Madison Kwiecinski – Editor-in-Chief 

Mvk5945@psu.edu

On Easter Monday, Polish Americans gather to celebrate Dyngus Day which is a celebration of Polish-American heritage and tradition. This year in Erie was no exception, as the local community in Erie gathered at the Polish Falcons Club located on the East side of Erie to hold their 27th annual Dyngus Day celebration. 

This year, Dyngus Day fell on Monday, April 10, and as always was celebrated with several traditional Polish food and drinks. Ironically, this holiday is mainly celebrated in the United Stated and is not widely recognized in Poland, though it is in some areas of the country. The tradition mainly recognizes Polish-American culture. 

It is also worth noting that Buffalo NY is the Dyngus Day capitol in the United States, hosting the largest concentration of celebrations for the event anywhere in the U.S. 

Oddly, a part of the tradition of Dyngus Day involves sprinkling people with water and tapping them with pussywillow branches. Traditionally, on Monday young boys would do this to girls they like, and on Tuesday the girls would do the same to the boys. 

The specification of pussywillow branches is slightly strange, but it comes from an old Polish legend. Essentially, in the spring of one year it is rumored a mothers baby kittens fell into a rushing river, and the mother cat sat sadly by the water crying for her kittens. The willow tree heard the cats cries and bent its limbs into the river to rescue the kittens and pull them onto shore. 

Overall, Dyngus Day is celebrated across America to recognize Polish-American heritage and celebrate the end of the Lent season.