The Polish Easter Monday tradition of playfully sprinkling people with water is called Śmigus-dyngus.
Śmigus-dyngus, also called Wet Monday, takes place on the day after Easter Sunday. People traditionally splash relatives and friends with water, using cups, buckets, water guns, or sometimes household containers. In older rural customs, young men often targeted unmarried women, although the modern practice is generally more playful and inclusive.
The custom combines older spring and fertility symbolism with the Christian Easter calendar. Water can represent cleansing, renewal, and the arrival of spring. Its name reflects the historical joining of two related customs: śmigus involved symbolic striking or pouring, while dyngus involved visiting, gifts, or begging.
Śmigus-dyngus is often confused with Hungary’s locsolkodás. Both feature water on Easter Monday, but Śmigus-dyngus is specifically the Polish Wet Monday tradition.