Archive for April, 2011
Pan and Pani Posted by Kasia on Apr 29, 2011
In Polish language there is great complexity when dealing with forms of address. The forms of addressing people in one country are often different in another county. I wanted to explain some of these differences and the meanings behind them. First, let’s look at the seemingly simple forms of address such as “Pan/Pani” (Sir/Madam) and…
Sałatka jarzynowa Posted by Kasia on Apr 28, 2011
Sałatka jarzynowa is a great Polish salad, but not like the green leaf salad that most people in USA are used to. Polish salad has the ingredients cut very small and has a quite different appearance from leaf salad. It almost looks like a pasta salad with no pasta. Sałatka is one of my favourite…
Labour Day and Constitution Day in Poland Posted by Kasia on Apr 27, 2011
In Poland as in many other countries some people celebrate the 1st of May as an international day of social justice and workers’ rights. However for Poles these celebrations have specific associations – after the WW II the communist authorities used this day in order to show their power and friendship with the USSR. Unfortunately…
Pisanki Posted by Kasia on Apr 26, 2011
The centuries-old art of Polish pisanki is a wax-resist method of decorating Easter eggs, much like batik. The word comes from the verb “to write” —pisać (PEE sahtch) in Polish and pysaty in Ukrainian — as the designs are not painted on, but written with 100% pure beeswax. Every Eastern European country has its version. Eggs are…
Wet Monday Posted by Kasia on Apr 25, 2011
Easter Monday, it is Smigus-Dyngus or Lany Poniedzialek, called in USA “wet Monday”. During all the day, it is allowed to throw water on the others, also unknown! The best thing is to remain at home all the day, because while leaving to go for a short walk or to even go to the church…
White Eagle Posted by Kasia on Apr 22, 2011
We have already talked about Polish flag and Polish emblem (https://blogs.transparent.com/polish?s=flag). Now I wanted to tell you where did the white eagle come from. A many, many years ago, or maybe even more, there lived three brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus. For many years they had been living happily in their villages, but the families…
Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw – Pałac Kultury i Nauki w Warszawie Posted by Kasia on Apr 20, 2011
Don’t let the name fool you – this is not the cultural hub of Warsaw. That said, however long you’re in the city for this is a must-see to experience Soviet Warsaw. For all the aggressive westernization that has overcome Warsaw, the four decades of communism have yet to be completely erased from the face…