St. Valentine’s Day in Chełmno

St.Valentine’s Day has made new entry in the Polish Culture. However, it is celebrated wholeheartedly in the unique Polish style. All lovers manage to gather at Chelmno, the lover’s city, where a historical Valentine altar is present and the relics of Saint Valentine, the patron saint of lovers, have bee preserved for several hundred years in the local parish church. Lovers and singles pray for a happy marital life to the couples who gathered here centuries ago and St.Valentine who got them married.


Chelmno is a northern Polish hill station (situated between Torun and Gdansk) with a few thousand local population and tremendous natural beauty.14th February in Chełmno is a day one of its kind, many love and romance-themed events are organised throughout the city including rock concerts, brass band parades, competitions and a wide array of other performances. Students and scouts make a huge heart of thousands burning lanterns in the market square. After dark, a singing concert is held there that fills the air with romantic lyrics and songs. St. Valentine’s Day in Chełmno traditionally ends in a fireworks display.

Valentine couples declare their love for each other and exchange love quotes. Men present spectacular floral arrangements, made of red roses and bows, to their date. Heart shaped cookies, cakes, pastries and buns, specially prepared for the occasion, accompanied with greeting cards, are presented to women from their men. One can imagine very well that how romantic and women respecting are the Polish.

Valentine's Day (in Polish: Walentynki)

Saint Valentine's Day festival is celebrated in a big way in countries around the world ! It is interesting to note that the popularity of this ancient festival has grown several folds and is said to be increasing by the year as more and more people are getting influenced by the idea of celebrating love and lovers. The present generation holds the festival in high regard and celebrates the day by expressing love not just to their sweethearts but everyone they hold dear and special.

Valentine's Day has not been celebrated in Poland until very recently. Poland had been behind the Iron Curtain for quite some decades, only after the collapse of the Eastern European Block in 1989 and the consequent opening of Poland's borders this well known, especially in English-language cultures holiday entered Polish society. Romantic Poles were very quick in adopting Valentines Day and nowadays it as popular in Poland as anywhere else.

As a result, men in Poland are now "burdened" with two occasions to adore their ladies with gifts and flowers, as the old custom of Women's Day (in Polish: Dzien Kobiet) is still very popular as it used to be in the communist times. It is celebrated on March the 8th of each year. Women's Day is the old Polish version of the Valentine's Day with the one difference that all women are on the receiving side while all men are on the giving side. While the Valentine's Day is more privately celebrated between the lovers, the Women's Day is celebrated more as a national holiday for all women, whether they are 8, or 80 years old. At that day all women in Poland receive special attention (usually in the form of flowers) not only privately, but also at schools and at work (hospitals, offices, etc.). In addition to flowers, they sometimes receive greeting cards, which are not that popular in Poland as they are in English-language cultures.

It is interesting how popular greeting cards are in English-language cultures. In Poland people do not send greetings cards to their friends or family who live in the same town. In English-language cultures people do not only send them to far away places where they cannot communicate the message personally, but often take a greeting card with them to hand it personally to the addressee. For example, when they go to a wedding, or a birthday party, in addition to flowers or a gift, they also bring a greeting card.

Early Valentine's Day Celebration
Valentine's Day Festival is said to have originated in pagan times when people celebrated February 14th in honor of the Roman God of Fertility. This February fertility festival celebration that also marked the beginning of spring was known as the Feast of Lupercalia. In such festivals boys drew out names of girls from a box. They would then be regarded as a couple for a year. Sometimes these couples would fall in love and even marry. Christian Church decided to turn the pagan event into Christian celebrations in honor of St Valentine. Gradually, people began to celebrate February 14th by expressing love for their sweethearts.

In the 14th century Valentine's Day began to be celebrated with loved ones and a large feast was organized to mark the day. In 16th century began the custom of exchanging gifts between lovers with the passing of paper Valentine. Initially, Valentine's Day cards were usually handmade and given anonymously. During the 1800s much larger hand-painted copperplates molded in the shape of hearts replaced paper cards. In later years, the copperplates gradually gave way to woodcuts and carvings and lithographs. By the middle of the 18th century, Valentine's Day become popular amongst the masses and it became a common tradition for all social classes to secretly exchange small tokens of lover or handwritten love notes called Valentine. In 19th century began the custom of sending mass-produced Valentine's Day greeting cards. This custom is very much in vogue even today.

Valentine's Day Celebration in Present Times
In present times, Valentine's Day Festival celebrations are massive in several countries across the globe. The festival has emerged as a popular dating and gift-giving festival and therefore has a major social and economic significance. It may be noted that Valentine's Day started as a romantic festival but today the festival has increased in scope. These days, Valentine's Day is essentially regarded as festival that celebrates love between individuals and not just lovers. People therefore wish ‘Happy Valentine's Day' to parents, teachers, siblings, friends or any other person special to them.

Though there are various traditions and customs associated with the festival, the most popular way of celebrating Valentines Day is by expressing love to sweethearts and dear ones with an exchange of gifts. Some of the most traditional Valentine's Day gifts exchanged between lovers are fresh flowers, chocolates and cards. Jewelry is also fast emerging as the most sought after Valentine's Day gift for women. In the modern technologically advanced age, exchange of text messages between friends and loved ones has become a norm.

Going on dates with beloved is the other major way of celebrating Valentine's Day Festival. Restaurants see a busy time as people celebrate the day of romance with a candle light dinner. People also participate in Valentine's Day dance parties and balls organized by various clubs and hotels. Private parties are also organized in homes and farmhouses where young and the old have a blast. Some couple use the occasion to propose their beloved while some chose to get engaged on the festival that celebrates love and lovers.

Tłusty Czwartek or Fat Thursday

Wayfarers with a sweet tooth will find that they've got a treat in store this week, as Thursday 11th is Tłusty Czwartek (Fat or Shrove Thursday). Poles forget about their diet and eat huge quantities of doughnuts or pączki - pronounced pounchki.

Traditionally a day of indulgence at the tail-end of the pre-Lent Carnival, Fat Thursday has somehow evolved into a doughnut extravaganza. It is one of those days before the Ash Wednesday that is dedicated to eating a lot of fat food that will be forbidden to eat during Lent. The custom of making and eating doughnuts on this day stems from the need to use up fat, eggs and dairy products before the fasting and abstinence of the Christian festival of Lent. Thus one can have one final "sweet treat" before that period begins. The celebration is equivalent to Pancake Tuesday in England, and Fetter Dienstag in Germany.

An impressive 100 million doughnuts (paczki) will be scoffed on the big day, averaging out at 2 and a half per person. Traditional families hold that chomping the doughnuts brings good luck for the rest of the year. Indeed, the more you munch, the better luck you'll have. You've never had a finer excuse to get stuck in.

First-time visitors to Krakow might try the much-loved Michalek bakery on ul. Krupnicza, their doughnuts are supposed to be the best in the city(be warned though, some shoppers buy more than 100 doughnuts per person and you may end up queuing up to five hours!!!). Remember that in Poland, doughnuts traditionally come with rose jam, or more modern version with advocat – you are advised to try both!

The one who came up with the idea that on Shrove Thursday everybody's supposed to eat as many doughnuts as possible and it's a good thing to do, should get an award. I've just eaten my fourth one today and believe me, it's not the last one! Who's gonna eat more?

Sylwester or New Year’s Eve traditions in Poland

The oracle Sibyl made a prophecy that the year 1000 would be the end of the world. The dragon Leviathan imprisoned in the dungeons of Vatican by the pope Sylvester I was to bring about the doom waking up from his sleep and destroying the world. People were awaiting the midnight with fear and uncertainty, however, to their relief the dragon did not come out, their despair turned into euphoria. The current pope Sylvester II blessed everybody and in his memory December 31st is celebrated in such a festive way to this day and is called Sylvester.

New Year's Eve in Poland is celebrated with costume parties and social gatherings spanning the transition of the year at midnight. Fireworks displays are also part of the celebration. At midnight people drink a champagne toast and wish each other all the best, this is a much-loved tradition, something bubbly is always a festive way to commemorate a special occasion. Traditionally in Poland Tokaj - the Hungarian white wine was the favourite choice. One could also tell fortune from the bubbles – if they were moving slowly that would signify a calm year without problems, however, if they were moving about quickly that would signify some important changes coming.

New Year’s Eve in the cities in Poland can be celebrated at more or less formal balls. Some of them have a long-lasting tradition, as for example the ball at the Warsaw Philharmonic Society, the sportsmen’s ball or the ball at the castle in Golub-Dobrzyn attended by “the man of the year”. A New Year’s Eve formal ball always begins with a polonaise.

In the country the New Year’s Eve day gave in the past an occasion to unpunished pranks of all kinds. It was not unusual for the village jesters to disassemble somebody’s wagon and reassemble it on the roof of a house, or to smear windows and door knobs with tar, or only to hide pots that had been drying on a fence. In Zywiec region for example, groups of boys disguised as devils, bears, Gypsies and beggars scour the village and with the earsplitting whip crackling and rattling of empty cans they will accost any young woman they come across and knock her down in snow. All the tricks are forgiven for they are believed to be ousting the old passing year.

When it comes to celebrating the New Year, every country and every culture has its unique routines and charms to influence the incoming year. They're believed to bring into the new year good fortune, health, prosperity, and love. Whether superstitions first showed up as a deep-seated need to make sense of the world around us, or whether it was to control the world around us isn’t important. What is important is the curiosity, hope, laughter, and family unity that traditions undoubtedly bring to every family from every culture. Below is a conglomeration of rules, rituals and beliefs from Poland that are certain to christen the New Year as the best year yet.

It is customary to kiss the one you love or hope to love at midnight as if to say, "Congratulations, to us for making it through another year!". Kissing your spouse or significant other at midnight ensures that you will remain intimate with that person. To not kiss means a cold relationship for the year.

Whether it is a silent promise to one's self to stop telling white lies or a big declaration of intent to lose weight, a New Year's resolution is a must. Many find it easier to make a fresh beginning as symbolized by January 1. To avoid bad luck in the coming year it is also good to get rid of the current problems by writing them out on a red piece of paper and burning it.

It is common for folks to celebrate the first few minutes of a brand new year in the company of family and friends. Parties often last into the middle of the night after the ringing in of a new year. It was once believed that the first visitor on New Year's Day would bring either good luck or bad luck the rest of the year. It was particularly lucky if that visitor happened to be a tall dark-haired man.

Nothing goes out on that day – not even the garbage. The flip version of this rule is that nothing goes out until something new comes in. No money should be spent (that would be going out). One should also pay all the debts otherwise they will have financial problems in the coming year. No sweeping or dusting the first day of the year. The good luck could be swept out. If you have to sweep, you should sweep towards the center of the house and use a dust pan.

Traditional New Year foods are also thought to bring luck. Many cultures believe that anything in the shape of a ring is good luck, because it symbolizes "coming full circle," completing a year's cycle. For that reason, in some areas of Poland paczki or doughnuts were baked to assure wealth for the whole year. Another important characteristics of New Year’s Day was bread-baking. Different animals were shaped from the dough - sheep, rabbits, geese, cows. Godparents often gave these bread animals with best wishes to godchildren as presents.

Other traditions include, that those who wake up early on New Year’s Day will wake up early for the rest of the year and will be full of energy. Those who touched the floor with the right foot when getting up from bed could expect a lot of good luck the whole year. And those who wanted to get rich had to put change in a small bag and run through the fields shaking the bag and making a lot of noise. It is also good to avoid quarrelling and be friendly towards other people so as to spend the whole next year in such atmosphere.

Traditional Polish Christmas

Christmas Tree

As in most countries around the world we have adopted the German tradition of decorating a Christmas tree. However, an old Polish custom exists, observed to this day in small villages: a treetop of a pine tree is cut off and then turned upside down and hung from the ceiling. Most people use fir trees smelling of the forest and decorate them with lights (originally candles), tinsel, baubles, candies wrapped in coloured wrappers, gilded walnuts, fruit and ornaments (snowflakes, snowman, icicles, bells and angels imagery are popular choices). An angel or star is often placed at the top of the tree, representing the host of angels or the Star of Bethlehem from the Nativity. Another old custom is to hang the mistletoe under the ceiling, it is a symbol of love, peace and goodwill and is believed to be the most magical, mysterious, and sacred plants of European folklore bringing good luck and health. Decorations create a unique ambiance in the house and make the festive mood more vibrant.

Nativity Scene

A representation of the Nativity Scene is also often displayed in the house, it exhibits figures representing the infant Jesus, his mother Mary, and Mary's husband, Joseph and other characters from the Biblical story such as shepherds, the Magi, and angels. The figures are usually displayed in a stable. and people are encouraged to compete and create most original or realistic ones. Kraków szopka (pron.: shop-ka), or nativity scene is a Christmas tradition dating back to the 19th century. Unlike traditional Nativity Scene, Kraków szopka portrays historical buildings from Kraków.


Christmas Gifts

We too adopted the tradition of Santa Claus. However, in our tradition he comes a day earlier--on Christmas Eve and we don’t open presents on Christmas day but after the traditional Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve.

The Christmas Eve Dinner

Traditionally we sit down to the dinner when the first star appears in the sky. Before dinner we break and share with the wafer, the holy bread usually blessed by the priest, while wishing one another all the best. That bread comes in small squares with pictures portraying moments from the life of Jesus or the saints. We traditionally have 12 dishes on the Christmas Eve table. We leave one set of plates extra on the table to show that we are happy to welcome any unexpected guests. Another custom is to put hay under the tablecloth. In my house we also used to put small coins under the table cloth or a fish scale in the wallet - both to bring prosperity. Among traditional Polish dishes there are: red borsch from red beets served with small dumplings filled with mushrooms or mushroom soup, pierogi-traditional Polish dumplings with cabbage and mushroom filling, herrings, and carp which is an absolute must and is served in all sorts of ways: fried, a la Greek, in aspic, Jewish style etc. For pudding there are traditionally cakes made with poppy seeds, my favourite is the so called kutia as it has plenty of nuts, figs and raisins and also other cakes like gingerbread or cheese cake. There are also some other regional dishes that vary throughout Poland.

“Pasterka” - the midnight mass on Christmas Eve

It literally means "the Shepherds' Mass". We traditionally go to church at midnight in memory of the shepherds who were the first people to find Jesus and sing Christmas carols together.

Christmas Day

We traditionally spend the Christmas day with family and the meals still have a festive character with the whole family gathering around the table.

Merry Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Comenius Project Meeting in Kraków

Dear Friends from Slovenia, Italy, Latvia and Lithuania!

Thank you for coming to Kraków!

It was a pleasure to host you in our school and beautiful city!

Regards,

The principal of European College in Kraków - Aleksander Korzec

The coordinator - Joanna Pillans

The project teacher - Anna Krzemińska-Kaczyńska

 *    *    *  A few words from Polish students   *   *  *

Hello, this is Szymon from Kolegium Europejskie high school in Cracow (Poland).

I had a chance to take part in the Comenius exchange program and host two Slovenian people. It was a new experience to me as I’ve never before participated in any school exchanges. 
I hosted two female Slovenian students: Nika and Irena for about one week. At first, they were a little bit shy but after short time we all could talk freely. Girls were very kind to me and my family. During all these days the weather was really, really bad, so it was a pity that our guests could not fully enjoy the sightseeing. Despite that, they apparently liked it very much. There were many trips organized, including those to Zakopane, Auschwitz and Wieliczka. Unluckily, my guests didn’t have any suitably warm clothes and shoes with them so if you want to go on a Comenius exchange, please think twice about what you take with yourself :)! Nika and Irena enjoyed Polish cuisine, especially pierogi. At the end, Slovenians gave my family big chocolate and a printed album of Slovenian landscapes. We gave them some amber jewellery, which is traditionally associated with Cracow.  
In general, my guests really enjoyed the exchange. Nika and Irene seemed to be positively surprised by what is Cracow like. Now, I’m looking forward to fly to Sicilly as a part of Comenius program.

Szymon Bartuś, IB2 class

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Dear Friends,

The Comenius Project Meeting was   a great experience. I think everyone could learn a lot! it was an intensive week and each day was packed with things to see and people to meet. The first day was a good way to start off the week, when we all gathered together at the town hall and every country had its presentations. A great event was Tuesday`s night - Saint Andrew`s Evening. Everyone got a chance to relax and have some fun. It was a great opportunity to share our Polish traditions with our overseas students. An evening like that was needed to get everyone talking and interacting with each other. 

In my opinion, The Comenius Project Meeting in Kraków was a great idea and a great success:) I certainly enjoyed the week and I believe my international students did too. Hopefully, there will be many more meetings like this one to come. I`m sure this expereince will stay with us for a long time.... :)  

Natalia Dębska, pre-IB class

*   *   * 

Well,

The Comenius Project Meeting in Kraków was really fun! we went on a lot of great field trips. In my humble opinion, the best part of our meeting was Saint Adrew`s Evening - in Polish Andrzejki. It was our job  - pre-IB class - to take care of the games that we were all playing at the party. After the games we taught our new friends how to dance Polish dance - and after a while we had  a great time dancing. Our class was responsible for preparing interesting games for the students from Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania and Italy. The play and evening came out really good and I think they liked them. 

I also took part in the field trip to Oświęcim. It was very touching for everybody..... What happened there to those tormented people is very tragic. Besides, it was really cold when we were there and by such weather conditions we all felt very depressed and sorry... The movie they showed us at the end of the tour about the camp and prisoners taught me many things and facts I didn`t know.

Visiting snowy Zakopane was full of emotions :)

During one week I met a lot of cool people from Europe:) and I hope I will have a chance to see them again someday.

Overall, I had a lot of fun and I will never forget Meeting in Kraków.

Sandra Struzik, pre-IB class

O u r     f r i e n d s    v i s i t i n g     E u r o p e a n    C o l l e g e

 LATVIA

EDVIN FJODOROV, LELDE ZIMELE, ARINA JAKOVLEVA,  NATA DUBOVSKA
TEACHER: Antra Gertmane

LITHUANIA

Morkevičiūtė Karolina, Šimoliūnaitė Laura, Kučinskaitė Iveta, Skeisgielaitė Gabrielė, Lepševičiūtė Milda, Ručinskaitė Paulina, Račkaitytė Iveta, Bakanaitė Erika, Januškaitė Jolita, Vaitkutė Milda,  
Teacher: Ilona Martinkaitienė

SLOVENIA  

Katja JEMEC, Sonja ČRV, Irena KOŠIR , Nika JESENKO, Katarina JERAJ, Primož KRIŽNAR, Nik MAIERLE, Žiga RADULJ, Boštjan CERAR, Žiga VIDIC, Urban FRONTINI, Kristina KEBER, Pia TERZIČ, Maja PLESTENJAK 

Teachers: Vladimir JANEŽ (coordinator),     Mojca GUŠTIN  

ITALY

Amato Caterina, Agola Alessandra, Longo Giovanna, Trovato Beatrice, Butera Angela, Milazzo Rossella Maria, Pampalone Rosalia, Dara Federica, Garacci Mariangela, Lipari Floriana, 
Teachers: La Monica Giovanna,  Sorrentino Mariella (coordinator),  FundarÕ Annalisa

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Teachers from Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Italy &  Poland.

 INTERNATIONAL MEETING IN KRAKÓW

The Image of the Other!