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Polish Customs, Traditions, & Folklore is organized by months beginning with December and Advent, St. Nicholas Day, the Wigilia (Christmas Eve) nativity plays, caroling and then New Year celebrations. It proceeds from the Shrovetide period to Ash Wednesday, Lent, the celebration of spring, Holy Week customs then superstitions, beliefs and rituals associated with farming, Pentecost, Corpus Christi, midsummer celebrations, harvest festivities, wedding rites, nameday celebrations, birth and death rituals. Line illustrations enhance this rich and varied treasury of folklore. Many of the customs and traditions found herein are extinct even in today's Poland. World wars, massive immigration, the loss of the oral tradition, urbanization and politics have changed the face of a once agrarian people and their accompanying life style. In the U.S., the desire for membership within the "melting pot", marriages outside one's ethnic group, movement to the suburbs away from the "old" communities where customs and traditions were once strong, further weakened the link. Although the purpose and meaning may have been lost and forgotten, the oczepiny ceremony (the unveiling) is still the mainstay of almost every wedding where the bride declares Polish heritage. Many Polish American communities still reenact the harvest celebrations, reminding themselves of their ancestors' reverence for the grains and gifts of bread. Eight million Americans still claim their ancestry as Polish, many still diligently practicing that which they learned at their parents' and grandparents' knees. Much has also been neglected or completely forgotten.
Culture Smart! provides essential information on attitudes, beliefs and behavior in different countries, ensuring that you arrive at your destination aware of basic manners, common courtesies, and sensitive issues. These concise guides tell you what to expect, how to behave, and how to establish a rapport with your hosts. This inside knowledge will enable you to steer clear of embarrassing gaffes and mistakes, feel confident in unfamiliar situations, and develop trust, friendships, and successful business relationships. Culture Smart! offers illuminating insights into the culture and society of a particular country. It will help you to turn your visit-whether on business or for pleasure-into a memorable and enriching experience. Contents include * customs, values, and traditions * historical, religious, and political background * life at home * leisure, social, and cultural life * eating and drinking * do's, don'ts, and taboos * business practices * communication, spoken and unspoken "Culture Smart has come to the rescue of hapless travellers." Sunday Times Travel "... the perfect introduction to the weird, wonderful and downright odd quirks and customs of various countries." Global Travel "...full of fascinating-as well as common-sense-tips to help you avoid embarrassing faux pas." Observer "...as useful as they are entertaining." Easyjet Magazine "...offer glimpses into the psyche of a faraway world." New York Times
"Filled with illustrations and fascinating information, Polish Herbs, Flowers & Folk Medicine is a veritable treasure trove of history, how-to, and inspiration."--The Midwest Book Review Taking the reader on a historical tour of herbs and flowers used in Poland throughout the centuries, this carefully-researched volume captures the unique history and role of plant life once essential to the people of Poland. Wander through monastery, castle and cottage gardens with acclaimed Polish-American author Sophie Hodorowicz Knab as she explores the growth of medicine and pharmacies and provides information on the use of over 100 plants, used in healing as well as in daily life and seasonal holidays throughout the year. You'll find legends, cautionary tales, and love potions, as well as a chapter devoted to wedding plants and herbs. There are home remedies for everything that ailed the people of Poland, from acne to arthritis, relaxants to rejuvenators, and heartache to heartburn. Gleaned from old Polish herbals, Knab provides recipes for balms to treat ailments such as stress, insomnia, slow metabolism, perspiring feet, limp hair and oily skin. Also included are recipes for homemade herbal vinegars, soups, syrups, and liqueurs, including elderberry syrup, homemade Benedictine, and a healing vodka drink from Gdansk. This revised edition includes new information and research as well as new illustrations and color photographs. All plants are listed alphabetically according to their English common name, followed by Latin botanical name and common Polish name. There is an index of scientific names for quick reference. History buffs, gardeners, and anyone interested in their Polish ancestry will find much to explore here.
Presents Polish customs, traditions, beliefs, myths, folklore, superstitions, and legends for the different months and seasons of the year. The pagan roots of Christian practices are revealed as well as their adaptation to nobler purposes.
Here are nearly 100 recipes for such classic Polish favorites as "Beer Soup with Cream and Cottage Cheese," "Roast Beef Roll with Mushrooms," "Roast Pork with Caraway Polish Style," and "Old Polish Royal Mazurek." The recipes are interwoven with a briefly outlined history of Polish culinary customs. Short essays cover subjects like Polish hospitality, holiday traditions, even the exalted status of the mushroom. The recipes are traditional family fare.
This study of Polish folk music is especially enlightening as it reveals both the history and practice of a musical tradition and offers an illuminating view of a culture and its social activities. Within her study, Anna Czekanowska analyses the vocal and instrumental traditions of Polish folk music, tracing the background history, the influences of geography and politics, and the practice, often within contemporary society, of such social events as the harvest, the solstice and weddings. The function of folk culture within contemporary life, for both Polish and non-Polish inhabitants of the country, is also examined. Professor Czekanowska also discusses the birth of Polish ethno- musicology as a discipline and details some methodological aspects for research. This study contributes to a greater understanding and appreciation of Polish music and, in a wider aspect, of Slavonic culture. The book contains numerous illustrations of instruments and cultural events, music examples, maps, a discography and bibliography.
This volume on Polish and Slavic scholarship on folk segmentation and the symbolism of time applies cross-disciplinary methodologies - from religious studies, anthropology, psychology, philosophy and cultural studies - to several oral and written folktales. The detailed analysis of Polish and Slavic folklore concentrates primarily on magico-religious behaviours as they are practiced and analyzed in everyday life.
Being Polish is no joke. For ten million people of Polish ancestry in the United States, as well as many who have settled in the UK since the fall of communism, it is a heartfelt matter -- and amid all the travel guides and guides to Polish language, folklore, and customs, there is no single, comprehensive, reader-friendly and yet ever-informative reference on what it means to be Polish. Enter The Essential Guide to Being Polish -- the go-to concise resource for anyone looking to reconnect with their culture or, indeed, hoping that their friends, children, or colleagues learn something about their heritage. Divided into three sections to make for an easy-to-follow format -- Poland in Context, Poles in Poland, and Poles Abroad -- this guide covers just about everything and does so in a style that is at once entertaining and informative: the country's history and geography, wars, Jews in Poland, the communist past, the post-communist past and present, language, kings and queens, religion/Catholicism (with special focus on Pope John Paul II), holidays, food, and drink. What is a real Polish wedding all about? That, too, is addressed succinctly and with flair in this guide. Other chapters cover literature, music, art, famous scientists, Polish men and Polish women, Poles in America, Poles in the UK, Poles and the EU, and last but not least, Polish pride. From the Trade Paperback edition.