Happy Śmigus-dyngus (Wet Monday)

It is the day after Easter and I think we need to remember the message of Resurrection Sunday throughout the year. It is easy to get sidetracked and go all secular, even for those in the clergy when we come off the high of the celebration and end up in the day to day business of running our lives. Make your prayer today and every day for Jesus to remind you of what he did for you.

Well, today is Smigus-dyndus if you are Polish or Chech or Slovack. What is Wet Monday, you may ask? You weren't going to ask? You don't really care? Well, when has that stopped me before? Smigus-dyngus is the day that all the boys and girls in Poland run around throwing water on each other and giving each other elaborately decorated eggs. It started out that the unmarried boys would sneak into an unmarried girls bedroom that he fancied and douse her with several buckets of water (actually, it started out as sprinkling her with holy water, but where's the fun in that?), this happens, of course, with the full cooperation of the girls mother, who is after all, trying to get the girl married off anyway. As a matter of fact, any girl who didn't get drenched several times during the day was considered beznadziejna or hopeless. Actually, that is just the dyngus part. The smigus (or "whoosh") is the act of whipping the girls legs (I'm assuming lightly) with willow or birch branches. Ok, I never said that the tradition made all that much sense. Apparently, it all has something to do with fertility and the church incorporated the pagan rites to make Christianity more palatable to the populace. I guess no one ever asked the girls what they thought or maybe the boys would be the ones getting whipped. No, considering how blood-thirsty some women can be you'd end up with a bunch of crippled boys and how are they going to work in the fields?

Ok, now that you've had more information on Polish fertility rites than you ever wanted. I just want everyone to remember to send in your Income Tax forms (yes, I know I'm a little late, but if you read this within a few minutes after I post this then you'll have time. Hey, if you haven't finished your taxes yet, what the heck are you reading this for? Get busy!) Tonight at midnight is the deadline. And here is my free tax advice for the season, if you are sending in an extension and you owe taxes, they will hit you with a penalty if you don't go ahead and send in as much as you owe. And is you are getting a big refund, shame on you, don't let the government play with your money all year for free! Change your records at work so you get a small refund or owe the IRS a small amount. That way you get to play with your money all year and they only get what you owe them. And we do owe them, you know. Not any more than you owe, but what you owe. TANSTAAFL!

After you pray for Jesus to show you what he's done for you, pray for a friend, a neighbor, and enemy. That's our job, you know. And if you can't think of anybody else to pray for, what the heck, pray for me, I can use all the help I can get!

Love yourself and someone else today.

Wayne