Culture
Blog posts related to Polish culture: traditions, food, apparel, art, and much more.
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Polish Easter Traditions: Colorful Palms, Blessed Baskets, and Barszcz
As a kid, I was not a fan of Easter. Easter meant lots of church going: from Stations of the Cross each Friday during Lent, to rekolekcje (Masses devoted to spiritual reflection), to the Easter Triduum. Over the years, however, the holiday became one of my favorite seasons. A serial contemplator, I appreciated the Lenten…
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Life in a Soviet labor camp: My grandmother’s story
I don’t know about you, but when I was a kid, I didn’t care too much about family history. I’d never met my grandparents—nearly all of them had passed before I was born—and my parents didn’t often share stories. From time to time, I’d hear murmurings of my late grandmother’s ailments: a year-long stay at…
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Pączki Day: Why does everyone love the Polish doughnut?
Much like with pierogi, it seems like most people know about pączki (poh-tsch-kee). You tell someone you’re Polish, they tell you they love pączki. But what makes the Polish doughnut so special? (Hint: it’s the yeast. Or the lard.) What is a pączek? A pączek (the singular form of the word) is a doughnut, but…