WIGILIA: A Polish Village Christmas Eve

It is Christmas Eve. The night is cold and snow drifts across the fields. Children sit by the windows eagerly waiting for the appearance of the first star. “There it is!” cries Janek (Johnny). “Yes, we see it!” they all chorus. “Wigilia can begin!”

Poland’s Day of Remembrance

November 1st, All Saints Day, is Poland’s Day of Remembrance. It is a national holiday and throughout Poland, families travel to rural and city cemeteries to honor those who have died. Preparations begin with the gathering of buckets, brooms, cleaning supplies, some garden tools and most importantly, flowers and votive candles for the graves. Refreshments are also taken for it will be a long day.

Dozynki: The Harvest Celebration

In August and September, the harvesting of wheat and other grains begins in Poland. After enduring the vagaries of weather and months of continuous labor, workers are ready to celebrate the harvesting of an abundant crop. The Polish word dozynki means to reap; to mow, so inevitably the harvesting celebration became known as Dozynki.

Cultural Website Spotlight: Polishsite.us

Spartan Opinion puts forth a significant effort to spread knowledge about world culture to the masses. In the spirit of that pursuit I stumbled upon a fantastic website that is all about the Polish Culture, called polishsite.us

KAPLICZKI : The Wayside Shrines of Poland

Wayside shrines have always been prevalent in Poland. Before Poland became a nation the early Slavic tribes, who occupied the area, practiced a Naturalistic religion with a hierarchy of gods, both good and evil.