One of the
most interesting traditions
of that day for Polish people is
wax pouring,
through the keyhole
right into the cold water. Leftover
candle stubs,
collected over time,
are put into a pot which is put over
the source of
heat.
The most important thing in this tradition is that the liquid
wax must be poured through the keyhole. Why? Well, the old
tradition doesn't answer that question. It may be that the key
symbolised the gate of time and the best key for the fortune
telling had to bethe one from important doors, eg. a church's door
The most important thing in this tradition is that the liquid
wax must be poured through the keyhole. Why? Well, the old
tradition doesn't answer that question. It may be that the key
symbolised the gate of time and the best key for the fortune
telling had to bethe one from important doors, eg. a church's door
Or maybe the key was a symbolic opener in the book of life's
future
events, and it held the sequence of events in the future.
One of the
reasons was that the wax was the product of bees,
and candles made of it
were used in Catholic church ceremonies.
In the very old days, instead of
candles, people used lead or tin
from old parts of church's stained
glass windows.
The metals symbolised stability of feelings and emotions and
eternal love. They were replaced by bees wax, as heavy metals
conveyed
the message of life's hardships in future life.
Liquid wax solidifies
quickly in cold water, forming strange
and random shapes that are now very
closely examined by
the members of the party. To be precise, their strange wax
shapes have to be lit with a source of light and their shadows
cast over
a wall -- something that makes everybody wonder.
Those looking at the shadow
make comments about what the
shapes look like and relation of the shape with
the person who
has just poured the wax. This fortune-telling was mainly
designed
for young women to get a vision of a future husband, but now
everybody
can pour wax wondering what the future holds for the new year.
keyhole [`ki:həul] dziurka od klucza
leftover [`leftəuvə] pozostałości, odpadki
stub [ stʌb] niedopałek, końcówka
liquid [`lɪkwɪd] ciekły, płynny
wax [ wæks] wosk
hold [ həʊld] zawierać
bee [ bi:] pszczoła
lead [ led] ołów
tin [ tɪn] cyna
stained glass [ steɪnd glas]
convey [ kən'veɪ] przesyłać, przekazywać
hardship [`ha:dʃɪp] trudności
solidify [ sə`lɪdɪfaɪ] zastygać, krzepnąć
cast over [ kast `euvə ] rzucać ponad
fortune-telling [`fo:tʃən
telɪŋ] przepowiadanie
przyszłości
