Contents Welcome to Poland 4 6 Name Day and Weddings The Drowning of Marzanna 8 Easter 10 Constitution Day and Independence Day Corpus Christi St John’s Eve Harvest Festival All Saints Day St Andrew’s Day St Barbara’s Day Christmas Eve Christmas Day New Year’s Celebrations Glossary and Index 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32
Welcome to Poland Poland is a country in northern Europe More than 38 million people live there Most people about 85 percent of the population are Roman Catholic The Catholic religion plays an important part in Polish life Many of Poland’s traditions are based on the religion Poland’s capital city has changed names three times from Gniezno to Krakow to Warsaw Today Warsaw below is Poland’s largest city with 1 7 million people 4
Cultural traditions are the beliefs ceremonies holidays and customs that people celebrate in their country Some cultural traditions celebrate events in peoples lives such as birthdays and weddings Some honor important dates in the country’s history Others celebrate a religious event or folk tradition This book highlights the many interesting cultural traditions of Poland Did You Know Most people in Poland speak Polish which is a Slavic language 5
