsi were recognized in Poland as emeritus folk ensembles for culture.

Polish folklore from Bucovina

Poles in northern Bukovina have preserved many elements of authentic folklore – songs that describe Bukovinian reality. An example is the ethnofolkloric collective “Dolina Siretu” (Siretului Valley), which presents to the public songs with geographical and historical elements specific to the area.

A song collected in Tereblecea is representative: “At the edge of the village, in the land of beeches / Water flows like a tear / On the edge of Siret. / The water flows on a valley, / But it beats in the rocks of the mountains. / Water beats like my heart, / Leaving behind forgotten times. / The water flows day and night / Through the land of Terebleca. / The water passes faster than us / Through the long valley ”. Polish folklore in northern Bukovina is related to family events, but also to the Christian calendar: wedding songs, carols, mourning songs, happy songs.

In addition to the Gymnasium no. 3 of the town. The children’s group “Kvity Bukovyny” (Flowers of Bukovina) operates in Chernivtsi. This folk group has raised 4 generations of artists, representing Polish choral music from the Chernivtsi region. A titanic work was submitted for the development of this group of children by the coordinator of the Alla Zubcic group. She believes that Polish choral music is not a chaotic combination of singular voices, but a harmony. “I recommend students not to listen to how their colleagues sing, but to listen to the music inside them. The purpose of some choristers is not to listen to foreign songs, but to sing your part of the song correctly “, says Mrs. Zubcic. The children’s group “Kvity Bukovyney” (Flowers of Bukovina) has existed since 1998. In this choir sing not only children who are of Polish nationality, but also all those who learn the Polish language and feel almost the music and folklore of this people. The choir has been awarded in several city, regional and international competitions.