Śmigus-dyngus – a water-filled celebration on Easter Monday

Splashing water on the second day of Easter is a custom deeply rooted in Polish culture. Śmigus-dyngus originates from pagan folk traditions, often with erotic and fertility-related undertones. Remnants of these practices, in a softened form, are still observed today.

Water – fertility, purification, and new life

As the basis of life, water has always held deep and multifaceted meaning in various cultures. The same applies to Slavic culture and later Polish customs and traditions, where water was associated with fertility, purification, and new life. It is no surprise that it continues to play a major role during springtime celebrations.

Easter rituals involving water began as early as Holy Saturday. To this day, this is the time when water is blessed and then kept until the following year. The priest sprinkles the Easter food baskets with holy water, and in the past, it was also used to bless livestock in rural areas. Homeowners would also bless their homes by sprinkling them with holy water. This practice combined Christian and pagan symbolism. Water was believed to ensure fertility and good harvests, protect the household, and cleanse from sin. The Easter Vigil on Saturday evening is also a traditional time for baptisms – a form of rebirth through water.

Easter Monday was reserved for folk traditions. These customs were tied to pagan spring festivals known as Jare Gody.

Śmigus-dyngus – customs in old Poland

Now merged into one term, śmigus and dyngus originally had different meanings.

Śmigus likely comes from the word for smacking (or the German schmechen). In the past, besides splashing water, village boys would whip girls on their legs using festive palms or willow twigs. These actions were meant to highlight the girl’s attractiveness and ensure her health and beauty for the year ahead. However, there was a way to “buy” one’s way out of further whipping or splashing. A girl could give the boy a decorated Easter egg as a form of ransom. The color of the egg had meaning – red showed affection, while yellow meant the suitor was unwelcome.

Dyngus (from the German dingen – to ransom) was, in a broader sense, a custom similar to caroling. Groups of young boys in costumes would go from house to house with props, singing and receiving gifts or food. Eventually, the two customs merged, giving rise to the modern śmigus-dyngus.

While the whipping tradition was typically rural, water splashing was practiced across all social classes. However, not everyone approached it with the same enthusiasm. In larger towns, it was acceptable to sprinkle a chosen girl with rose water or perfume. On Easter Monday, men did the splashing, and from that point until Pentecost (49 days after Easter), the privilege shifted to women.

Easter Monday today

Not long ago, even in the early 2000s, intense water splashing was common both in villages and cities. It wasn’t unusual for a girl out on a walk on Easter Monday to return home soaked. Boys at the time did not limit themselves to splashing just the girls. Sometimes they drenched anyone who crossed their path. Bolder groups in major cities even poured water into buses and trams.

Over time, the custom began to fade and morphed into a family or children’s activity. The sexual symbolism of dyngus rituals, which the church had tried unsuccessfully to eliminate for centuries, disappeared on its own. Nowadays, pranksters wanting to splash or whip someone without consent would have to be ready for legal consequences. The most dramatic media reports warn of up to five years in prison for violating personal integrity or damaging property. In most cases, such incidents would likely end with a fine.

Modern Easter Monday celebrations are much more modest. We usually splash water in the family circle. To minimize mess, parents often buy small egg-shaped water sprayers for their children. Although śmigus-dyngus is now much calmer and more intimate, it remains the most water-filled holiday in the Polish calendar.

main photo: Jeremiah Lawrence / Unsplash