February celebration – Valentine’s Day and Shrovetide

In Pomerania, the festival of love was traditionally set on June 23rd and called Sobótka. It was a day when people made their declarations of love. For those in love, the shortest night of the year was filled with dancing and having fun together. Everything happened around bonfire often by the water. Young girls were making wreaths and throwing them to the river with a wish of meeting the love of their life. The Kashubians believed that if you fell in love during Sobótka night, the love would last forever. Today, the tradition of celebrating love on Sobótka has been replaced by the Saint Valentine’s Day. This American holiday quickly gained popularity throughout Europe, including Poland. In the time of the pandemic, a lot of the most popular ideas of spending Valentine’s Day – such as candlelight dinner at a cosy restaurant, going to the cinema or for a romantic getaway together – might be limited but many interesting alternatives have emerged instead. If you don’t have any plans yet, check out  a few propositions that we found:

• From February 12, some restrictions will be lifted – hotels, SPA centres and many other places of relaxation have interesting Valentine’s proposals for you, Check out your options at https://walentynki.trojmiasto.pl
• If you don’t want to leave the house, you can hire a cook to prepare a romantic dinner for you and your second half at your own home. Suggestions for Tricity can be found at https://ulalachef.com
• Take advantage of a special Valentine’s Day takeaway menu – unique sets are offered by many Pomeranian restaurants
• Organize a “romantic quarantine” – spend this day with your loved one, just the two of you. Turn off your phones and cut yourself off from the rest of the world for a while
• Decorate your apartment with candles, fresh flowers, soft pillows – create a unique, romantic space for this magical day
• Go for a couples massage or organize a home SPA in your own leaving room
• Spend the day together actively! A trip to the forest, sledging, ski touring – there are many amazing routes in Pomerania where you can have some winter fun together
• Tricity has also some exciting propositions for kids, for example, creative workshops: https://imprezy.trojmiasto.pl/warsztaty-walentynkowe-dla-dzieci-5-12lat-imp505003.html

So-called “Fat Thursday” opens the last week before the Lent. It’s a day when you can and should eat as many doughnuts as you can. The tradition of Shrovetide and carnival in Pomerania is very old. In Kashubia, however, it was not doughnuts that dominated this period of the year but plińce and ruchanki (both types of pancakes). Traditionally, they were baked not on Thursday but from Sunday till Tuesday – so for the whole three days preceding Ash Wednesday and beginning of the Lent.

The end of the carnival was also a time of cultivating rituals to ensure prosperity in the new year and protection from natural disasters. For example, fishermen had to tie the nets to the ceiling and sway on them to ensure a successful fishing year. Peasants, on the other hand, devoted themselves to the carnival fun which, according to the superstition, ensured a rich harvest. All over Kashubia, there were carnival parties whose participants dressed up in costumes.

This year, of course, we have to forget about big carnival parties but we still can have a little fun in our households with the closest people. So, let’s try something new. You can gather your family and try a recipe for traditional Kashubian plińce (http://oneginetatopa.blogspot.com/2015/04/kaszubskie-plince.html) or plan a small family carnival celebration!