The feast day of St Andrew is celebrated on November 30.

I can still remember how, in the sixth and seventh year of Primary School, at the age of 11 and 12, it was my shoes which were the first to leave the classroom during our school ‘Andrzejki’ – St Andrew’s Eve. And funnily enough, I did marry young.

In Poland, Andrzejki, or St Andrew’s Eve is observed on the night of November 29, a tradition which has its roots in the past and is focused on superstitions and fortune-telling.

For anyone travelling to Poland or interested in Polish culture, the traditions are worth knowing about.

In Poland, for hundreds of years, girls have anxiously awaited their matrimonial fate to be foreseen on the night before Saint Andrew’s Day, a night which may foretell the success or failure of their plans to ensnare a husband.

Andrzejki fortune telling is mostly for unmarried young ladies. In the past, finding a husband was a Polish girl’s most important task, so some St Andrew’s Eve rituals were supposed to predict which female in the household would get married next, or help describe future partners. Animals, shoes, and wax have been used to foretell marriage.

The wax method of divination is still popular: melted wax, cooled in a bowl of water, is held up to a light to produce a shadow, which is interpreted and the diviner is supposed to learn information about her future; the shadow of burning paper can also be used.

Fortune-telling by means of shoes is the custom of unmarried girls placing their shoes in a line, heel to toe, until the toe of the final shoe touches the doorstep. The girl whose shoe reaches the doorstep first shall be the first to marry.

Other St Andrew divination and ‘magic’ procedures are: l Drawing objects with symbolic meaning, for example a leaf meant spinsterhood; ring or ribbon with cup, close to a wedding; rosary, priesthood.

l Pouring wax into cold water (often through the eye of key) and predicting from the shape of the solidified mass or shadow cast her future lover’s profile or accessories related to his profession.

l The home of the barking dog was supposed to be the one that provided the future bridegroom; l Participants wrote names on two pages – girls on one and boys on the other; then each girl took a needle and pierced the back of the sheet with the boys’ names. The girl was supposed to be destined to marry the boy whose name was pierced. The boys did the same with the girls’ names.

The spiritual character of this period was appreciated by the rituals of Christianity and St Andrew’s Day coincides with the start of Advent in the Catholic Church.

Advent, lasting until Christmas, is the time of reflection and prayer to develop spiritual contact with God.

Although the traditions are not as strong as in the past, and many practices are completely forgotten, it has to preserve something of its spiritual character if at least a few of those practices are still celebrated (such as pouring wax, shoes competition).

Nowadays, young people celebrate the traditional meeting together on St Andrew’s Eve. The remains of the belief in the ‘magical’ power of that night lend a special, mysterious character to the parties, enhanced by the candles and fortune-telling practices.