Dzień dobry! How are you doing? I hope that you are well. For those who might not speak Polish the first two words of this paragraph are pronounced as “Gin Dough Bree” and in English could be translated as “Good day!” As I was perusing the Interweb for ideas of what to write about on this October 8th, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that today is “National Pierogi Day.” Since that is one of the more traditional Polish foods I thought that it would be appropriate to start this eNewsletter with some of the language from the country where perogies are most famous. Throughout this brief article we will reflect upon the history of this delectable dumpling and attempt to make a theological connection or two along the way.
According to several pious legends a holy saint by the name of Hyacinth was the reason that pierogi were popularized in Poland. One story goes that the Dominican monk Hyacinth visited a village in the western part of the country after a storm destroyed their crops. He instructed the villagers to trust in God and pray for a blessing from the Lord. Not long thereafter the crops came back and out of deep gratitude the villagers made pierogi from what had miraculously grown.
Another story is that Saint Hyacinth mercifully fed a group of people with pierogi after they had been invaded and experienced a severe famine. A third tale is that the saintly fellow traveled to the relative Far East and brought back perogy for the Polish people to enjoy. It is possible that all, some, or none of those events actually happened. However, what has undeniably remained within the Polish culture that is akin to saying “Holy smokes!” in English is “Święty Jacek z pierogami!” (Literally it would be translated as, “Saint Hyacinth and his pierogi!”)
Because of the potentially saintly origins and since today is National Pierogi Day I would humbly recommend that you try a delicious and usually nutritious pierogis/perogy/dumpling at some point in your life. There are so many varieties of pierogi that you could feast upon, including those that are filled with potato and meat or sweeter kinds which have fruits and chocolate. The word “feast” is an appropriate choice because etymological experts contend that it is most likely one of the original meanings of the word “pierog” (Source: en.wikipedia.org). As a Catholic Christian people we are invited to prepare ourselves in this life for the heavenly banquet which will be a feast beyond our wildest imaginings. Through the prayerful intercession of Saint Hyacinth may we grow in our friendship with Christ- and enjoy some tasty pierogi along the way. 😊
