Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the yield by weight of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has a number of different uses, including fuel, livestock bedding and fodder, thatching and basket making.
Opole is a city located in southern Poland on the Oder River and the historical capital of Upper Silesia. With a population of approximately 127,387 as of the 2021 census, it is the capital of Opole Voivodeship (province) and the seat of Opole County. Its built-up was home to 146,522 inhabitants. It is the largest city in its province.
Corn dollies or corn mothers are a form of straw work made as part of harvest customs of Europe before mechanisation.
Mămăligă is a polenta made out of yellow maize flour, traditional in Romania, Moldova, south-west regions of Ukraine and among Poles in Ukraine, the Black Sea regions of Georgia and Turkey, and Thessaly and Phthiotis, as well as in Bulgaria (kacamak) and in Greece. It is traditional also in Italy, Switzerland, Southern France, Slovenia, Croatia, Brazil, with the name polenta.
Silesian, occasionally called Upper Silesian, is an ethnolect of the Lechitic group spoken by part of people in Upper Silesia. Its vocabulary was significantly influenced by Central German due to the existence of numerous Silesian German speakers in the area prior to World War II and after. The first mentions of Silesian as a distinct lect date back to the 16th century, and the first literature with Silesian characteristics to the 17th century.
Devana, Zevana, less often Zievonya is the goddess of wild nature, forests, hunting and the moon worshiped by the Western Slavs. In the sources, she was first mentioned in the 15th century by Jan Długosz, who compared her to the Roman goddess Diana. Dziewanna is also a Polish name for Verbascum, and the etymology of the word is unclear. After strong criticism from Aleksander Brückner, researchers rejected her authenticity, but nowadays it is accepted by an increasing number of researchers. Sometimes, in folk rituals, she performs together with Morana.
Morana, Morena, Mora, Mara, Morė, Marena, or Marzanna is a pagan Slavic goddess associated with seasonal rites based on the idea of death and rebirth of nature. She is an ancient goddess associated with winter's death, rebirth and dreams. In ancient Slavic rites, the death of the Goddess Morana at the end of winter becomes the rebirth of Spring of the Goddess Kostroma (Russian), Lada or Vesna representing the coming of Spring.
Opole Lubelskie is a town in southeastern Poland. As of 2004, it had 8,879 inhabitants. The town is situated in Lublin Voivodeship, some 10 kilometers east of the Vistula River, and is the capital of Opole Lubelskie County. It was founded in the 14th century, and historically belongs to Lublin Land, which is part of Lesser Poland.
The Poklad (Carnival) event held yearly on the remote Adriatic Island of Lastovo is one of the more distinctive and authentic carnival traditions celebrated in Croatia. All the island residents participate by wearing folk costumes. The origins of the Lastovo carnival go back to a historical event. Legend has it that Catalan pirates attacked neighbouring Korčula and sent a Turkish messenger to Lastovo to tell the islanders to surrender, or they would be next. The inhabitants of Lastovo did not let themselves be intimidated – instead they armed themselves and went on the attack. The women and children walked to Hum barefoot from Lastovo and prayed to Sv. Jure for help and their prayers were answered: a storm destroyed the pirates' ships and the inhabitants of Lastovo caught the messenger. In order to mock him, he was taken through the village on the back of a donkey and was afterwards sentenced and burned to death. This event is celebrated through the Poklad every year over a period of two days just before Lent.
Kotórz Wielki is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Turawa, within Opole County, Opole Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It lies approximately 2 kilometres (1 mi) south of Turawa and 12 km (7 mi) north-east of the regional capital Opole.
Silesian Przesieka, literally Silesian Cutting was a densely forested, uninhabited and unpassable strip of land in the middle of Silesia, spreading from Golden Mountains in the south, along the Nysa Kłodzka to the Odra, and then along the Stobrawa, reaching the towns of Namysłów and Byczyna in northern Silesia. Originally, the Silesian Cutting was a boundary, separating territories of two Western Slavic tribes, the Slezanie and the Opolanie. In the 12th century, along the Cutting a border of Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia was established.
Dziwożona is a female swamp demon in Slavic mythology known for being malicious and dangerous. Most at risk of becoming one of these demons after death were thought to be midwives, old maids, unmarried mothers, pregnant women who die before childbirth, as well as abandoned children born out of wedlock.
A Rundling is a form of circular village, now found only in Northern Germany, typical of settlements in the Germanic-Slav contact zone in the Early Medieval period.
Tomasz Kamusella is a Polish scholar pursuing interdisciplinary research in language politics, nationalism, and ethnicity.
A straw bear is a traditional character that appears in carnival processions or as a separate seasonal custom in parts of Germany, mainly at Shrovetide but sometimes at Candlemas or Christmas Eve.
In folklore, a hobby horse is a costumed character that features in some traditional seasonal customs, processions and similar observances around the world. In England, they are particularly associated with May Day celebrations, mummers' plays and the Morris dance.
Czech folklore is the folk tradition which has developed among the Czech people over a number of centuries. Czech folklore was influenced by a mix of Christian and pagan customs. Nowadays it is preserved and kept alive by various folklore ensembles uniting members of all ages, from children to seniors, showing their talent during competitions, folklore festivals or other performances.
Siwki or Siwek is a regional tradition rooted in Polish folklore, in which a procession of dressed up individuals stops passers-by and performs tricks on them. The event usually takes place on Easter Sunday or Easter Monday.
Pereplut is a Slavic deity or a demon with an unclear function. It appears in the list of gods and demons of the 12th-century Ruthenian interpolation of the Word of St. Grigory, as well as in the Word of St. John. According to the source account, pagan Slavs worshiped :
Vila, Mokosh, Dziwa, Perun, Khors, Rod and Rozhanitsy, ghosts and banks, and Pereplut, and turning to drink to him in the corners
Bozić in Slavic paganism is a creature symbolizing the New Year, spring and youth. It appears in Christmas customs accompanied by a golden-horned deer and a pig, as opposed to Badnjak. In the languages of the South Slavs, the word was transferred to the modern name of Christmas, e.g. Serbian Божић, Croatian Božić. The figure of Bozić is probably an echo of the cult of Svarog. Bozić is the personification of the sun, which allegedly dies and is born every year. Features of the cult of Christmas are transferred to the Christian religion: the Serbs, Croats, Slovenes call the holiday "Christmas" Christ "Christmas", the Bulgarians - "Christmas".
