2. table of contentStable of contentS
• Poland in briefPoland in brief
• PoleS- who are we?PoleS- who are we?
• cuStomS and religiouS holidaycuStomS and religiouS holiday
• national holidaySnational holidayS
• heroeS of PolandheroeS of Poland
• PoliSh cuiSinePoliSh cuiSine
• folK clothingfolK clothing
• mini gloSSarymini gloSSary
3. Poland in briefPoland in brief
Flag: two horizontal stripes of
equal width the upper one
white and the lower one red
Emblem: white eagle with
a golden crown on the red shield
4. Official language: Polish
Currency: złoty, PLN (1€=4zł)
Government: Parliamentary Republic
Economy: free market economy since 1990
Major cities: Warszawa, Wrocław, Kraków, Łódź,
Poznań, Gdańsk, Rzeszów
Location: Central Europe
6. Area: 312,685 sq km
(9th largest country in Europe)
Population: 38,5 mln , out of
which: 95% are Poles; among
national minorities are: Germans, Bielarusians and
Ukrainians;
Religion: 90% Roman Catholic Church
Time zone: GMT+ 1hour
7. PoleS- who are we?
PoleS- who are we?
Polish people touch frequently by shaking
hands
Kissing both cheeks or kissing the hand is
common
Politeness requires an attention to status. The
act of holding a door open for a woman or
someone of higher status is high important
Punctuality is important to Poles
8. Polish people are usually Catholic. The father
is the authority over the home.
The elderly are highly respected and help
maintain traditions.
Poles enjoy sharing hospitality to the point of
having a phrase „Gość W Dom, Bóg W Dom”
meaning „Guest in the house, God in the
house”
Poles do not shake hands in the doorway
Do not give an even number of flowers
9. Customs and religiousCustoms and religious
holidayholiday
• Fat Thursday (Tłusty czwartek) – the day of
eating traditional Polish doughnuts (pączki)
and Angel Wings (faworki); celebrated on the
last Thursday before the religious period of
Lent
10. • The First Day of Spring - "sinking of Marzanna". Kids
made a doll from old grass and tree branches and
take it to the river. They burn the doll and throw her
into the river. The symbolic meaning of this
ceremony is to get rid of winter.
11. • Easter (Wielkanoc) – one of the most
important public holidays, which is full of
traditions. People decorate eggs (pisanki),
which they take in the Easter basket to church
on Holy Saturday. On Easter Monday (lany
poniedziałek) people play tricks on their family
and friends by pouring some water on them.
12. • Eve of St. Andrew’s day (Andrzejki) is a
magical night of future – telling, when people
pour hot wax into cold water through a key
hole and try to read their fate from the shape
of congealed wax (29th November)
13. • Christmas (Boże Narodzenie) probably the most
celebrated holiday, mainly because of the Christmas
Eve dinner on 24th December (Wigilia). On this day
families meet at tables filled with typical Christmas
dishes, such as beetroot soup served with small
dumplings, dumplings with cabbage and
mushrooms, fried Karp, and for dessert: poppy seed
cake.
14. • There are many rituals connected with this
evening such as sharing Christmas wafer
before dinner, singing corals and exchanging
presents, which lie hidden under the
Christmas tree till the end of the meal
15. national holidaysnational holidays
• 3rd May (Constitution
Day) on this day on 1791
Poland as the first
country in Europe and
the second in the world
proclaimed its modern
codified constitution
(Konstytucja 3go Maja)
Jan Matejko "Konstytucja 3 maja 1791
roku"
16. • 11th November (National independence Day)
on this day in 1918 Poland regained
independence after 123 years of partitions
Marshal Józef Piłsudski
17. • Women’s day (Dzień Kobiet) is traditionally
celebrated on 8th March. It was a public
holiday and one of the most importants dates
in the Polish calendar during the communist
regime.
18. • Juwenalia – is an annual students’ festival in Poland,
usually celebrated for 3 days in late May, or at the
beginning of June, just before summer exams. During
the celebrations students organise parades,
concertes and parties at univeristy campuses, clubs
and pubs
19. Did you know that…?Did you know that…?
Poles also celebrate the
•April Fool’s Day (Prima Aprilis; 1st April)
•Child’s Day (Dzień Dziecka; 1st June)
•St. Nicholas Day (Mikołajki; 6th December)
20. Heroes of PolandHeroes of Poland
Karol Wojtyła, John Paul II – the first
Polish Pope, He made an enormous
contibution not only to the collapse of
the Iron Curtain, but also to a positive
change in the lives of thousands of
people from all continents.
22. Science
• Nicolaus Copernicus (Mikołaj Kopernik)Nicolaus Copernicus (Mikołaj Kopernik) –
astronomer and the first European to contend
that it is the Sun, not the Earth, that is at the
centre of the Solar System.
23. • Maria Skłodowska-CurieMaria Skłodowska-Curie – was a physicist-chemist famous for
her pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first
women ever to receive the degree of a Doctor of Science. To
this day, Skłodowska-Curie remains the only scientist in history
to be awarded two Nobel Prizes in two different fields of study.
25. Polish cuisinePolish cuisine
Barszcz (beetroot soup)
Bigos (stew of cabbage and meat)
Pierogi (dumplings stuffed with cottage cheese, potatoes and
onion; meat; cabbage and mushrooms or fruit)
Kotlet schabowy (breaded pork cutlet)
26. Placki Ziemniaczane (potatoes pancakes)
Oscypek (cheese produced in the mountains from
ewe’s milk, which is the most famous Polish regional delicacy
Pastries and cakes: apple pie (szarlotka), ginger bread
(piernik), popy seed cake (makowiec), cheesecake (sernik)
28. Mini glossary
Mini glossary
Cześć! - Hello/Hi!
Dzień dobry – Good morning/afternoon
Dobry wieczór – Good evening
Dobranoc – Good night
Do widzenia – Good bye
Przepraszam – I’m sorry/excuse me
Dziękuję – thank you
Proszę – please
Tak – yes
Nie – no
Jak się masz? – How are you?
W porządku – I’m fine
Nie mówię po polsku – I don’t speak polish
Nie rozumiem – I don’t understand
Która godzina – What time is it?
Kocham Cię - I love you
