Happy St. Barbara's Day!
December 4th is one of the most important days in Silesia - the Day of Saint Barbara, the patron of miners, from Silesian language called ‘Barbórka’. The day when miners celebrate, organize beer feasts and thank their patron for looking after them.
This day is celebrated in a solemn way in one of the places I mentioned earlier - Nikiszowiec. In the early morning hours, there is a traditional parade of a mining band dressed in distinctive uniforms every year.
In the evening, the employees of the mines (only men) meet at a grand events where they sing mining songs together, drink litres of beer, but also reward the most distinguished miners and say goodbye to those who retire.
If you can’t be at the parade, because of early hours or a distance, here you have a video from previous years:
You've probably noticed the characteristic headdress: black hats with a colored plume. Well, the color of the feathers is not accidental: red is for the members of the orchestra (white and red for the conductor), green for the directors, white for the supervisors in the mine and black for all miners. Along with the formal uniform, the distinguished miners also keep a rapier, which is fortunately decorative and not a combat weapon. A characteristic symbol of mining in Upper Silesia is Pyrlik and Żelozko, (Hammer and Pick).
