The Roadside Cross in Poland on Holy Saturday

The cross is the most recognizable symbol of Christianity. It is believed to have been used as a symbol of the faith as early as the 2nd century but it wasn’t until the 4th century that the suffering of Jesus Christ and His ultimate sacrifice became the predominant symbol of Christianity. 

Photo: Polish village between the world wars. Undetermined location. Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe.

In Poland, the cross came to be called Boże Męki, or God’s Suffering. It was believed that only after erecting a cross did a village truly become Christian as embodied by the Polish proverb: A cross in the village, God in the village. The cross and the immediate area around it was seen as sacred and as such became a place of prayer. This was especially vital to small hamlets and villages that did not yet have a church of its own. The cross was a sign of God's presence and protection.  Throughout the Catholic liturgical year, the inhabitants gathered to hold devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary in May or to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in June. It was also the place of importance on Holy Saturday, the last day of Holy Week.

One of the most cherished of Polish Easter traditions, the blessing of foods on Holy Saturday, called święnconka, has been practiced in Poland since the Middle Ages. In the small hamlets and villages that did not have a church of its own, the people brought their food to the most sacred place in their community – the cross. There they waited for the priest to make his rounds through all of the rural communities and arrive to bless their food. They sometimes erected a table in front of the cross to place their baskets or bowls or simply sat or kneeled around the cross. After the blessing, they carried their food home in anticipation of its enjoyment the very next morning. 




 19th c. illustration by Jan Feliks Piwarski. Public domain.

   As can be seen by the photographs, the tall crosses were most often made of wood which  gradually rotted at the base or deteriorated from the elements and had to be replaced. The cross was sacred, no matter that it was old and in disrepair. It was the tradition in Poland that if an old cross was removed, it would be burnt at a sacred  time - on Holy Saturday night,  the eve of keeping vigil for the Resurrection of the Lord.

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Blessing of fire in front of St. Mary's Church in Warsaw. Eugeniusz Małyszczycki. 1894. Wikimedia.

    In Roman Catholic practices, fire and water are blessed on this night. In the cities or towns that had one, this took place in front of the church. In rural communities that didn’t have a church it took place on cemetery grounds. The wood for the fire consisted of an old cross together with the dense and thorny branches of blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) because of legendary beliefs that its branches were used to make the crown of thorns worn by Jesus Christ at His crucifixion on Good Friday.
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​It was also believed that the ashes from this Holy Saturday pyre would protect the fields from hail and lightning and ensure a good harvest so it was collected and scattered on the land during the first plowing of the fields.

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Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa). Photo by Dawid Bagiński. RadioMaryja.pl

It was only after this late-in-the day blessing of fire and water that the attending priest could sing  “Alleluja” for the first time since the beginning of Lent.  Christ’s suffering is over and the faithful exalt in joy at His resurrection.

Sources: Gawełek, Franciszek. Wielkanoc. Drukarnia Literackiej w Krakowie 1911

                Spirit of Place: The Roadside Shrines of Poland. Hippocrene Books. 2023