Dzień świętego Szczepana w religijności i kulturze ludowej w Polsce
Saint Stephen's Day in Religiousness and Folk Culture in Poland

Summary/Abstract: The article concerns Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr whose feast in the liturgy of the Catholic Church falls on the second day of Christmas, i.e., 26th of December. The veneration of the saint is seen not only in folk religiosity, but also in folk rituals characteristic for this holiday. The author used his own ethnographic field research conducted in the Opoczno and Radom subregions on annual rituals (1990-1994) and annual and funeral rituals (1997-2006), as well as the theological and religious literature on the subject. In folk beliefs around the figure of St. Stephen some pre-Christian agrarian practices were focused, but after giving them a Christian interpretation they were incorporated into the Church liturgy. One of the common customs is that a priest will bless oats in the church, which people then throw at each other. In the past it was a magical ritual to ensure prosperity in the growing of cereals and on the farm. After giving it a Christian interpretation, it symbolizes the stoning of the patron saint of that day – St. Stephen. In addition, the article discusses other customs and folk ceremonies characteristic of this holiday, such as: exchanging wishes, carol singing, termination of employment by servants or marriage matching.

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