Culture

The population in Poland is roughly around 38 million people. About 98% of the people are Poles, while there is little of Ukrainians, Belorussians, Germans, Slovaks and Lithuanians.

The Poles speak a Slavic language and have a special fondness for English. In fact, English is the most popular foreign language in Poland. The Polish population is largely urban centric with 60% of the population living in cities. There are a number of large cities, including five with populations of more than 500,000. The capital, Warsaw, is the largest with a head count of 1.7 million inhabitants. Krakow (Cracow), Wroclaw, Poznan, Gdansk, Szczecin and Lodz are some other large metropolises.

ART:
One of Poland's famous artistry throughout the world are paper cut-outs. Folk cut-outs is one of the indigenous art style and practiced widely in non-urban centers. The cut outs are specifically used during the Christmas and Easter celebrations, as home decorations. An interesting way of this kind of art is the wafer cut outs. Flour and water are the basic raw material out of which Polish women, of any fine art training, shape designs of astonishing beauty.

An example of a cut-out would be this chicken. This can be used to decorate homes to show that the polish family is having some sort of celebration.

 

FOOD:

The polish cuisine and dining table etiquette shows how heat-warming the Polish people can be. When a person is consuming food with one's family, it is seen as a celebration. Breakfasts are generally heavy with vegetables and cold cuts of meat. Dinners, even more so. Only suppers are a bit lighter, perhaps, keeping in toe with the universal proverb: After dinner rest a while, after supper walk a mile. The Poles are the original potato eaters and potatoes have been the darling of the Polish kitchens through centuries. Meat is also a mainstay (cold cuts and sausages mainly) and is grilled more or less ceremoniously at the country home, in the garden, or on the front lawn.



Bigos
"Pie" in the English Language, is a traditional Polish meat stew with a sauerkraut base, also known as Hunter's Stew. The meat content comes from the idea of the Hunter's daily kill. Bigos usually includes ham, bacon and sausage, but is also found to contain beef, veal, venison and other game.

Reference:
http://www.polandforvisitors.com/travel_poland/culture
http://lingolunch.wordpress.com/2013/01/07/big-things-from-bigos/#more-550

Poland : National Geographic World Music

Poland : National Geographic World Music

Polish 101 - Greetings - Level One

Language

The official language in Poland is Polish. Around 38 million people in the area speak this language (Census 2002). The Polish language is the second most spoken Slavic language after Russia. It is the main representative of the Lechitic branch of the West Slavic languages. The Polish language originated in the areas of present-day Poland from several local Western Slavic dialects, most notably those spoken in Greater Poland and Lesser Poland. It shares some vocabulary with the languages of the neighboring Slavic nations, most notably with Slovak, Czech, Ukrainian, and Belarusian.



An Example of how to say some phrases in Poland.

Polish is a very difficult language to practice. When a non-Polish person attempts to speak the language, they will have them sound like they are whispering, gargling and choking simultaneously. Many of the young children learn a bit of English, but they still need to learn the tongue-twisting native language.







Reference:
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/poland.html
http://www.cracow-life.com/language/language.php

Religion

Polish Catholics:


In This Pie Chart, It shows the percentage of Polish people
on when they have recently confessed. Majority of the Polish
confess every month, with a percentage of 34%. Only 4% of
the people either never have confessed or have no answer.

When it comes to religion in Poland, about 90% of the people are Roman Catholics, but this number can overestimated, since baptized Catholics are added to the percentage, even if they have abandoned the church.  Catholics make the most significant religious group and this religion is a subject studied at school, even though this is not obligatory. The most religious parts of Poland are the highlander Podkarpacie region and the Silesia region.

JOHN PAUL II
  The most esteemed person for many Poles was John Paul II, the Polish Pope (1920-2005). His popularity is based upon his many pilgrimages and his open attitude towards people, and among the youth he often surpassed the fame of current singers and actors. John Paul II was also known as a supporter of the ecumenical movement, and he played an important role in the fall of communism in Poland.
Holy Days And Holy Places:

There are places in Poland that are considered holy by Christians, but mostly to the Catholics. The most renowned is the imposing monastery of Jasna Gora in Czestochowa, where the monastery church contains the miraculous icon of the Black Madonna. The latter is the reason why many thousands of people make pilgrimages here, particularly for August 15th, the Day of the Assumption of St Mary. Among other pilgrimage centres in Poland are Lichen, Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, Lagiewniki in Krakow, Swieta Lipka, Niepokalanow, Wambierzyce, and Gora Swietej Anny. Poles celebrate many holy days, such as Easter, Christmas, All Saints Day (November 1st) and Corpus Christi, and there are many folk traditions and customs connected with these days.

Other Religions:

There are other religions throughout Poland that people practice. There are a few communities of Muslims, Jews, Karaims, and Hare Krishnas. Most of the religions that are dominant in Poland are Christian, including Byzantine Catholics (Uniates), Orthodox Christians, Armenians, Old-Believers, Evangelical Reformed, Evangelical Augsburg, Evangelical Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventists, Pentecostals, and Jehovah’s Witnesses.


Reference:
http://www.staypoland.com/poland-religion.htm

Kraków: Poland's Cultural Capital

Geography

 

Poland is a middle-sized country with a 38,000,000 population and a total area of 312,683 square kilometers, ranking the 9th in Europe and the 66th on the world. It's a little larger than Britain and Italy, occupying 3% of European area. Poland is on the ancient trade passage which is the confluence of nowadays European north-south and west-east main traffic lines, the midpoint of the European Continent. The Baltic Sea is her north border. There are 3 big ports which load Poland to the world: Gdynia, Gdansk and Szczecin. Carpathian mountains and the Tatra Mountains is the south border of the country. The low lying river "Bug" winds as her east border, which the busy freighted "Odder" river is her west border. The longest river of Poland "Vistula" with a length of 1,047 kilometers, crossing the center of the country from the north to the south. Capital of the Nation Warsaw lies right by the River. Poland is basically a country with low-lying plains. The average height of the country is 170 meters above the sea level. But her natural scenery is not monotonous. Cookie layers can be found in lots of places- there're usually beautiful down and highlands. The highest place of Poland is the peak "Rsai" with a height of 2,499 meters above the sea level. Average temperature of Poland raises -1~5℃ (approx. 34~41*F) in January while 17~19℃(approx. 63~66*F) in July. The annual rainfall in Poland raises from around 500~1,200mm (approx. 20~47 in.). 

Baltic Sea as the sun is setting

Carpathian Mountains. Stretching from 1,500 kilometers across central and eastern Europe, it is one of the second-largest mountains in the European range.

.

Reference:
http://www.newworld.krakow.pl/doce/geography.htm

Climate

The Climate annually in Poland. during the winter season, temperatures would fall below zero degrees during the evening. In the summer, temperatures can reach up to mid 70s to low 80s in Fahrenheit.
There is mostly rain during the months of July to August. it can go up to more than  four inches in a month.
 

Poland's weather can vary during the months. It's temperate climates can be seen as cold winters and warm summers, and part of it is because of the oceanic air currents coming from the west, cold polar air from Scandinavia and Russia, as well as warmer, sub-tropical air from the south.

During the winter, temperatures can fall below zero, with some heavy snowfall. During the late summer and early autumn season, the areas has warm weather because of the influence of dry, sub-tropical, continental air mass.  The average air temperatures amount to 6 - 8.5°C (approx. 43-47°F) for a year, the annual rainfall is 500 - 700 mm (Approx. 20-28 in.), of which snow constitutes only 5 - 20%.

Soldiers return to duty at the tomb of unknown soldier during heavy snow falls in Warsaw, Poland, on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010. Poland has recently seen a bout of winter weather with temperatures as low as minus 15 degrees Celius (5 Fahrenheit) . (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

The Most amount of sunshine during the summer is in the Baltic Coast, while in the winter, Carpathian Mountains.

Required clothing:Lightweights in summer months, with a sweater for walking and the cooler evenings. Medium- to heavyweights are advised in winter. Waterproofing is neccesary throughout the year.

Reference:
http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/reports/climate/Poland.htmhttp://newshopper.sulekha.com/poland-weather_photo_1112188.htm

History

 

 

Map of Poland

 

Located in the central part of Europe, Poland (officially known as the Republic Of Poland) is surrounded by other countries such as Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania. The Polish state is over 1 000 years old. During the 16th century, Poland was one of the most powerful countries in Europe. With victory at the Battle of Vienna in 1683, King Jan III Sobieski of Poland was able to break the Ottoman siege of Vienna and end the threat of a possible occupation of western Europe*.


Poland's Flag

Poland became more known during World War I, when the allies decided to constitutionalize it as a country again as a border to keep Germany and Russia from going on an outbreak. This idea came from the U.S. President Woodrow Wilson with his famous Fourteen Point Speech. Poland was able to regain its independence from the rule of the other countries.
In World War II, Poland was Invaded by Germany as a way to create six major concentration camps, most notably the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. The camps were made by Adolf Hitler, who took over Germany during the 1930s. Many of the Jews were taken there by the Germans to keep them as hostages and kill them. In the mid-1940s, there was the Warsaw Uprising, which liberated the Jews in the concentration by the U.S., along with the allied forces.
Today, Poland is a democratic regime. Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. The President is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. The 460 members of the lower house of parliament (the Sejm) and the 100 members of the senate, are directly elected by a system of proportional representation to serve four-year terms. The Polish are famous for their people: astronomer Copernicus, scientist Maria Curie-Sklodowska, and the late pope, John-Paul II.



Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Poland_(1989%E2%80%93present)
http://europa.eu/about-eu/countries/member-countries/poland/index_en.htm