Traditions, customs and rituals

Regardless of the region, folk customs are mainly related to church holidays. In Silesia people would read the hay (traditionally put under the tablecloth on Christmas Eve) – a pulled out green blade meant success and a yellow blade troubles and worries. In Częstochowa it was commonly believed that if it is a woman to enter the house first on Christmas Eve, the host would gain a heifer, and if it is a man - a bull. On the second day of Christmas, Silesians would go from house to house with a 'horse' or a 'bear' and carol (this tradition is preserved in Milówka, Kamesznica and Istebna). There is a similar custom in Żywiec, where the villagers disguise and walk around in large groups called dziady noworoczne (New Year's grandfathers). Wawrzyńcowe Hudy (literally: the fires of St. Lawrence) were held in the summer, when people would make fires on wooden scaffolds up on the tops of mountains, and young people would run around the pastures with lighted kozubki (small containers made of cones or bark and filled with resin).
To welcome the spring Silesians drown Marzanna (an effigy of the goddess of the winter). There are also many interesting habits in relation to Easter: burning of garbage on the Holy Wednesday, running with klekotki (clatters) on the Holy Thursday to remind the villagers of the fast. Easter palms of Silesia were prepared from willow (with catkins) or hazel branches and decorated with colourful stripes of tissue paper, and in the region of Częstochowa they were made of willow twigs with catkins and adorned with bilberry and white and pink ribbons. Nearby Wręczyce hazel branches and grass were added, and in Ogrodzieniec the palms would also be made of ears of cereal, which farmers scattered across the fields to ensure fertility.

Folk costumes

Folk costumes are still worn during religious holidays and pilgrimages. In Cieszyn, the woman's attire consists of embroidered white blouse, woollen dress with a velvet embroidered bodice, an apron and a silk scarves on a lace coif. The costume of Bytom differs from Cieszyn's with puffy lace sleeves; the corset is red and the skirt pleated with an silk apron, and the head is decorated with a wreath of artificial flowers. The folk costume of Częstochowa consists of a woollen skirt with red stripes, white blouse with ruffle cuffs, floral scarf and a cap tied under the chin. The costume is complemented with a bead necklace and styled hair. Male folk costume was preserved in Bytom and consists of: navy blue cloth jacket, chamois pants (jelenioki) tucked in the boots, linen shirt and vest. Silesian Highlanders wear nogawice (cloth pants), a linen shirt, red or black vest (in Żywiec it's navy blue or maroon), a hat and leather shoes (kyrpce) and belts.

Traditional cuisine

Silesian cuisine is diverse and very rich. Characteristic Upper Silesian dishes include żur (sour rye soup), karminadle (chops), krupnioki (black pudding) and żymloki (black pudding with bred crumbs instead of grits), wodzionka (diced staled bread in water seasoned with salt and garlic; the stalest leftover bread could be used), hekele (herring salad), as well as roulade with modro kapusta (red cabbage) and dumplings – dinner dishes still present in Silesian homes' menus. During wedding receptions lemon or chocolate szpajza (cream) was served, and there was no Christmas table without siemieniotka (hemp seeds soup), moczki (gingerbread, compote and dainties-based dessert) and makówki (dessert prepared of poppy seeds, challah, milk, butter, honey and nuts). An inherent element of the highlanders' cuisine are sheep milk products - cheese (bundz, bryndza and oscypek) and drink made of sheep milk whey called żętyca. Also a frequently served dish is kwaśnica (soup with sauerkraut and meat) with wholemeal rye bread. In the Częstochowa region, the Christmas Eve supper started with a herring soup and cabbage with peas; ordinary meals included zalewajka (potato soup with soured rye flour), pietruszajka (parsley soup), white roulade with black dumplings and red cabbage, and garus (compote of strained apples, pears and plums thickened with flour and sour cream, served with potatoes and bacon). A typical dinner in Cieszyn Silesia usually consisted of polywka (soup similar to zalewajka), and once a week housewives would prepare nugle (homemade noodles). Stryki with wyrzoski (potato pancakes with cracklings or pieces of meat fat) and favoured by children pancakes called amolety were another frequently served dishes. Traditional sweets were zozworki (ginger cookies), kołocz (crumb cake), ciastka ze szpyrek (cookies made of cracklings)or koszyczki (called 'baskets' for their shape).

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