Am Elften Elften Elften um Elf Uhr Elf!

Craving some rogale świętomarcińskie right now. Happy Dni Świętomarcińskie (Poznań), Veteran's Day (U.S.), Remembrance Day (Canada), Karneval (Germany- Koelle Alaaf!), Super Singles Day (China), Narodowe Święto Niepodległości (Poland), and 11/11/11. What a day.

Poland released this interesting video last year to mark their Independence Day and show an animated history of the nation. It would be interesting to analyze this video in terms of what historical events are depicted and how they are portrayed, thus given insights into the national psyche (or at least, the PR that the Polish government wants to present to the world). Note the stress on the glorious medieval and Renaissance years, the darkness of the 200 years of occupation, and the glorious EU banner to mark a happy ending. Still, a great summary of the national story, and with accurate depictions of many of the great Polish cities.

Noc Kupały Lanterns

Here's my video of the lanterns of June 21. Hope it doesn't make you too dizzy. Enjoy!

Ode to Summer

Poznań looked something like this last night:


Actually, it looked more like this and this (first batches of pictures on Facebook). My videos coming soon.

In celebration of the shortest night of the year, the first day of summer, the summer solstice, and Kupala's Night (Noc Kupały), Poznanians gathered on the banks of the Warta river by Św. Rocha bridge and released thousands of lanterns into the night sky. This was the first year that they did it, but I think it will become a tradition. Estimates are saying 6000-8000 lanterns were released, making it a record for Poland (and possibly Europe).

More traditional Kupala celebrations (also known as the Feast of St. John) involve youths going into the forest at night, jumping over bonfires, girls making wreaths of flowers and floating them out on water, and boys swimming out into the lake to catch them. St. John's night (Noc Świętojańska) is usually celebrated June 23-24.

Happy summer!

Wigilia and Polish Christmas Traditions

Merry Christmas! I hope that everyone has had a very relaxing and joyous holiday. Christmas is a very important holiday in Poland, but unlike the traditions for many families in the US, the most important celebrations for the Poles occur on Christmas Eve, or Wigilia (the Vigil).



The family gathers in the evening, but traditionally the feast only begins when the first star has been sighted in the night sky. Pieces of hay have been placed on or under the table to remind of the manager and Christ's humble beginnings. Additionally, an extra seat is always left open with the place set; depending on the family, this symbolizes either Polish hospitality and the openness to any guest who may knock on the door or an open seat in remembrance of those family members and friends who have passed on or could not be present.

After the sighting of the first star, the meatless Wigilia feast begins with the sharing of opłatki Christmas wafers. Each guest at the dinner takes one whole wafer and goes around to every other person with wishes for the new year. Wishes may be as simple as "wszystko najlepszy!" (all the best) or very personalized and detailed. After saying the wish for the other person, the pair break off pieces of each other's opłatek and eat the pieces. It is bad luck to skip someone, so guests are sure to exchange wishes with every person.

The Wigilia meal proper begins, as with any Polish dinner, with soup. Red barszcz (borscht) with uszka, small tortellini-shaped dumplings filled with mushrooms, is the tradtional Wigilia choice. The soup is followed by a large number of dishes (often a symbolic number, such as 7, 12, or 13) including carp, pickled herring, pierogi (with cabbage inside), sauerkraut, a fruit compote drink, and of course, lots of pastries and other desserts. Carp has become the signature dish of the Polish feast, and fresh carp is a must! Most families buy a living carp (or several) in the days before Christmas and let it live in fresh water in the family bathtub for a few days; this will cleanse the carp of any muddy tastes. I've met a number of Poles who speak of traumatic experiences as children when they named the carp and then saw it be killed. The most innovative way I've heard of killing the carp involved a bathtub and a communist-era hairdryer.

During the dinner, Santa Claus/Father Christmas/the Christchild delivers gifts, and the family exchanges and opens the gifts after the meal. Sometimes games or played or songs are sung, but finally, the celebration concludes with the midnight Christmas mass at the local church.

Christmas day is generally a relaxing day with family time and delicious food (of course!), but the main Polish traditions apply to the night before.


Wesołych Świąt Bożego Narodzenia i Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku 2011!

Christmastime in Poland

December is, of course, a very busy time of year with all the preparations for Christmas, and I'm afraid that I've neglected my blog terribly. My days have mostly been filled with teaching, visiting as many Christmas markets as possible, and packing for a pan-European holiday week (actually, only PL, UK, and NL, but still).

I shared the American classics How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Charlie Brown Christmas, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer with my students and European friends. I've been amused to learn that apparently the media tradition in most European countries, especially Poland, is to watch a different movie on Christmas: Kevin Sam w Domu (Home Alone)!

Also, besides these American imports, Poles generally do not have secular Christmas songs or stories, and the holiday remains very strongly tied to religion. Every town has a grand nativity scene beside its Christmas market. (Though my favorite has been in Toruń, where the Christchild was surrounded by artists and other historical figures). And one of the most beautiful Polish Christmas carols that I've heard is a lullaby sung by Mary to the baby Jesus.

Merry Christmas, and Wesołych Świąt!
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Finally, on an unrelated note, the Telegraph wrote this great travel article about Poznań in a nutshell: Poznań, the Birthplace of Poland

Andrzejki - Feast Day and Fortune Telling

Today, November 30, is the feast day of Saint Andrew, the apostle who is generally considered one of the first who preached Christianity in this region of the world. Because Andrzej is a popular name, this feast day is also the name day for many Poles.

However, the feast of St. Andrew is most famous for the superstitious traditions that take place after nightfall. Generally for children (though I've also seen a lot of clubs taking advantage of the holiday to advertise special events for an otherwise dull Tuesday), these traditions form the night is known as Andrzejki in Polish. For example, young girls pour hot wax through a key into a bowl, and the shape that forms is supposed to be the face of her future husband. Additionally, if a person remembers a face from his or her dream during the night of Nov. 30-Dec. 1, this is the face of his or her future spouse. Though traditions vary by country, here's a full list of some of the Polish superstitious traditions that I've heard. No one takes the superstitions seriously, but they have a lot of fun with them.

I've yet to figure out why St. Andrew is tied with these fortune telling traditions. It might simply be the time of year. Indeed, some of the clubs are advertising that Andrzejki is "the last time to have fun before Advent." (although this year Advent has already started...)

Independence Day and more

Happy Polish Independence Day!! Even Google has paid tribute to it.



Also, Poznań has another holiday today. In honor of feast day of the saint of the main boulevard, Św. Marcin, it's St. Martin's Day! There will be a big parade down the boulevard later in the day as well as other festivities.



Also, as a special food for Święty Marcin, which is now available in Poznań only year-round, I will be eating a lot of these today:

Rogal Świętomarciński (sorry, there's no Wiki page in English)

And a Happy Veteran's Day to everyone back home! Thank you to all the soldiers for your service.

1 Nov: All Saints' Day

Junikowo Cemetery
Poznań, Poland





Every. Single. Grave was cleaned and covered with beautiful flowers or fresh boughs and candles.



In keeping with Polish tradition, family members traveled long distances the days before (and after) All Saints' Day in order to gather at the cemeteries on Nov. 1 and pay respects to their deceased loved ones and relatives.





The cemeteries were extremely crowded, though it may not appear to be the case in my pictures. So as not to disturb the families on this solemn day, I only took photos in areas away from the other visitors.




Thousands of candles at the Katyń memorial



Coming soon: The night of candles.

Halloween Abroad

I'm sorry to say that I did not get a picture of myself carrying a 20kg (44lb) pumpkin on the public tram last night. It was quite a feat. And perhaps even funnier than seeing me struggling with the beast was the reactions from the people around me. Children were pointing in curiosity, and adults were laughing at the absurdity. It was clear that it is not every day that people walk around Poznań carrying large pumpkins, not even on the day before Halloween. Happily, we did successfully carve it (as you see on the left), though we had to use a dinner knife to do so.

Halloween is not a major holiday in Poland. Granted, many of the larger stores have a small corner for Halloween decorations, and a few of the clubs, bars, and restaurants did have Halloween-themed events or parties, but generally it is all on a much smaller scale than might be expected in the US. I have found a fair number of pumpkins in supermarkets, but most are pre-cut into quarters, and even the whole pumpkins are rather ugly and strangely shaped-- much better for cooking than for carving. Some places do have small jack-o-lanterns on display, but it seems that they are generally purchased pre-carved. I have yet to see a child dressed in costume, though a rather ghastly-clad trio of adults was handing out candy in the Rynek two night ago. I have not heard of anyone who goes trick-or-treating, though whether this is because it is an outlandish idea or whether it is because neighbors simply do not have candy on hand for the children, I cannot say.

Instead, I think one of the big reasons that Halloween is not widely popular in Poland is because of the immense importance of the day after-- November 1, All Saints Day (Wszystkich Świętych). To mark this holy day, Poles travel all over the country to visit their hometowns and the graves of their relatives. (Thus, the days before Nov. 1 are always the busiest travel days of the year in Poland). Family members visit the cemeteries, clean the graves, and add flowers and candles. To make the holiday a little bit less stressful, many cities, including Poznań, add extra public transportation services directly to and from the cemeteries to accommodate the huge crowds of people. Tomorrow I intend to join the throngs journeying to the cemeteries, but for now, have a happy All Hallows' Eve!

Wedding Photos at a Soviet Memorial

Wedding pictures at the Heroes' Monument of the Soviet Soldiers' Cemetery (Pomnik Bohaterów na Cmetarzu Żołnierzy Radzieckich). The Citadel, Poznań.

For the record, this monument does offer a great view of the city. Also, I have seen A LOT of weddings in the two months that I have been in Poznań-- such as my favorite, this day in late August when 20-some fancy cars filled with brides came honking into the Rynek; it's a popular tradition to drive around (especially a central place like the Marketplace) and loudly honk the horn after the wedding, but we'd never seen so many (we later learned it was some sort of radio show promotion):

Aug. 15: St. Mary of the Herbs

On this date each year, Catholics around the world celebrate the feast of the Assumption, a holy day when Mary was taken up to heaven. In Poland, they also call this day the Blessed Mother of the Herbs or St. Mary of the Herbs Day (Matki Boskiej Zielnej). Bunches of flowers, herbs, and fruit are available everywhere-- outside churches, on sale in the street, etc. Many churchgoers bring a bouquet of these herbs (zioła, or matką ziół) to the church for a blessing and for an offer of thanksgiving. At a parish I attended, it was a children's mass, and at the end of the (rather noisy but lively) service, all the children and families and indeed most of the parish clustered around the altar for a final blessing, holding these herbs and singing songs. They brought these herbs home again after the service, and in olden days they were believed to have heightened powers for seasonings and curative abilities.

This blog also has some interesting additional information regarding Our Lady of the Herbs and harvest festivals.