TOLEDO, Ohio — It's a Polish tradition unlike any other.
Dyngus Day is the Polish holiday that occurs the day after Easter when men and women shower each other with water for fun, while also showcasing their love to one another after observing the period of Lent.
It's a tradition that dates back to 966 AD in Poland, and here in northwest Ohio, the rich Polish makeup continues to remember and celebrate the unique holiday.
"Back then, the neighbors didn't care. They knew exactly what you were doing," Tom Pruss, vice president of the Toledo Polish Cultural Center said. "It was not uncommon to see every child in the neighborhood on the prowl with water balloons. It was just a fantastic time growing up and being able to do things like that."
Although the culture is rich with Polish heritage, the recognition of Dyngus Day and other traditional customs has slowly declined here in Toledo.
But that is not stopping people like Polish Cultural Center President Tom Waniewski from understanding and sharing the importance of these customs.
"Bringing up those old customs is something that we do not want to see fade away," Waniewski said. "Particularly now as I've seen my daughter ask me about my Polish customs, we want to bring that back to life."
Waniewski and Pruss are doing so as the leaders of the Polish Cultural Center, an organization that in October 2023 broke ground on a new $2.8 million building.
This building is intended to preserve and share Toledo's Polish story as well as welcome other cultures and customs to the table.
"This is going to be open to all cultures, all heritage, things like that," Pruss said. "It's going to be a great meeting for all of northwest Ohio to come and celebrate their cultural heritage. We'll have enough room for everyone to come help join us, and again, it's a name, but the building is going to last for the entire community."
"We felt it was necessary to preserve some of the heritage and to make it available for generations after this," Waniewski said.
Preserving memories is vital for those working for the cultural center because for them, cherishing memories like ones as a child during Dyngus Day celebrations is invaluable.
"My favorite thing is going around and remembering how many of the leftover rings from all the water balloons were leftover around the faucet outside the house," said Pruss. "That's when you knew how many times you got hit."