Get Your Dyngus On! A Little History on Dyngus Day [VIDEOS]

Happy Dyngus Day to all of WYRK's faithful listeners!

To those not familiar with the day, it is a Polish-American tradition that marks the end of lent and the celebration of the Easter holiday.

So how did Dyngus Day start?  Well, many of the customs date back to pre-Christian practices of the Slavic ancestors. The idea of pouring water is a "cleansing" or "purification" process.  Since 966 A.D. Dyngus Day has been most closely associated with the baptism of Prince Mieszko I.  In modern days, farm boys in Poland who are looking for attention from the ladies would throw water and hit them about the legs with pussy willows. The guys who were a bit more bold used cologne.

Here are a few examples of how Dyngus Day is celebrated in Buffalo!