Pajaki Ornaments
A traditional pająk mobile. Source: Skanseny
This year, the first and eighth graders at Tamarack worked together to create pająki, or traditional Polish mobiles, for our school tree at the Community Spirit Park in Cathedral Square.
“Pająk” (plural form: “pająki”) literally translates to “spider.” These ornaments date back to the mid-18th century and old Slavic rituals performed by Polish villagers for the winter solstice and the spring equinox. The villagers crafted their pająki from dry straw collected from the fields during the harvest season, usually during late autumn. They had their pająki hanging up in the rafters of their homes by Christmas and kept them up through winter until the arrival of spring and for Easter celebrations.
1st and 8th graders working together on their pająki.
The purpose of pająki traditionally was to help protect the inhabitants of Polish cottages during winter, the hardest and most bitter season of the year. Polish countrypeople believed these ornaments warded off evil and bad luck. For this reason, some people compare pająki to dream catchers prevalent in Native American cultures.
The students made their pająki from natural objects or recycled/repurposed items found outdoors or donated by parents. These objects included acorns, pine cones, colorful yarn, old CDs, and other small items made of wood, plastic, metal, and cloth.
Students decorating our school tree.
The students decorated the school tree on November 13th. The park is located at 520 E Wells St, Milwaukee, WI 53202, and you can go visit through November and December. You can also watch a highlight reel video from the day the students decorated the tree, linked here.
Sources:
Karolina Merska — Karolina Merska
Lamus Dworski — Pająki – protective decorations made of straw – Lamus Dworski (wordpress.com)
Written by Hodna Neurnberg, 1st Grade Teacher, and Molly Wardius, Marketing and Events Coordinator