Polish traditions vary considerably with region; I have tried to give a generic view of the culture. The Polish culture is probably the richest in the mountain areas, where many older traditions still prevail
Polish Greetings
Polish people are very hospitable and most, entertaining of friends takes place in the home, this is also, where you will see the best of Polish traditions and people. The family is very important to poles and welcoming people to meet the family is usually marked as a social occasion. Normally much food and drink will be put on the table, including Vodka, but also tea and coffee, (normally drunk without milk), home based Polish traditions are very formal initially although most times very quickly relax into informality.
The normal greeting for Men is to shake hands with everyone, should you have a particular warm relationship with a polish man then a kiss, or more likely touching cheeks is in order. This indicates warmth and respect, whilst this is not common in younger people it is often done between older people.
Ladies will normally be greeted by a kiss on the hand, (one of the more gallant polish traditions), by men. Otherwise, the lady may give another lady a kiss on the cheek. I have always found it difficult to know how many kisses, in the Netherlands it is normally three, in the UK, one, but in Poland, one kiss on each cheek seems to be the norm. Polish people often start a home visit quite formally, but normally this soon drops into a friendly atmosphere, particularly if alcohol is present.
Shops & Cafe's
The normal good morning, "Dzien dobry" and thank you, "Dziekuje", does help when buying anything and transactions are similar in most areas of the world. One major difference in Poland cost me a considerable amount of Zloty in my first few weeks in Poland.
When purchasing something in Poland, Do not! Say Thank you, "Dziekuje", until you receive your change. By saying Thank You when you receive the goods as in the West, you are saying keep the change. I bought many goods which I thought were very expensive until I realized I was being taken advantage of.
Service in Poland's Shops, restaurants and cafe's does tend to be variable; people can be exceptionally helpful or can be very unhelpful. However, if the business looks successful then generally they will have a better work ethic and friendly service. Some of the older "Spolem" shops out of the main cities are still stuck in a time warp, these were government owned shops and seemed to be run for the benefit of the staff rather than any good economic reason.
In Poland, there are many city shopping malls and out of town shopping parks with well-known European names such as Tesco, Real, Ikea, Media Markt etc. etc. these are similar to anywhere in Europe although prices tend to be lower for similar goods.
Polish Wedding ( Wesele )
The Polish Wedding is unlike any other I have experienced, whatever the social standing of the couple the ceremony lasts for days rather than hours. Copious amounts of Vodka are consumed and what usually begins very formally in the local church finishes much less formal, All parts of the wedding encompass a plethora of Polish traditions.
The engagement is usually marked by a celebration in the home of the parents of either the groom or the bride. This may be the first time the in-laws meet each other.
One of the very nice old Polish traditions, which still exists in some small villages whereby all village members are automatically invited to the wedding. At present it is more usual to send official invitations out to relatives and friends.
Usually a "Bachelor Night" and "Hen Night" will be organized the night before the wedding as in most cultures.
Before the church ceremony, everyone gathers at the home of the bride and accompany the bride to the church. In religious families, the parents bless the bride, usually the mother in a simple ceremony consisting of Bread, Salt and Wine. The actions vary with region, but generally, the meeting is to bid farewell to the bride.
Once the catholic marriage service is completed then family and guests congratulate the couple, queuing in a long line outside the church. When the couple leaves the church, usually in fine transport of some kind, coins are "gently" thrown at the couple.
Sometimes at the church or at the reception a further ceremony, the capping, is completed. All single ladies circle the bride whilst the matron of honour or a married woman stands behind the bride and removes the veil as music is played.
Polish traditions at the reception include the couple being greeted again with Salt, Bread and Wine, in some regions the wine glasses are thrown to the floor and broken. Then normally the bride and groom welcome all the family and guests through the door. In some areas the groom may carry the bride through the door, this is said to symbolize who will run the home, (as if we didn't know already).
The party then begins, tables will have some type of starter, then a meal will be served together with the first of many bottles of vodka. Dancing usually commences after this main meal. From then on regular plates of food will be delivered to the tables along with copious amounts of juice and vodka.
It is custom for every man to dance with the bride and clip money to the dress, although this is still practiced in the mountain areas it is less so in the cities.
Some parties break around one or two in the morning and start again the next day, others do not stop. I have been at country weddings lasting three days. At my own wedding I didn't realize how long the reception would last and how much vodka had to be consumed. A very happy time but I was ill prepared.
Polish Christmas
Being an Englishman living in Poland with my Polish Wife I have experienced many Polish Christmases, the Polish Traditions at Christmas are very different to an Englishman. There are some universal symbols such as a Christmas tree, but there are several differences as compared to Western Christmas. In Western Countries Christmas is very commercial and often the religious significance has been lost, in Poland however this is not the case at present.
Most Poles work on Christmas Eve, although may go home early to help with the preparations for Vigilia (Vigil), the main Polish Christmas meal, usually consumed after dark when the stars come out on Christmas Eve.
It is usual to have Christmas Carols playing during the preparations, (Koledy). In my house the celebration starts with the breaking Oplatek, a thin wafer, this is usually done between the family members and includes a prayer. The table has crisp a white tablecloth with Hay laid at one corner this represents the Manger in which Jesus was born. One unusual tradition followed in Poland is to have an extra place setting for any unexpected guests.
The Vigilia is the most important meal of the year therefore the preparation is very careful, although the meal varies for area to area, it is normally without meat and can be 7, 9 or 11 courses. The meals courses represent forest (Mushrooms), Grain (fields), fish (Sea) and fruit (orchards). The meal begins with Barzcz, a beetroot soup with many variations, most visitors to Poland have tried Barzcz, and it is an acquired taste, which I have not come to terms with yet. A Mushroom Dumpling, (uszka), accompanies the soup. The next stage of the meal is Perogi, the best way of describing this food, if you have not experienced it, is large ravioli filled with Potato or Cheese or Mushrooms. At this time, the rest of the table is open normally; we have Herring (Sledze), Carp in Aspic, Cabbage Rolls filled with Mushrooms, grain (Golabki), and polish noodles (kluski).
Desert is usually fruit compote and several versions of cake with poppy seeds, if you have any room left to take it. Traditionally Polish Vodka washes this down. I am sure that the effect of the Vodka combined with the hallucinatory effect of the copious poppy seeds helps the party spirit. The celebration is very much based on the family and particularly remembering those who have passed on. In my house, the photographs come out and relatives discussed. This is quite different from the English or USA celebrations, which tend to be less formal. Christmas is one of the best Polish traditions.
Polish traditions run through many areas of society, including education, army service, name days etc. etc. the vast majority are very pleasant and are a pleasure to be invited to participate. Some of the drinking traditions, based around Vodka are less pleasurable, particularly the following morning. I think some of these traditions are invented to see if other cultures have similar capacities for drink as the Poles.
Poland General Information
The Name Poland comes from the Polish name for plains or fields 'Pola'
National Anthem : Dabrowski's Mazurka
Land Area : 312,685 Square Kilometers (120,728 Square Miles).
Population Density : 124 per Square Kilometer.
Capital : Warsawa
Provinces : (Woiwodships): 16
Currency : 1 Zloty (PLN) = 100 groszy
Time : GMT + 1 hour.
Religion : 91% Catholics, 1.4% Orthodox
Nationalities : Poles 98.5% Ukrainians 0.6%, German 0.5%, others 0.4%
Life expenctancy : Men 68 Yr, women 77 Yr.
Gross Domestic Product per capita : 16,310 US Dollars
Inflation : 3.3% p.a. (December 2008)
Average Monthly Salary : 1000 USD
Unemployment : 9.3%
Literacy : 99%:
Tourism : 14,000,000 persons per year
Dyngus Day, Easter Monday, traditionally gentlemen, particularly younger men, spray ladies with water, using anything from high power water pistols to buckets. Nobody seems to know the reason for this tradition but everyone still keeps and eye open on Easter Monday.
Poland is a major part of the global-tourism market and is currently experiencing an upward trend in its number of visitors especially after joining the European Union. Tourism in Poland contributes to the country's overall economy and makes up a relatively large proportion of the country's service market.
One of the most attractive urban destinations for tourists is Kraków, the former capital and a relic of Poland's Golden Age of Renaissance; the place of coronation of most Polish kings. It was named the European Capital of Culture by the European Union for the year 2000. The city of Wrocław, earmarked for its Capital of Culture in 2016, is one of the oldest in Poland. It has had quite a chequered history with an equally important role played in many kingdoms and countries over the centuries; reflected in a wide range of cultural monuments. The Poland's capital, Warsaw, the 9th largest city in the EU, went through amazing reconstruction after its wartime destruction and it offers a variety of attrations included on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1980. Other popular cities include Gdańsk, Poznań, Lublin, and Toruń. In addition, the most noteworthy places of pilgrimage enclose the historic site of the Auschwitz German concentration camp near Oświęcim which constitutes a major monument to the prevention of war and suffering.
Poland's main tourist offerings are based around city-sightseeing and extra-urban expanses, qualified tourism, agrotourism, mountain hiking and climbing as well as business trips among others. It is the 19th most visited country in the world by foreign tourists (just below Canada), as ranked by World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in 2010–2011.Popular areas of natural beauty and recreation include Poland's Baltic Sea coast in the north, Masurian Lake District and Białowieża Forest in the east, the southern Karkonosze, Table Mountains, Tatras, Pieniny as well as Bieszczady Mountains in the extreme south-east
Cuisine
Polish cuisine has influenced the cuisines of its surrounding countries. For centuries the Polish foods have been the arena of competing with France and Italy, due to influx of merchants from Genoa, Florence and other world cities.It is rich in meat, especially pork, chicken and beef, winter vegetables (cabbage in the dish bigos) and spices. Pasta is also featured in many Polish dishes. Most notable are pierogi. Polish national cuisine shares similarities with other European traditions. Generally speaking, Polish cuisine is hearty. The preparation of traditional dishes can be time-intensive and Poles allow themselves a fair amount of time to prepare and enjoy their festive meals, with some feasts, like the Christmas Eve or Easter breakfast, taking a number of days to prepare in their entirety. In addition, most regions of Poland have their own local gastronomic traditions and distinctive flavours.
Notable foods in Polish cuisine include: soups – rosół, barszcz, żurek, krupnik, kapuśniak, zupa pomidorowa (zupa means soup in Polish), zupa ogórkowa, zupa grzybowa, flaczki (tripe soup); pierogi, kiełbasa, gołąbki, oscypek, kotlet schabowy, kotlet mielony, bigos, various potato dishes, kanapka, zapiekanka, and many more. Traditional Polish desserts include pączki, faworki, gingerbread, babka and others. Fermented dairy include soured milk, buttermilk and kefir; along with savoury side dishes such as gherkin, pickled cucumber and sauerkraut.
Architecture
Polish cities and towns reflect the whole spectrum of European styles. Romanesque architecture is represented by St. Andrew's Church in Kraków, and characteristic for Poland Brick Gothic by St. Mary's Church in Gdańsk. Richly decorated attics and arcade loggias are the common elements of the Polish Renaissance architecture, like in City Hall in Poznań. For some time the late renaissance, so called mannerism, most notably in Bishop’s Palace in Kielce, coexisted with the early baroque like in Church of SS. Peter and Paul in Kraków.
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History has not been kind to Poland's architectural monuments. Nonetheless, a number of ancient structures had survived: castles, churches, and stately buildings, often unique in the regional or European context. Some of them have been painstakingly restored, like Wawel Castle, or completely reconstructed after being destroyed in the Second World War, including the Old Town and Royal Castle in Warsaw and the Old Town of Gdańsk. The architecture of Gdańsk is mostly of the Hanseatic variety, a Gothic style common among the former trading cities along the Baltic sea and in the northern part of Central Europe. The architectural style of Wrocław is mainly representative of German architecture, since it was for centuries located within the German states. The centre of Kazimierz Dolny on the Vistula is a good example of a well-preserved medieval town. Poland's ancient capital, Kraków, ranks among the best-preserved Gothic and Renaissance urban complexes in Europe. Meanwhile, the legacy of the Kresy Marchlands of Poland's eastern regions, where Wilno and Lwów (now Vilnius and Lviv) were recognised as two major centres for the arts, played a special role in the development of Polish architecture, with Catholic church architecture deserving special note.
The second half of the 17th century is marked by baroque architecture. Side towers, visible in Branicki Palace in Białystok are typical for Polish baroque. The classical Silesian baroque is represented by the University in Wrocław. Profuse decorations of Branicki Palace in Warsaw are characteristic of rococo style. The centre of Polish classicism was Warsaw under the rule of the last Polish king Stanisław August Poniatowski. The Palace on the Water is the most notable example of Polish neoclassical architecture. Lublin Castle represents the Gothic Revival style in architecture, while the Izrael Poznański Palace in Łódź is an example of eclecticism.Land use
Poland is the fourth most forested country in Europe. Forests cover about 30,5% of Poland’s land area based on international standards. Its overall percentage is still increasing. Forests of Poland is managed by the national program of reforestation (KPZL), aiming at an increase of forest-cover to 33% in 2050. The richness of Polish forest (per SoEF 2011 statistics) is more than twice as high as European average (with Germany and France at the top), containing 2.304 billion cubic metres of trees.The largest forest complex in Poland is Lower Silesian Wilderness.
More than 1% of Poland’s territory, 3,145 square kilometres (1,214 sq mi), is protected within 23 Polish national parks. Three more national parks are projected for Masuria, the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, and the eastern Beskids. In addition, wetlands along lakes and rivers in central Poland are legally protected, as are coastal areas in the north. There are over 120 areas designated as landscape parks, along with numerous nature reserves and other protected areas (e.g. Natura 2000).
Present day Poland is a country with great agricultural prospects; there are over two million private farms in the country, and Poland is the leading producer in Europe of potatoes and rye and is one of the world's largest producers of sugar beets and triticale. This has led Poland to be described on occasion as the future 'bread basket of the European Union'. However, despite employing around 16% of the workforce, agricultural output in Poland remains low and the industry is characterised as largely inefficient due to the large number of small, independent farms. This situation is likely to soon change for the better with the government debating agricultural reform and currently pursuing the option of auctioning off large tracts of state-owned agricultural land.
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