One of the little girls processing in the Corpus Christi celebrations and throwing her basket of flower petals with magnificent abandon!
Tour Day 5: Celebrating Corpus Christi and Auschwitz
Krakow CelebratingToday we had our morning free before heading to the Death Camp of Auschwitz and Auschwitz-Birkenau in the afternoon. We wanted to see St. Mary's interior, view Lady with an Ermine by Da Vinci at the museum next door to our hotel, or go through the Rynek Underground Museum. None of these things were open because of the Corpus Christi celebrations. So, off we went to witness the celebrations instead.
Area of one of the outdoor masses going on in Krakow with the participants, and alongside the route celebrants and bystanders listening to the mass and observing the festivities.
On our way to the festivities along Grodzka Street we stopped and walked around the exterior of St. Mary's to see more of the outside, and were able to view the other church that is older than the square, St. Adalbert's.
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Image of the DayThis amazing little girl was part of the procession for the Corpus Christi celebrations. As the procession was moving towards the Main Market Square she was throwing her petals with exuberant youthful abandon! She was really enjoying her part in the celebrations, and was the cutest thing ever that really brought home to us how personal and generational these kinds of celebrations are for the Poles. They have celebrating these religious days for so much of their history, and here they are, still celebrating it. Fantastic! Her mom had to take charge of the basket of petals though, or they would have run out long before they made it to the square.
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Pro-Tip: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Nothing was open that we had wanted to see this morning before heading to Auschwitz this afternoon because of the Corpus Christi festival. We were disappointed, but decided we might as well get out and see what the festival was about as we would probably never get such an opportunity again. And hopefully, as Rick says, we will return! We had an amazing time celebrating with the Poles and were so glad we didn't let the lemons sour our day!
Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi is Latin for 'the body of Christ,' and is a joyful festival celebrated by Catholics (Poland is very much a practicing Catholic country) and other Christians. It is to announce or proclaim the truth of transubstantiation. What is transubstantiation? Well, based upon my 9 years of private Catholic elementary schooling I can tell you that transubstantiation is the belief that bread and wine is turned into the actual body and blood of Christ during Mass. Corpus Christi is observed on the Thursday or sometimes the Sunday after Trinity Sunday, and in some countries is a Holy Day of Obligation. It might be a day of obligation in Poland, I'm not sure, but is not in the US. It seemed that the whole town participated in this joyous festival! We found a spot where an outdoor mass was going on in the street and just listened and observed. Then they started processing back up the street towards the Main Market Square and we were able to see all the different groups go by with their traditional garments on before enjoying the love, laughter and joyfullness the Poles exuded on this special day in the square.
Corpus Christi is Latin for 'the body of Christ,' and is a joyful festival celebrated by Catholics (Poland is very much a practicing Catholic country) and other Christians. It is to announce or proclaim the truth of transubstantiation. What is transubstantiation? Well, based upon my 9 years of private Catholic elementary schooling I can tell you that transubstantiation is the belief that bread and wine is turned into the actual body and blood of Christ during Mass. Corpus Christi is observed on the Thursday or sometimes the Sunday after Trinity Sunday, and in some countries is a Holy Day of Obligation. It might be a day of obligation in Poland, I'm not sure, but is not in the US. It seemed that the whole town participated in this joyous festival! We found a spot where an outdoor mass was going on in the street and just listened and observed. Then they started processing back up the street towards the Main Market Square and we were able to see all the different groups go by with their traditional garments on before enjoying the love, laughter and joyfullness the Poles exuded on this special day in the square.
The Church of Sts. Peter & Paul along Grodzka St. which was a staging spot for an outdoor mass, nuns from different orders, a statue being processed through the square, children and women in their traditional dress, men with fur hats which we surmised was maybe from a guild of some sort, and a young girl in traditional dress throwing flowers in celebration.
Auschwitz I & BirkenauBetween 1941 and 1945 approximately 1.1 million innocent people were murdered at the Auschwitz camps, particularly at the death camp of Birkenau, the largest and most notorious camp within the Nazi system. The Nazis built Birkenau as a vast factory of death; its sole purpose being to kill people. And so, along with the other 5 death camps of Chelmno, Treblinka, Majdanek, Sobibor and Belzec built by the Nazis on Polish soil, it did. Today, Auschwitz is a poignant memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. Look around, listen, learn, and remember those who lost their lives.
Greater Auschwitz map showing the towns of Oswiecim (Auschwitz in German) and Brzezinka in relation to Auschwitz I, which was built from an already existing Polish military base, and Auschwitz-Birkenau which was the notorious death camp. |
Pro-Tip: There is so much to learn here and to try and wrap your head around, so if you can I would recommend learning a little on your own before you go. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website is useful. You can also find many documentaries to watch on the Holocaust and Auschwitz to get a basic understanding. Also, bring tissues.
Dinner at Miod Malina
After we got back to Krakow the evening was on our own. We decided to do a nice dinner in a city we all had really come to love. From the RS guidebook we decided on Miod Malina. It was fantastic, and we weren't the only members of our group that had this idea. Our entree's included squid ink pasta, beef cheeks, and pasta with tomatoes and arugula. Delicious! During our walk back to the hotel after dinner Jess and I stopped for a gelato, and I got a picture of the others in front of our hotel on our last night in beautiful Krakow. |