Jasia's Amber Collection

This is the second in a series of 4 articles I'll be presenting in honor of Polish-American Heritage Month. Each of these articles will be featuring Polish art pieces from my personal collections. Some are folk art, hand crafted in cottages throughout Poland. Other pieces are manufactured by skilled crafts people in small factories in Poland. They are but a small sample of the Polish heritage I am so proud of.

I have been collecting amber pieces for as long as I've been researching my family history. I'd planned to write a good history about amber in this post but when I got out my books on the subject I discovered that I would have to do an entire series about amber to really do it justice. (I just might at a later date if you ask me nicely. ;-) So instead I'm going to concentrate on a few pieces in my collection.

The largest deposits of amber in the world are found on the shores of the Baltic Sea and the sea coast of Poland is literally strewn with pieces of it. Walk the beaches and you can bask in it's golden glory and help yourself to handfuls of it, much as Floridians collect seashells. Amber is a popular gem but it is not a stone. It's actually ancient (but not fossilized) tree sap. It's organic. It is relatively soft as compared to a variety of minerals but with proper care it holds up quite well.

The first thing you'll no doubt notice about this sample of my amber collection is the variety of colors. While "honey" is the most common color associated with amber it is only one of over 200 colors that have been identified. Most people think amber is always translucent but that just isn't so. It isn't always "golden" either. Take a look.
Intaglio - Amber is easily carved in relief or engraved. Intaglio is an engraving process that makes beautiful jewelry pieces. Flowers are common themes. I have a lovely scorpion too (my zodiac sign).
Cherry Amber - Richer in color than "honey", cherry amber is like maple syrup with a red tint to it. It's one of my favorites.
White Amber - White amber is opaque with a soft warm tint to it. It often shows swirls and varied shading. Definitely one of my favorites!
Multi-colored and Mosaic - A variety of colors and shades all in one piece :-) These are favorites of mine because they provide a lot of visual interest. These wear nicely on all skin tones and almost all solid colored clothing.
Faceted - Yes, you can carve amber in a faceted style. And it looks lovely! It's more pricey that way though.
Black to Lemon - These warm shades remind me of sunrises and sunsets. You get a wide range of sunny colors with this combination.
Set in Gold - Amber is most commonly set in sterling silver but it can be set in gold as well. In fact, it glows when framed in gold!
Amber Egg - This amber egg sits on my desk. It's the size a real egg and makes a great worry stone. It also catches the sunlight coming in my office window (south facing) and casts a golden glow all around it. I often find myself caught in its beauty and spiral off into day dreams. OK, now you know the real reason I don't get more done! LOL!

Amber isn't just collectible in jewelry. I have many other pieces as well. Here are just a few.

The framed picture was sent to me by my cousins in Poland. They purchased it when they visited towns along the Baltic shoreline. Pieces of amber are used as leaves on the tree and on the ground. With its golden hues, it has a very autumnal feel to it. This piece is very dear to me.

The raw piece of amber is about the size of a small egg. While it looks heavy like a stone it is surprisingly light. What a difference from a polished version, eh?

The bottle contains Baltic Sea water and small pieces of amber that my cousins picked up walking along the beach. Wasn't it thoughtful of them to send it to me in its most natural state? This bottle sits in my curio cabinet and is one of my dearest treasures.

The candle is amber scented and has pieces of amber embedded in the wax and around the outside of it. Talk about a golden glow! Lovely!

I probably should have included my amber rosary and some of my green amber pieces as they are very striking. Truthfully, I could go on and on about amber. I love it! Just last night I was out shopping for amber scented soaps, lotions, and body sprays. It's the scent I wear all during autumn and winter. It's has an old, earthy scent to it as you would expect. Sensual.

I wear a lot of amber jewelry all year round but especially during the month of October to honor my Polish heritage. Throughout history, amber has been thought to have healing properties and sometimes magical properties as well. When I wear it I feel connected to my roots in Poland. It's magical to me.

Written for Donna's Polish American Heritage Challenge.

My series about my Polish art collections:
Polish Folk Art (Wood Carving and Wycinanki)
Jasia's Amber Collection
Polish Pottery and Crystal
Polish Christmas Ornaments

Historic and Current Photos of Krakow

I just found out about a website that will be of interest to Polish genealogy researchers. This site has galleries, historic and current, featuring buildings, people, palaces, manor houses, etc. in and around the city of Krakow, Poland. And not just photos! It also has information about the history of the area too. The site is a Polish one so you'll need to use your Google Translator if you don't read Polish. But the photos are wonderful and I'm sure you'll enjoy seeing the world the way your ancestors did, if they were from that area of Poland (mine were ;-) . Visit Krakow, Yesterday and Today to see for yourself. (Thanks to Polandian for featuring this site on their blog!)

Spotlight On Poland

CNN International will be spotlighting Poland next month. From October 6-11 they will have daily segments. From the CNN web site:

Daily Coverage

Monday Oct. 6 -- Poland: A New Era Begins: Find out why Poland is becoming more strategically important on the global stage and how it is preparing for its moment in the spotlight as co-host of the 2012 European soccer championships. Glimpse unexpected aspects of Polish life -- from the "fast and the furious" street racers of Lodz to the multinationals making Poland a manufacturing hub for some of world's leading brands.

Tuesday Oct. 7 -- Poland: Strategic Ties: What are Poland's international allegiances? What is the nation's strategic importance to the U.S.? How does it now define its relationship with neighboring Russia and interpret the historical legacy left by the influence of the former Soviet giant? How has the political game changed since its accession to the European Union and taking on an active role in NATO?

Wednesday Oct. 8 -- Poland: Booming Business: A look at Polish business as the zloty strengthens against the dollar, as Poles return to Poland in an improving home economy, and as Poland takes on the new role of an immigrant destination, this time for Indians and Ukrainians. We ask how Poland has brought about this changing business dynamic which now finds itself home to one of the world's fastest growing stock exchanges, and the ninth most attractive real estate market in the world.

Thursday Oct. 9 -- Poland: Springs to Life: CNN seeks out what defines Poland culturally: from the beauty spot of Sopot dubbed "the Pearl of the Baltic", to the vibrant music scene of its cities where Chopin meets Trance; to a booming brewery industry which will leave you thirsty for more.

Friday Oct. 10 -- Poland by the Poles: From the youth studying at Krakow University to the immigrant Poles living in Brooklyn -- New York's "Little Poland" -- we hear from Poles around the world. We also look at Poles who've made it on the international sports stage, and look at the "stag weekend" phenomenon that makes Poland a number one destination for Europe's exuberant revellers.

Saturday-Sunday Oct. 11-12: The programming culminates in a half-hour special -- "Eye on Poland: Country at the Crossroads."

Polish Currency

Last month, Elizabeth at the Polish Genealogy Project, had a wonderful series on the history of Polish currency. I was fascinated with the samples and information she came up with. Her 3-part series can be found here, here, and here.

Poland was partitioned for many years and Elizabeth has examples of the currency from each of the partitions over time. This is a great resource for anyone writing up the family history of their Polish ancestors. Take a look and see which currency your ancestors used. Here's just one example, a 4 złoty note from 1794.

A Travelogue Through Poland, 1981

Those of you who follow my Creative Genealogy blog know that I have featured several digi-scrapping kits designed by Kyra of the With A Russian/Dutch Heart blog. Kyra lives in the Netherlands and has both Russian and Dutch ancestry. She is to date the only designer I know of who has created a digi-scrapping kit with a Polish theme which will forever endear her to me. However, it's not Kyra's design talents that I want to share with you today.

Kyra's family made friends with a Polish family many years ago (in the 1980s) when Poland was still under Soviet influence and East and West Germany were two separate countries. Traveling through these areas was difficult to say the least but her family managed it for the sake of friendship, a friendship that lasts to this day. Recently, Kyra shared on her blog what it was like traveling through those Iron Curtain countries and tells of her family's adventures with their friends in Poland. Her 13 part series is educational, emotional, funny, frustrating, and poignant. It's quite an interesting look at life in Poland back then. I highly recommend Kyra's series. Even if you have no family ties to Poland, I think you'll enjoy it.

It begins here.
Poland part 2
Poland part 3
Poland part 4
Poland part 5
Poland part 6
Poland part 7
Poland part 8
Poland part 9
Poland part 10
Poland part 11
Poland part 12
Poland, the final episode

If you do stop by Kyra's blog to read about her travel adventures, be sure and leave her a comment. She'll get a real kick out of hearing from her readership here in America!

This Is My Lucky Day!

Yesterday I was reading Steve's post about the Płock Diocese in Poland (which is an excellent article and is also featured in Jessica's latest edition of the Carnival of Central and European Genealogy) and it reminded me that I haven't checked the diocese, parish, or gubernia web sites for my family's ancestral villages in quite a while.

I made a comment on Steve's post to the effect that it has been interesting for me to observe the technological progress of web sites in Poland over the last 10 years and lamented that I wish I could read Polish because there are still no English translations of them. But almost every time I take the time to look I discover a new one pertaining to one of my family's villages. And more and more often the sites contain photos which can speak to you even if you don't understand the language. :-)

So today I thought I'd look up the Tarnów diocese web site to see if they'd added the dates of records for their parishes (the last time I'd looked they didn't have that). Low and behold, what did I find? A new web site of course! (New to me anyway.) This one is specifically about the Archives of the Diocese of Tarnów. And you know what? It's in English!!! Am I having a great day or what? First my mtDNA results come in and now I find an important (to me) Polish web site translated to English! Well, just color me happy!!! ("happy" is definitely pink, don't you think?)

OK, so the whole Archives of the Tarnów diocese web site isn't in English, but some of it is. And it looks to me like more translations may be forthcoming. I also noticed that they have added a page that lists the dates that records began for each parish. Wouldn't you know, this page isn't in English. :-7 But truthfully, there isn't much text on the page. The column headings are really all that need to be translated. My Polish-English dictionary helped me out with most of them but there is one that has me puzzled. The column heading is "Rok powstania". I initially thought this meant the year the parish was founded. But now I'm thinking not because in some instances the records started (next column to the right) before the parishes would have been founded. So I'm guessing that maybe "Rok powstania" refers to the year the current church building was erected.

I also noticed that in the right side column down near the bottom of the home page there's a poll you can vote in. I got out my handy-dandy Pol-Eng dictionary and it looks to me like the poll is asking if the parish records should be available online for a fee (57.8%), for free (40.4%), or only with archive work (1.8%). Do you think the diocese might be considering the possibility of getting a jump on the LDS' plans to put their vital records online? Interesting idea, eh?

This is a great discovery for me, finding the Tarnów diocese archives web site in English. I've long been envious of those who could look up a county history and instantly know about the area their ancestors were from. I haven't been able to do that. And while this web site speaks to religious events and people from a given geographical area it's still a history of sorts. And three of my four grandparents' lines originate in this diocese so it pertains to most of my ancestors. I'll take that with a smile on my face :-)

I feel like I'm on a roll here. Do you think I should run out and buy a lottery ticket?

Katyn is Nominated for Academy Award

I'm excited to tell you that the movie, Katyn, which I've written about before on this blog, has been nominated for an Academy Award under the Foreign Language Films category. This film has not been released in the U.S. as far as I know but it is creating quite a buzz none the less. Anne Applebaum, of The New York Review of Books, has written a wonderfully thorough review of the movie which you can read here. The same web site also has a just-for-fun poll where you can vote for your favorite Oscar nominees. If you'd like to vote for Katyn (or any of the other nominated films) you can do so here. I sure hope this film wins and brings attention to this very sad chapter in Polish history.

There is a very moving sculpture created in honor of those who died at Katyn on the campus of Orchard Lake, MI. (Pictured above)


Previous posts on this topic:

Creative Gene: WWII, the Story of the Katyn Massacre Becomes a Movie
Creative Gene: I See Their Faces and Wonder

It's A Small World After All

As soon as I was able to determine my ancestral villages in Poland, I started mailing out letters in search of living relatives. My goal was not so much to further my research but just to see if I could find a connection. I wanted to know if there was still family in the area or if they had all relocated to other parts of Poland or emigrated out of the country.

I was at a huge disadvantage because I don't speak or read Polish. The villages that my ancestors were from were very, very small. Most of them were too small to have a library or a community newspaper. But the one thing you can pretty much count on in Poland is that most people go to church, and their religion is most likely to be Catholic. All my ancestors were Catholic. So I wrote letters to the Catholic churches in their villages or the closest neighboring parishes, had them translated into Polish, and mailed them out.

As you might expect, I got mixed results. In some parishes the priests were very helpful, making announcements after Sunday Mass and writing back to me to report the results of their efforts. Some knew the families in the parish well and simply shared my letter with those who they suspected might be related to me. Some were too busy and simply couldn't help me.

One priest in particular, Ks Niemiec of Zgorsko parish, was eager to help me out. He's the kind of guy that goes the extra mile for you. Not only was he helpful in looking up family records for me but he also sent me photos of the interior and exterior of the parish church, a photo copy of an entire chapter of a local history book describing the history of the area (it's in Polish but I vow to one day get it translated!), and the name and contact information for someone he believed might be related to me… someone who lived right in my own neighborhood! I KID YOU NOT!

This priest in Poland put me in touch with Al T. who lives about 2 miles away from me. It turns out we aren't actually blood related… He's my paternal grandfather's sister's husband's brother's son. I guess you could say we're connected or linked by marriage although according to my Legacy software there is "no relationship" between myself and Al T. In my mind, we are family because he's on my family tree.

I called Al up one day and explained who I was and where I'd gotten his name and phone number from. He was very surprised that Ks Niemiec had kept his contact information. He had made contact with the priest when he'd visited Poland a few years back. His father's family was from the same village as my grandfather. He was more than happy to tell me all about his visit to the parish church in Zgorsko. He told me all about Ks Niemiec, described the church and local cemetery to me, and told me about the legacy he had left in the parish in the name of his father.

Eventually, our conversation turned to discussing our common connections. It turns out that when he was growing up, his family lived right next door to my paternal grandfather's sister's family in Detroit. I had no previous information on what would be my grandaunt's family and he was able to tell me all about them. What a stroke of luck! This was information I wouldn't find on microfilm or in databases. This was genuine family history... funny stories, sad stories, and lots of good-time stories.

I picked George's brain for a good couple of hours on the phone that day before he finally cried "uncle". He told me that I should talk to his sister, Jane, because she would have even more information to share about my grandaunt's family. He gave me her phone number and wished me well.

I figured, what the heck? I'm on a roll here. So I called up Jane (who lives about 3 miles from me) and told her who I was. She was delighted to talk about the old days and living next door to my grandaunt's family. She had some wonderful memories to share with me. After a while, the conversation turned to more current topics. She asked about my immediate family and I told her about my kids. She told me about her grand kids who went to the same school my kids did. A few more questions and wouldn't you know it, we discovered that her grandson was one of the boys my daughter hung out with!!! Talk about a small world.... and all of this information came about as a result of a letter written to a priest in Poland. Amazing, isn't it?

Al and Jane were just two of many, many living family contacts I have discovered in the course of my genealogy research. One of these days I'm going to write a whole series about the family I've found. Al and Jane were very helpful and forthcoming with information. I truly appreciate their help. We have not continued our connection or developed a relationship. I've never met either of them in person though I did meet Jane's daughter and grandson... wonderful people. But my family history is richer for having made the contact with them. And Ks Niemiec, well, I have him to thank for putting us together. I am still amazed that we were driving the same streets, shopping the same stores, sent our kids to the same schools, and if it weren't for Ks Niemiec we would likely never have known of our connection. Makes me wonder who else I'm walking by in the shopping mall that I might share a family connection with...

The photos above were taken by Al when he visited Poland. The first is the village church in Zgorsko and the second is Ks Niemiec.

Mazowsze

Last week I went to see Mazowsze at the Music Hall in Detroit. I mentioned this dance group from Poland in a previous post, and even included a video. But there's no substitute for seeing them live. They were awesome!

The costumes were beautiful. Even though the country of Poland is only about the size of the state of New Mexico it has many different cultural districts (I've heard anywhere from 12 to 23) within it and each district has their own style of folk dress. I have sketches of 17 different styles of dress on my PolishAncestry.com web site. I've seen plenty of photos of Polish folk costumes and many dolls dressed in folk dress as well. I've even seen other Polish dance groups. But none of them compare to the myriad of folk dresses seen in this show.

I lost track of the costume changes but I'm sure it must have been somewhere north of 50 different regional dress styles. And they were all lovely. I only remember one "plain country maiden" style. The rest were definitely special occasion festive folk dress. And all distinctly different! The only thing they virtually all had in common was bold, bright colors and red coral beads.

The dancing was wonderful and varied. It included everything from the waltz to the oberek, a May-Pole number, and one with what looked like a Christmas tree. Most of them were lively, some would be best described as high energy, and few could only be described as extreme. Mazowsze is to Poland what Riverdance is to Ireland... a showcase of the history, traditions, and culture of the country set to dance.

I have some photos to share with you because the theater management was kind enough to allow non-flash photography. And I was fortunate enough to have third-row seats just left of center stage. Shooting fast-action photos without a flash is very difficult to accomplish without getting a tremendous amount of motion blur. I was using my point-and-shoot camera (Canon PowerShot SD600) which doesn't have anywhere near the capability of my big boy, the Canon Rebel XTi. However, it has the advantage of fitting in my coin purse to be carried virtually anywhere. I am constantly amazed at the quality of pictures this little camera gives me. And it did a heck of a job for me at Mazowsze.

I have to take a moment here to share a little incident that happened to me when shooting these photos. I was extremely very careful to make sure that my camera didn't flash when I was taking my photos. The gentleman who was sitting one row behind me and two seats to the right made no such effort. He flashed away throughout the entire first half of the show. During the intermission, a member of the theater management came over and scolded him and warned him not to do it again. He assured the manager that he wouldn't. No sooner did the second half start and this guy starts shooting flash pictures again. I just ignored him. He wasn't bothering me anyway. I was totally focused on the dancing on stage and my own photography endeavors. Which was why I was totally caught of guard when another guy sitting two rows back and two seats to my left stood up and whacked me over the head with a rolled up program shouting, "Stop that! You stop doing that!". Then he proceeded to give me a couple more whacks before sitting back down in his seat. Mind you, I hadn't flashed even once! I turned around and said, "I'm not flashing!" and was terribly embarrassed at being the target of his outburst. Naturally everyone around me turned and stared at me like I was a turd or something. It was very upsetting even though I knew I was in the right. I'm sure this guy mistook me for the other guy behind me who'd been flashing all through the show. But geez, what bad manners!

(I stopped going to movie theaters years ago because I'm a magnet that attracts the bad mannered people who talk all through the movie. I thought I was safe at other cultural events but this has me rethinking that. Yeesh!)

But let me get back to Mazowsze. I really don't want to leave you with that nasty little incident in mind. The show was fabulous and that's what I want you to remember from this post. If you get the chance to see it, I highly recommend it. You won't be sorry you did! Now check out just a few of the many wonderful photos I was able to get.

Follow-up on Halloween in Poland

This piece appeared on the Polish Radio web site yesterday.

Halloween, a wild American pumpkin night of the 31^st of October, is getting more and more popular in Poland. Is it possible that one day Halloween will fully replace All Saint’s Day, this very special day of sorrow and remembrance, celebrated on the 1^st of November, when Poles go to cemeteries to visit their late relatives? - asks DZIENNIK. All Saint’s Day will not disappear, answer Polish poets and artists quoted by the newspaper. Children just want to have fun and it doesn’t mean that they will reject visiting the graves next day. However, some priests are afraid that the ‘trick or treat’ custom will cause the new, less mature attitude to the death, writes DZIENNIK.

I wrote about All Saints Day (or Day of the Dead) in Poland last year.

This piece also appeared on Polish Radio yesterday.

With the fast pace of life and far-reaching changes in all spheres of life these days, it may come as a surprise to many people that so many Poles still hold passionately to long-standing traditions and symbols of the past. One of the most atmospheric places in Warsaw is the historic Powazki cemetery, founded at the end of the 18th century.

In the first days of November it becomes a place of pilgrimage. [Read More]

I think it must be a very beautiful site to see, all the graves illuminated by candlelight. There will be candles on graves here in the U.S. tonight too but it won't be the same. Here is a picture from Poland.

This photo is by Michael S. You can see more of his beautiful photography on the Flickr.com web site.

Polish Manors, Castles and Palaces

The Friends of the Livonia (Michigan) Library are hosting a presentation on "Polish Manors, Castles and Palaces" with Marion Owczarski on Sunday November 18th at 2pm in the Civic Center Library Auditorium. Mr. Owczarski is artist-in-residence and director of the Galleria of St. Mary's College in Orchard Lake and will be discussing and showing examples of Polish manor houses, castles and palaces. This program is free, and the Friends invite you to join them for some light refreshments after the program in the Michigan Room off the Civic Center Atrium.

I'm putting this one on my calendar!

While we're on the subject... there's a web site here where people have uploaded their photos of Polish Castles :-)

Even Better!

John was kind enough to leave a comment on my previous post indicating that the book of Polish poetry I was excerpting has already been scanned and is available as a .pdf download. I wasn't sure how many folks saw his comment so I wanted to get the word out. I won't be continuing the series since it's already available online. Saved me lots of dictation! You can get the book here.

Thanks John!

Google book search... now why didn't I think of that?

Oral Histories of Polish DPs

I came across an interesting web site for a project that is recording oral histories of people from Poland who were displaced during WWII and the years immediately following it. The site is called, The Polish Diaspora, 1939-50. This site doesn't actually have the audio files of the oral history interviews on it but it does have text segments of many interviews, with images. I found the clips of the participants to be very interesting reading. Who knows, perhaps one day the oral histories will be made available as podcasts.

If you know of a displaced person (DP) from Poland who would be willing to tell their story, you might want to recommend this site to them.

A Poet, A Collection, and Pure Joy

All things in this poor world of ours, 'tis true,
Are tangled mysteries without a clue;
And he, however wise, who attempts to solve them will
Encounter darker, deeper, stranger mysteries still.
(English translation of the four lines beneath Kochanowski's image)

Jan KOCHANOWSKI 1530 - 1584
A Polish Renaissance Poet.

I discovered Jan just today as I was looking through my new book on Poets And Poetry of Poland. Actually, the book isn't new. It's just new to me. It was one of several books I purchased last week at the Orchard Lake Cardinal Maida Library book sale. Remember me telling you about that? Well it turns out that I made out like a bandit at that sale. It was $5.00 to fill a paper grocery bag with books. I filled three! For a grand total of $15.00 I came home with 55 books, 53 of which are books on various aspects of Polish history. Talk about a kid in a candy shop… I couldn't believe my good fortune.

It's taken me most of the week to go through my new books and catalog them so that I know what I have and a bit about what is in each of them. I literally have books that cover Poland's history from Stone Age man through the Solidarity Movement of the early 1980s. And the best part is, they are all in English!

So now I have my own little library of Polish history and I'm a happy girl indeed :-) I'll no doubt the sharing bits and pieces of my new collection with you here from time to time.

[Poets and Poetry of Poland, edited by Paul SOBOLESKI, copyright 1929, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A note inside the book indicates that the first edition of this book was published in 1881 in Chicago. The second edition with additions, was published in 1883. This third edition is a reprint of the second edition, arranged by the Paul SOBOLESKI Society of Milwaukee Wisconsin.]

I See Their Faces and Wonder

Do you ever look at faces in a crowd and wonder if you're related to any of them? I do that sometimes. Not so much when I'm looking at faces here in the U.S., but always when I'm looking at faces in Poland. (All of my ancestors were from Poland.)

At 38,518,241, the estimated population of Poland is just slightly larger than the population of California. And all those people live in an area just slightly smaller than the state of New Mexico. When I see their faces in a crowd... in a photo, on a web site, in a book or a movie, I can't help but stare at them and wonder if I am related to these people. They could be my distant cousins, or live next door to one of my family members, or work in the same factory with them.

On the Polish American Forum someone shared a link to a page that has photos from the recently released movie KATYN, which was filmed in Poland with actors and actresses from Poland. As I looked through these photos I stared at the faces and wondered if we share ancestors. I looked for a familiar nose, a similar jaw line, or to see my own eyes looking back at me. Most of the time I don't catch a resemblance. But every once in awhile I see someone that I swear must be a relative of mine. Has that ever happened to you?

Source for the estimated population of Poland is the CIA World Factbook.
Source for the estimated population of California is Wikipedia.

Polish Wedding Traditions, The Wedding Day(s)

Traditional Polish wedding day preparations would begin in the morning. The main celebration was held at the home of the bride's parents and it was there that the festivities began. Musicians would gather and play, welcoming the arriving guests. When the groom arrived with his swat, groomsmen, and family, the maid of honor would begin dressing the bride.

The wreath woven the night before would be securely pinned in place on the bride's head. Then, depending on which section of Poland she was from, the bride might wear artificial flowers and ribbons of particular colors. She would also wear a strip of white fabric with ribbons, beads, and myrtle attached and secured at the back of the neck.

Everyone would gather at the home of the bride's parents to accompany the bridal couple to the church and to witness the blessings bestowed upon the bride by her parents. To start things off the swat would give a speech passed down through the years from father to son. After the speech the bride would say farewell to her parents, asking their forgiveness for any troubles she may have caused them while she was growing up and thanking them for raising her. Then the mother would kiss her daughter, bless her with holy water, and grow wheat at her feet. Then the father did the same. This blessing by the parents was seen as more important than the church ceremony itself. If one of the parents was dead someone would act in their stead for the blessing and then the wedding party might stop at the cemetery where the groom or bride would ask for blessings from their deceased parent. It was believed that no marriage would go well if it didn't begin with the blessings of the parents.

The trip to the church took place in various ways throughout Poland. In some areas the bride and groom rode in a wagon together and in other areas they rode in separate wagons. Everyone would be dressed in their Sunday best clothing, the horses and wagons would be decorated, and a fiddler would accompany them. Behind the wagon the swat would ride on horseback overseeing everything.

During the church ceremony the bride was expected to cry. If she didn't it was thought that she would cry throughout her married life. How very different things are these days when brides pay hundreds of dollars to have their makeup professionally done so as to look good for their wedding portraits. Now they make every effort not to cry!

Everyone in the church would keep an eye on the altar candles. People believed that if a candle went out during the wedding ceremony it meant that the bride or groom would die young. I remember hearing this whispered about when I was a child. So this is one belief that was passed on through numerous generations.

The wedding party would stop at a local tavern on the way home from the church where the guests would eat and drink and dance until they were called to the home of the bride's parents where the wedding feast would take place. When the bridal party and guests arrived at the home the swat would sing a song to open the door. Then the bride's mother would sprinkle the married couple with holy water to ward off any evil forces which might be lingering about the house. They would also be greeted with bread and salt. Salt was equally important to bread in all family customs from birth to death.

For the wedding feast, the bridal couple always sat at a table along a wall containing holy pictures. The feast would begin with the swat making a toast, then the groom toasted his bride, and then the glass would be passed on down the line with everyone taking a drink and wishing each other good health and good fortune. After this the food would be brought out.

Foods traditionally served at weddings in Poland included kasza (cereal), chicken, peas, sauerkraut, beet soup with noodles, and of course the wedding bread. Following the feast everyone would drink and dance long into the evening and often into the next day. If the father was affluent the wedding might last as long as a week.

On the last night of the wedding the capping ceremony took place. This is one of the oldest and most important of the polish wedding customs. It was so important that the custom survives to this day in Poland. In days of old in Poland a man was not allowed to exercise his marital privileges with his wife until the capping ceremony was completed. I'm not sure if things are still done this way ;-)

The capping ceremony involved cutting short the bride's long flowing hair and placing a marriage cap on her head. The actual cutting of the hair was done by the groom in some regions of Poland and by the mother of the bride and the married women of the village in other areas of Poland. The marriage cap was usually a gift made to the bride from her godmother. This marriage cap always held special meaning and was reserved for wearing only in church, at special folk festivals, and for her burial. It would be finely made and embroidered. It was the symbol of a married woman. The capping marked the end of the wedding celebration. Once it was done the married women would take turns dancing with the bride as a sign of her acceptance into their ranks. Then the bride was handed over to the groom for a dance. Following that the couple would leave for the groom's home or his parents' home to begin their married life together. When she arrived in front of her husband's home his family would greet her with bread and salt. This was to assure good luck to the bridal couple.

The final ceremony that the wedding party was involved in was the bedding down of the bride and groom. This was done humorously. The young couple was escorted to a room specially prepared for them. They were put in the room and the door was locked. Then they were serenaded with bawdy songs and vodka toasts and instructed not to be "lazy" before they were finally left alone. The next morning the couple was greeted and given kasza in milk and vodka dyed red as a sign of lost virginity. Then the sheets were inspected for the stain that would indicate the marriage had been consummated. This would make everyone happy and would be the cause of more singing and dancing.

The final article in this series will include my thoughts and observations on Polish wedding traditions.

The complete series of articles:
An Introduction To Polish Wedding Traditions
Polish Wedding Traditions, The Marriage Proposal And Engagement
Polish Wedding Traditions, The Wedding Eve
Polish Wedding Traditions, The Wedding Day(s)
Polish Wedding Traditions, My Recollections

Polish Wedding Traditions, The Wedding Eve

In Poland, in days of old, a bride-to-be would spend the evening before her wedding preparing her parents' house for the big event the next day. Her bridesmaids would join her for one last evening spent as carefree young maidens. They would decorate the house, make boutonnieres for the groomsmen, prepare food for the next day, and weave a wreath that the bride would wear on her wedding day. This wreath was commonly made from rue, rosemary, or myrtle. The bridesmaids would also create a wedding branch usually from a spruce or pine tree.

That same evening, the bride's godmother and would be in charge of baking the wedding bread. This was not your average loaf of bread but rather a ceremonial bread (several loaves actually) elaborately decorated and carefully baked. It was made of the finest wheat flour. The belief was that if the top of the bread cracked while baking it meant the marriage would not be successful. So every care was taken to ensure a perfect wedding bread. The bread would be placed on a table at the wedding feast for all to see. The swat would cut it into pieces and offer it in exchange for a gift or money for the bride.

Once the preparations were well in hand and the wedding bread was in the oven, the bride-to-be and her bridesmaids would go to the home of the groom's parents. There the bridesmaids and groomsmen would decorate the wedding branch. Once that task was completed everyone (bride-to-be, bridesmaids, groom, groomsmen, the groom's family and the swat) would return to the home of the bride where guests would have began to gather to officially began the wedding festivities.

Often, the groom and his groomsmen would be forbidden to enter the home of the bride… At least initially. A small reenactment from days of old would be played out where the swat would negotiate entrance for the groom. It would be one more obstacle for the groom to overcome, a test of his true devotion.

Once inside the house, the swat would make a speech and then with the wedding branch in hand he would dance with the bride. Then would come the unbraiding ceremony. Young maidens traditionally wore their hair in one or two braids symbolizing their youth and virginity. At this unbraiding ceremony the bride would symbolically leave her childhood behind and wear her hair long and flowing as she stood beside her groom on her wedding day. The actual unbraiding of the bride's hair might be done by her brothers or bridesmaids but would be done in the presence of all. That would typically mark the end of the evening.

The next article in this series will cover the traditional polish wedding day(s) (and night ; -)

The complete series of articles:
An Introduction To Polish Wedding Traditions
Polish Wedding Traditions, The Marriage Proposal And Engagement
Polish Wedding Traditions, The Wedding Eve
Polish Wedding Traditions, The Wedding Day(s)
Polish Wedding Traditions, My Recollections

Polish Wedding Traditions, The Marriage Proposal And Engagement

In the days of old in Poland, the wedding season began in September and continued through the fall and winter except during the holy seasons of Advent and Lent. The reason for this was because the harvest season had passed, the crops were in, larders were full, and the farmers' long days of work in the field were behind them. They had some leisure time to spend with family and friends, and food and drink to share with all.

I noticed early on in my family history research that most weddings took place in September, October, and November, with October being the most popular month. I didn't understand why at the time. It struck me as quite odd. I also noticed that the fall months were popular particularly for first marriages while second marriages seem to occur throughout the year. I have since come to realize that many second marriages occurred fairly soon after the death of a spouse because it was difficult to be at home raising the children and out in the fields working at the same time. Second marriages often came about out of necessity.

As was common throughout history, arranged marriages were the norm in old world Poland. Sometimes, as in the case of nobility, marriages were arranged between families when children were still young. Among the peasant class, marriage arrangements were more commonly made when a young lady was deemed to be of marriageable age (usually in her late teens or early twenties).

There were a variety of ways in which a Polish peasant with a marriageable daughter could indicate his desire to marry her off. This was done differently throughout the various areas of the country. In some areas a father would paint dots on one side of his house with whitewash. In another area fathers might paint spots on the fence surrounding their house. In one village the home of the marriageable girl would have a wreath of blue or windows painted blue. One also might see rue or rosemary planted in the garden, rue and rosemary being popular plants used to make wreaths.

If a young man was interested in said marriageable daughter, he would initiate the first contact with the family. This was done in a very contrived way allowing the man to save face if the family did not deem him to be suitable. It was a universal custom throughout all of Poland for an intermediary to act as a go-between on his behalf. This go-between went by different names in different areas, one of which was swat. The swat was usually an older and respected man in the community who could be trusted to act in the man's best interest, sometimes it would be a young man's godfather. One might think of this person as a "wedding planner" because they would see to the details of the marriage proposal, engagement, invitations, and some of the wedding itself.

The initial contact went something like this. The swat and the perspective groom would visit the home of the marriageable girl usually on a Thursday or Saturday and always under the cover of darkness. The reason for this was to provide some privacy from gossips as this was considered a delicate matter. Upon entering the house the men would bow and praise the Lord, ask about everyone's health, and then begin a very discreet inquiry with an allegory such as…"Do you have a goose for sale? If so, we'd like to buy her." As the inquiry was made the swat would bring out a bottle of whiskey or vodka and request the young lady bring him a whiskey glass. The refusal of the suitor was always done in a non insulting manner. If the girl went into the next room for a glass but did not return it was a sign of refusal. If the family did not believe the young man to be a suitable husband for their daughter they would deny that they had a goose for sale and with that the swat and the young man would leave the house. If the family excepted the vodka offered it was an indication of their willingness to consider the match. They would then indicate which day the swat and the young man should return for a final decision.

Assuming that the match was favorable to the young girl's parents, the young man and his swat would return a couple days later. Once again the swat would bring out the bottle of vodka and and ask for a whiskey glass. If the girl returned quickly with the glass it was an indication of her agreement to the match which would have been previously discussed and agreed upon by her parents. Then the swat would fill the glass with vodka, pass it to the father who would pass it to his daughter. She would drink from the glass and then offer the rest of the vodka to her prospective groom. Once the young man drank the rest of the vodka the agreement was sealed. Then and only then would talk began on dowries and settlements.

Next came the engagement period. An official engagement most often occurred on a Saturday when the swat and the young man dressed in their best clothes would return to the young girl's house. There they would be greeted by the young girl's relatives and close friends who would have gathered to celebrate the happy event. Then a ritual was performed which included an uncut loaf of bread and a white scarf. The swat would join the right hands of the couple above the loaf of bread and tie them together with the scarf. Then he would cut two pieces of bread for them to eat. Most commonly the groom would gift his bride with this ceremonial scarf. This engagement was considered as binding as the marriage itself. Following this, refreshments were served and small gifts were exchanged.

The morning after the official engagement, the newly engaged couple would visit the village priest. Their intention to be married would be duly noted. The engagement would last for three weeks while the banns were read at church. During this three week engagement the bride was excused from her daily responsibilities to prepare for the wedding. Her time would be taken up weaving material for her trousseau and preparing wedding gifts.

Wedding invitations were always delivered in person and in a certain obligatory manner. The first invitations were issued to friends or relatives who would act as bridesmaids and groomsmen. Next the bride and groom would invite their godparents. The remaining guests were usually invited on a Thursday after the first or second reading of the banns. In some areas of Poland those invitations would be extended by the brid- to-be and her maid of honor or mother. In other areas the guests would be invited by two of the groomsmen who with musicians in tow would go through the village issuing invitations. Most everyone in the village would be invited to the wedding out of courtesy this first time around. A second invitation would be issued on Saturday, the day before the wedding, and this invitation would be issued to those who were actually invited to the wedding. Weddings almost always occurred on Sundays.

The next article in this series will describe the night before the wedding, also known as the maiden evening.

The complete series of articles:
An Introduction To Polish Wedding Traditions
Polish Wedding Traditions, The Marriage Proposal And Engagement
Polish Wedding Traditions, The Wedding Eve
Polish Wedding Traditions, The Wedding Day(s)
Polish Wedding Traditions, My Recollections

An Introduction To Polish Wedding Traditions

I love weddings, especially Polish weddings! If you've ever been to a traditional Polish wedding you know they are truly a celebration of life, love, and culture. With the extravagant cost of weddings these days you don't see many traditional Polish weddings anymore. And what a shame that is because when it comes to throwing a wedding celebration nobody does it with more passion then the Polish.

I remember attending many Polish weddings when I was a child. And I remember my mother talking about her own wedding and the Polish customs she included. Some little girls grew up on fairy tales about princesses. I grew up on stories about Polish princess brides.

Poland is an agrarian based country. My ancestors came from country villages, worked on farms, and led a simple life. My grandparents came to America during the Great Migration between 1880 and 1920. The country they came from, the life style they led, had existed for hundreds of years. Without a doubt they experienced culture shock when they reached the shores of the United States. It's fun to look at pictures of the families back in the Roaring Twenties when those hearty Polish peasant immigrants were decked out in Flapper dresses! I'm sure they wanted to assimilate and become Americanized but they didn't discard all of their Polish country ways either.

As time has passed and with each new generation there is less Polishness in us. That is to say, there is less evidence of Polish tradition and culture in the ways we live our lives and celebrate life events. I have my own memories of Polish weddings but I've often wondered how much different our Polish weddings were from actual weddings in Poland. Several years ago when I made contact with family members still living in Poland I was able to discuss with them how they celebrated a wedding. They were full of questions about stories they had heard about American weddings too. Then last year I read a book called The Peasants by Wladislaw Reymont. The author won a Nobel Prize in literature for this book detailing the lives of Polish peasants in the latter have of the 19th century. It was fascinating for me to learn the wedding traditions my ancestors practiced. Since then, I've done some additional research on Polish wedding traditions and I'm amazed at all I have learned.

I've written before about how the records of my ancestors go back to the mid to late 1700s. That was when recordkeeping was first mandated in Poland. Prior to that, birth, marriage, and death records were kept primarily for the nobility and not for the peasants. The history and traditions I'm most interested in are those that would have been practiced by family members whose names appear on my family tree. Since the old world ways changed very little over hundreds of years it's likely that the traditions practiced by my grandparents were the same as those practiced by their grandparents and great grandparents before them. My research confirms as much.

Let's take a look at Polish wedding traditions beginning with a marriage proposal and going through to the end of the wedding celebration. I found the whole process very interesting and I think you will too.

The complete series of articles:
An Introduction To Polish Wedding Traditions
Polish Wedding Traditions, The Marriage Proposal And Engagement
Polish Wedding Traditions, The Wedding Eve
Polish Wedding Traditions, The Wedding Day(s)
Polish Wedding Traditions, My Recollections

Another Perspective on WWII

Author and historian Norman Davies offers a different perspective on WWII. In a recent lecture on the topic, "Who Won WWII", at Harvard University he examines the war in Europe from a European perspective. It has a much different slant than what we're used to here in the U.S.

Essentially, Davies suggests that WWII was really a battle between the Germans and Russians and that the U.S. came in too late with too little to change the tide of what was already happening in Europe. He goes on to contend that the U.S. was too preoccupied with events in the Pacific to really commit the kind of manpower, logistics, and supplies needed to dominate the European theater of war.

Davies makes a good case for his perspective. Read the full article on the Harvard University Gazette Online site and see who he thinks won WWII.

Comments?