Easter in Polish means “Great Night” — not a chocolate bunny
In America, Easter means pastel eggs, the Easter Bunny, and candy baskets from Walmart. In Poland, Easter is “Wielka Noc” (Great Night) — a purely religious name, without the pagan goddess Ēostre and without chocolate bunnies. For a Pole, Easter begins with Ash Wednesday, lasts through forty days of Lent, and culminates on Holy Saturday, when a basket is carried to church. In the USA, this tradition lives on — but it looks different.
In the USA, this tradition lives on — but it looks different.
Święconka (Easter basket blessing) in Greenpoint — a queue like at the Social Security office, but with sausage
On Holy Saturday, queues of people with wicker baskets covered with a white napkin line up in front of Polish churches in New York, Chicago, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Inside: eggs, bread, salt, horseradish, cold cuts, a sugar lamb, and a piece of babka.
In Greenpoint, Brooklyn, the święconka at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church is the event of the year. Baskets stand on long tables, the priest walks by with a sprinkler, and the smell of horseradish mixes with the perfume of grandmothers in their best coats. Those who missed the first round wait for the second. Those who missed the second go to the competition on Driggs Avenue.
In Chicago on Milwaukee Avenue, it’s similar. At St. Hyacinth Parish, baskets lie on benches next to Costco bags — because Easter babka from a Polish deli costs $18, and from Costco it’s cheaper. Tradition is tradition, but math is math.
What must be in the basket — and what the Polish diaspora puts there
Traditionally, the święconka should include:
- Eggs (pisanki) — a symbol of rebirth. In Poland, dyed with onion skins, in the USA more often with a kit from a Polish deli for $3.99
- Bread — a symbol of the body of Christ
- Salt — protects against evil
- Horseradish — symbolizes strength. In the USA often from a jar of “Beaver Brand” because Polish horseradish wasn’t available at ShopRite
- Cold cuts — health, abundance. Sausage from Eagle Provisions in Greenpoint or Bobak’s in Chicago
- Lamb made of sugar or butter — a symbol of Christ
- Easter babka — for a sweet ending
In Polish delis in the USA, shelves have been overflowing with Easter products since mid-March. If you don’t have a Polish store nearby — check the directory on Stores and Distributors.
Easter breakfast — żurek that tastes like home
On Easter Sunday, the Polish family sits down for Easter breakfast. On the table: żurek with white sausage and egg, vegetable salad, ham, ćwikła (beetroot relish), mazurek (flat cake). It begins with sharing an egg from the święconka — just like the wafer on Christmas Eve.
In America, this moment is often charged with emotion. You share an egg with your husband, children, mother-in-law — but your mom is in Krakow, grandma in Rzeszow, brother in London. You call on FaceTime. You show the table. Grandma says the żurek looks too thin. It’s like that every year.
Śmigus-Dyngus — a test of survival in an American suburb
On Easter Monday (April 6th) in Poland, boys douse girls with water. The tradition dates back to the 14th century — water symbolizes purification and the arrival of spring. In Poland, it’s normal. A neighbor douses a neighbor with a bucket and everyone laughs.
In America, Śmigus-Dyngus is harder to explain. Dousing a neighbor with a bucket in New Jersey might end with a police call. That’s why the Polish diaspora moved the tradition to churches and organizations — Dyngus Day in Buffalo, NY is one of the largest Polish-American events in America, with over 50 years of tradition and thousands of participants.
Polish Easter Bazaar — a new tradition in Michigan
The American Polish Cultural Center in Troy, near Detroit, announced this year the first ever Polish Easter Bazaar — March 22, 2026. Following the success of the Christmas market in December, the center is organizing an Easter equivalent with pisanki (decorated eggs), Polish food, and craft stalls.
This is a sign that the Polish diaspora not only maintains traditions — it creates new ones.
Easter Calendar 2026 — save the dates
- March 22 — Polish Easter Bazaar, American Polish Cultural Center, Troy, MI
- March 29 — Palm Sunday
- April 3 — Good Friday
- April 4 — Holy Saturday (blessing of baskets in churches)
- April 5 — Easter Sunday
- April 6 — Easter Monday / Śmigus-Dyngus
Happy Alleluia — Polish style, American style, your own way
Easter in America will never be the same as in Poland. There’s no Resurrection procession at six in the morning with a brass band, no wet Monday with a bucket of cold water, no grandma who personally checks if the horseradish is spicy enough.
But there’s something else. There’s a basket carried by a three-generation family to church in Greenpoint. There’s żurek cooked from grandma’s recipe, sent on WhatsApp (make sure you have automatic media download turned off — see our previous article). And there’s an egg shared on FaceTime with family across the ocean.
Because Easter is not a place. Easter is people. And Poles — wherever they are — will always find a way to queue up with a basket.
The Voice of Polonia in the USA — poland.us. Looking for a Polish deli, butcher, or bakery in your state? Check the directory on Stores and Distributors.
