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Happy Name day Generał

October 28, is a Special Names Day Celebration
By Raymond Rolak

October 28, is Name Day for people named Thaddeus and thus, General Tadeusz Kosciuszko, a good reason to celebrate for sure. His ideals were lofty and he prized honor and liberty for all.

In Poland, Names Day celebrations are customary. Like a ‘Birthday Party’ in America, one would celebrate with friends and family on the feast day of the Saint one is named after. On October 28, because of his cherished celebrity and honored courage, everyone considers themselves ‘Tad.’ Tadeusz Kosciuszko, that is.

After his exploits in the American Revolution, Kosciuszko returned to Poland to help restore the Polish borders.

After Poland passed the May 3, Constitution in 1791, it was attacked by Russia, Prussia and Austria who wanted to stop these democratic reforms. King Stanislaw Augustus created the Virtuti Militari medal to honor the Polish soldiers, who had fought to defend the first democratic constitution in Europe. But the Poles lost the war, and the Russians demanded that these medals not be worn or displayed.

While the officers who received this honor took the medals off their chests, they sent the blue with black ribbons from these honors to their wives and girlfriends, who used them to tie their hair in ponytails.

On Oct 28, 1792, Prince Czartoryski held a Names Day party (imieniny) at his palace for the name’s day of Tadeusz. General Kosciuszko was celebrated. The women wore white dresses with black and blue sashes and tied their hair in ponytails with the medal ribbons. The women also made a garland crown of leaves from an oak tree planted 100 years earlier by King Sobieski, and placed it on Kosciuszko’s head to honor him.

General Kosciuszko was described by Thomas Jefferson as the “Purest son of Liberty”. When Kosciuszko died he left his money and property in America for the freeing and education of slaves. George Washington commented, “He served America with courage and distinction.”

Because October is Polish Heritage Month in America, remember to be Tad that day. Wear a blue and black ribbon. Remember parents, grand-parents and all those who came before us. Remember the sacrifices of veterans, teachers, mentors and most of all, remember the examples of Kosciuszko. “Happy Names Day- Tadeusz.”

Events, PNCC, Poland - Polish - Polonia, , , ,

Harvest Dinner at St. Valentine’s

From WWLP: Polish church holds ‘Harvest Dinner’

Harvest Dinner is a time honored occasion at St. Valentine’s Polish National Catholic Church in Northampton, Massachusetts.
 
Parishioners filled the Church’s social center to celebrate what’s become a tradition at Polish National Catholic Churches everywhere.
 
“It’s a celebration of all the wonderful gifts that God has given us through the growing seasons. And we always gather together as a church family,” said Father Senior Joseph Soltysiak.

And as part of that longstanding tradition, the St. Valentine’s spiritual leader told 22News, parishioners invite members of other churches to share the celebration.

Art, Events, Xpost to PGF, , , , , ,

Graduate Student Conference — Latino Folk Culture and Expressive Traditions

The NY Folklore Society Graduate Student Conference, Latino Folk Culture and Expressive Traditions will take place Saturday, November 20th at New York University, 20 Cooper Square, 4th Floor, New York, NY.

For over 65 years, the New York Folklore Society (NYFS) has held an annual conference, typically with guest speakers, such as master artists and academic scholars, who have addressed a particular theme. This year, in collaboration with NYU’s Latino Studies and Latin American Studies Departments, NYFS seeks to encourage young scholars to continue their studies and become active contributors to the fields of folklore, ethnomusicology, anthropology and more.

Theme: Latino Folk Culture and Expressive Traditions

Preliminary Schedule (Subject to Change):

9:00 – 10:00 a.m. Registration
9:30 – 10:00 New York Folklore Society Annual Meeting
10:00 – 11:45 a.m. Latino Music and the Negotiation of Identities
1:30 – 2:45 Representations and Depictions
3:00 – 4:00 p.m. A Statewide Community Conversation on Latino Folk Culture with Latino comunity leaders and artists from throughout New York State
4:30 – 5:30 Juan Flores, Director of Latino Studies, NYU “Afro-Latino Perspectives on Folklore”
6:00 Performance by Raquel Rivera y Los Ojos
6:45 Reception

For registration information, please E-mail or call the Society at 518-346-7008.

Registration:

$20.00 for Members of the New York Folklore Society
$25.00 for non-members
Free for Students

Poland - Polish - Polonia, ,

Visit Poland this Fall

Polish Autumn is the Favorite Time By Raymond Rolak

Autumn in Poland is a great time for tourism. The weather is pleasant and there are many harvest festivals. In the cities, summer hotel pressure is finished and the crowds have diminished. In the resort areas from Sopot to Gdansk (Baltic sea-shore) traffic has diminished. In the interior and rural areas there is a saying. It is now the “Golden Time”.

There is a short period of time every autumn in Poland called ‘Golden Polish Autumn’. According to custom the phrase comes from Wincenty Pol’s poem, “In the Autumn”.

Na jesieni

Coraz ciszej – wrzesień, wrzesień,
Słońce rzuca blask z ukosa
I dzień krótszy, chłodna rosa –
Ha, i jesień, polska jesień
O! Jesieni złota nasza!

Golden Polish Autumn, (Złota Polska Jesień) – that’s the phrase commonly used to describe this season. Summer is gone, the winter is approaching but the weather is great and it is time to celebrate and enjoy the colors. The trees are golden and rusty.

The Golden Polish Autumn is a period of few days sometime between the end of September and the beginning of October, when fewer sunny days come after the initial drop of temperature. The Golden Autumn lasts less than two weeks in Poland. The Dozynki Festivals in Poland are truly bardzo piękne (very beautiful). From Kraków to Tarnów to Rzeszów the drive is full of color. In Krakow, the giant Jordana Park is a do-not-miss as the changing colors are at their peek. It should be on a ‘bucket list’.

The giant star Arius is bright and directly overhead and in Poland, astronomical autumn is beginning. The ‘Autumnal Equinox’ has commenced and the passage from Summer to Fall is beginning.

The farmers are starting the Dozynki. Harvest festivals that celebrate gratitude for nature’s bounty and winter preparations are all in full swing. The Polish harvest festivals are a custom of many centuries and little has changed. The traditions continue. The festivals celebrate the work of the farmer. Music, dancing, great food and colorful apparel, any Dozynki is worth attending. In America many social organizations and Polish churches have Dozynki Festivals.

In America or Poland a Dozynki Festival always has color, music and dance. Photo courtesy of Polishnews.com

One of the best regions to see during Golden Polish Autumn is Zakopane in southeast Poland. The region and folk charm in that area is a sight to see. Find a ‘milk bar’ to enjoy. Inexpensive ‘A’ frame cabins are available to rent. The highlanders of the Zakopane and the Tatra Mountains regions have attractive and lively customs. The area is an avid hiker’s heaven.

So, for preparation …….this year…….next year……anytime soon, the Golden Polish Autumn is a great time to plan a visit or plan a Dozynki party.

(Raymond Rolak is a Michigan based sports broadcaster)

Christian Witness, Poland - Polish - Polonia, Political, , , ,

New Holiday in Poland

Breaking News, New Holiday Added By Richard Rolak

WARSAW– The Sejm (Polish Parliament) approved that January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany would become a national holiday and an official non-working day.

In a secular oriented announcement it was explained that the additional free day on Epiphany will be a convenient way of using holiday time from the previous year during first few days of the New Year. It was also explained that it was being instituted so families could spend more time together.

From Poland’s Gazeta Prawna (Legal Gazette): To już pewne: Trzech Króli dniem wolnym od pracy

January 6, or Epiphany, will be a day off from work. Parliament amended the Labour Code and Law on days off from work on Friday, September 24th.

The PO and PSL parties voted for a holiday on the Epiphany. The PiS and the Left added conditions based on lobbying by businesses that do not want to offer an additional holiday.

There were 370 deputies voting for, 44 against, and one abstention. Members also voted to remove the Labour Code allowing for a floating day off for any holiday that falls on a Saturday or Sunday. Changes to the Code are effective 1 January 2011.

According to calculations provided, the introduction of additional holiday will result in nine additional days off between 2011 to 2020. The abolition of the floating day off provision will return eight working days to the economy over the same period.

Currently, the January 6th holiday is observed in Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Austria, Sweden, and Finland. January 6th was a holiday in Poland until 1960.

Christian Witness, Perspective, ,

What is mission, what is presence?

From Kenny Be at Denver Westword: Vandalized St. Francis statute unable to lend a hand to animals:
​

This week, the St. Francis of Assisi National Catholic Church in southeast Denver will be presented with a new statue to replace their five-foot-tall front door figurine of St. Francis that was stolen on July 30. Meanwhile, the St. Francis of Assisi statue residing with The Sisters of Penance and Christian Charity in Chaffee Park shall just have to try to come to grips with the rationale of being left limbless and ignored for years…
​
Standing before a rock wall at the intersection of West 52nd Ave. and Federal Blvd., the St. Francis statue… is hidden from the view of the Marycrest caretaker’s house just barely seen through the trees. The overgrowth of vegetation and lack of repair suggest that the Marycrest mission may (once again) be in transition. A quick Internet search reveals that the Sisters have sold the property to developers for affordable housing.

A look at the Aria Denver website for the Marycrest development intimate that future plans for the limbless statue include removal of the remaining body parts and complete replacement with an asphalt parking lot and strip mall. Since the statue has not been converted into a curbside nail salon/income tax/doggy daycare sign holder insinuates that there may be little need for new retail development at the location at this time.

The build-out of the proposed eighty co-housing units and 120 apartments planned for the Aria Denver project was supposed to be completed by 2010, thereby hinting that the project is experiencing a slowdown, possibly due to a weak housing market.

The unwillingness to replace the hands on the statue indicate that the property’s current managers believe that the improved economic conditions needed to make this development a success can be achieved without St. Francis’s prayers.

Two sisters from the congregation that owned the property commented on the post. They indicate that the statue had been repeatedly vandalized, and then offered the “well we are the hands of Francis” justification for leaving things as they are. They then go on to indicate that the property’s new owners will be “the hands of Francis.”

I imagine something quite different, amounting to an abdication of responsibility for the statue, the property (note the overgrown/unkept part of the article), and for their mission in this distressed area of Denver.

Where are the sisters of days gone by who did real missionary work, real charity, and real acts of courage? Why aren’t they providing education and healthcare services to the poor in Denver. The hands of Francis appear to be off doing backpacking and camping retreats, massage therapy, community blessings (with a feather, of course), handing the Eucharist off to each other (no priest or deacon necessary), and tying “universal ribbons.” All that’s missing is a labyrinth and a Reiki session. The one good and courageous thing I found in their resume was a home for Lakota children – close to their original missions of education and healthcare. I believe that the order’s foundress would find something lacking.

My suggestions: get proper habits, focus on one or two core missions (once again), and stop trying to be every ministry needed in the world. Humility calls you to remember that the totality of the Church’s ministry is not present in, or channeled through, you.

Perspective, PNCC, Poland - Polish - Polonia, , , ,

Debunking nativism and stereotyping

From The Bristol Press: Addressing Polish stereotypes

Author and scholar Danusha V. Goska came to CCSU to give her “Fiedorczyk” otherwise known as “Brute Polak” lecture, poking holes at stereotypes to a receptive audience Thursday night.

Particularly in the United States, stereotyping of different people is commonplace and unfortunately, socially acceptable, she said.

“In America, Poles have become the prototypical ethnicity associated with the working class. Prejudice against Poles is often commingled with contempt for working class people, and for manual labor itself.”

She discussed the toxic nature of stereotypes and pointed out that “If you think stereotypically, you will stereotype everyone, including yourself.”

Professor M.B. Biskupski, the S.A. Blejwas Chair of Polish American Studies introduced Goska, who teaches at William Paterson University. Biskupski has dedicated his academic career to “setting straight the misinformation about Poles,” according to CCSU media relations officer Janice Palmer.

Goska has written a book on the subject, titled “Bieganski,” which specifically addresses the issues associated with the interaction between people of different cultures, nationalities, ethnicities, and religions, but specifically Jewish, Christian and Muslim relations. This subject encompasses everything from stereotypes, racism, immigration, tolerance, and multiculturalism, the media’s treatment of the concept of ethnicity, the online spread of stereotypes and hate, and the Holocaust.

…

The process of finding someone willing to publish one’s writing is never an easy feat, but for Goska, it seemed impossible. She began showing publishers “Bieganski” in 2002 and continuously received the same reaction: initial praise, promise of publication, and then a final backing-out. Each of the rejections in this series always employed the same reasoning; although compassionately moving, her words were to be written by some famous scholar, not an unknown Polish-[Roman] Catholic writer.

Finally in 2009, her long search ended when she found a pair courageous enough to take on the controversial book and set it out into the world. Antony Polonsky, Albert Abramson Chair of Holocaust Studies at Brandeis University, suggested Academic Studies Press, run by Igor and Kira Nemirovsky.

Before her speech, Goska told reporters, “I knew that somewhere out there were my fellow Poles and Polish Americans, and I vowed that I would reach them someday with a book that would serve them, serve my ancestors, and serve my own family. In the upcoming lecture at CCSU, I will finally reach my audience.”

It would be interesting to see the author address the role of the PNCC and other early Polonia organizations, such as the PNU (not necessarily Roman Catholic at the time, but inclusive of R.C., PNCC, Protestant, and Jewish Polish immigrants), in both fighting nativism and in building the underpinnings of the success found by future generations.

Bishop Hodur, of course, stressed the idea of cohesive community, education, literacy, representation, Trade Unionism, participative democracy, and self-sustaining communities.

Events, Poland - Polish - Polonia, Xpost to PGF, , , , ,

Screening of Modjeska- Woman Triumphant

Polish Movie Nite is happy to announce the San Francisco premiere of Modjeska- Woman Triumphant, presented by Maureen Mroczek Morris, Sunday, October 17, 2010 at 3pm at the Delancey Street Screening Room, 600 Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94107

Modjeska- Woman Triumphant is presented by Maureen Mroczek Morris for the benefit of the Polish Club. Suggested donation: $5-10. Please call (415) 244-5252 to reserve your seat.

Modjeska- Woman Triumphant, 2009, 57 minutes

The stylized documentary Modjeska- Woman Triumphant is the culmination of six years of work by director Basia Myszynski, who has referred to the film as the “project of [her] life.” Probably most compelling is the narration by Beth Holmgren, professor at Duke University, who is currently working on a book about Modjeska.

Born in 1840 (arguably, but that’s a whole other story), Helena Modrzejewska was a famous Polish actress working in the second half of the 1800s. Although much literature and other materials exist about Modjeska (as she came to be known in the States), most notably about her life and career in Europe (Poland did not exist as a sovereign nation at that time), this is the first film to specifically focus on Modjeska and her life in Southern California, which she so loved.

In 2009, I attended a lecture by Marek Zebrowski (director of the Polish Music Center at USC), hosted by the Modjeska Art and Culture Club of Los Angeles, during which he spoke about Modjeska’s close friendship and intellectual exchange with composer Ignacy Paderewski. Zebrowski, who was also interviewed for Myszynski’s film, made the case that Modjeska left Europe for the US for largely political reasons. Interestingly, Woman Triumphant puts forth another thesis, namely that Modjeska also fled greatly for personal reasons. With an illegitimate son in tow (and her own legitimacy also frequently pointed out), she could reinvent herself in a new country without the stigma and gossipy journalism that publicly followed her every performance. No doubt, it was a combination of multiple pressures that pushed her out of the Russian Empire (although she had been born near Krakow under the more lenient Austrian rule, she had advanced quickly to play leads in Warsaw as well as in Russian cities). In a brief email exchange, Myszynski explained to me, “The film focuses on the most personal of reasons because [they] most affected her [and] me as a filmmaker.” Focusing on the personal in addition to the political reasons “would highlight the drama best in understanding why we make the choices we make – usually we are most affected by the personal,” she writes.

That said, Modjeska was not only running away from problems, but turning to new opportunities. She envisioned the formation of a utopian artist colony in the Wild West, where she and fellow ex-patriots would live off the land and at night could discuss art, literature, and music around a campfire. She would eventually call her property Arden, referring to the work of her beloved Shakespeare. After emigrating in 1876, she settled in 1888 in Orange County, in what is now known as Modjeska Canyon. She stayed at Arden until 1906, when she moved to Newport Beach where she would spend the last years of her life writing her memoirs…

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