Poland Local Customs

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Most Viewed Local Customs in Poland

76.

Dining and Drinking   Krakow

Dining and Drinking, Krakow

 4 Reviews  You will notice people walking around eating a long sandwich covered with pasta sauce and cheese. In actuality, it is a baguette, split in half. cooked in the over until the cheese is melted. Here... 

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77.

Culture   Warsaw

Culture, Warsaw

 39 Reviews   Warsaw has not one but two legends of mermaids. - One is the story of a fisherman named WARS , who while fishing in the river found a mermaid named SAWA, they fall in love and she asked him to found... 

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78.

Language   Warsaw

Language, Warsaw

 6 Reviews  Whenever travelling abroad, it's a good idea to remain in touch with your respective consulate and/or embassy. Just in case you need their assistance (lost passport, marriage arrangements, etc.)... 

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79.

Palace of Culture and Science   Warsaw

Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw

 3 Reviews  A controversial gift from Stalin is called the Palace of Culture and Science (Palac Kultury i Nauki, PKiN). For most (but not all) Poles, including me, this building is a symbol of communism and... 

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Polish cuisine

by Kinia

kielbasa (sousage) - visiting foreign countries I learned that there are many people who has nevr been to Poland but know some Polish words and kielbasa was probably the most popular word :-) Kielbasa is made after traditional recipes, smoked over juniper or fruit-tree twigs. You should try kielbasa mysliwska with juniper berries and kielbasa lisiecka with a number of spices including garlic.bread (chleb) - it may seem funny that I listed it here. You can think "they must have nothing really special if they recommend bread". But the truth is that when I am abroad the thing I miss most is POLISH BREAD :-) Bread plays a very importnant role in Polish cousine. We eat it for breakfast and for supper. And sometimes with dinner soup. The Poles living abroad often buy bread in Polish shops even if the shop is really far and there are plenty of other shops closer. We have all different kinds of...

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Wedding customs

by magor65

Young people in Poland usually decide to be married in church and after the church ceremony have a wedding reception for family and friends. The receptions I have attended recently were organised for about 80-100 people, but I know that in the country it is still common to have a wedding reception for several hundred guests. Here are a few wedding traditions and customs. A bride usually has a long white dress and often a veil. It is said that a bridegroom mustn't see the bride in her wedding dress before the ceremony. If he does, it may lead to many stormy arguments in their life. The bridegroom and his closest family usually come to the bride's house, where the young couple is being blessed by parents and then they all go to church. Sometimes the bride is led to the altar by her father, followed by the bridegroom and his mother, but sometimes the young walk to the altar together....

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The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity

by zaffaran

It has been held for the last fourteen years on the second Sunday of January to help sick children , and every year the actual aim is different (this year it's for the children injured in accidents). The foundation buys the most modern equipment for children's hospitals and supports different actions (thanks the Great Orchestra Poland is almost the only country in the world to conduct hearing screening and EVERY newly-born child is examined to check the hearing. The whole action of collecting money is conducted by voluteering youngsters in the streets, squares, and shows, concerts and auctions also take place. The whole income which is gathered is for the Orchestra. On this day almost everyone in the street has got a red heart on their clothes. At about 8pm in town, villages and other places where the orchestra is playing there is so called "light to heavens" to be seen by good angels...

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Krakow Nativity Cribs Competition

by evaanna

If you happen to be in Krakow before 5 February, don't miss the Krakow Nativity Cribs Exhibition. Opened on 1 December, it features a variety of nativity cribs created by the local people of Krakow. The tradition of making Christmas cribs has its origin in the 19th century, when bricklayers, who were unemployed in winter months, built their own cribs and carried them from house to house, hoping to be tipped. The prototypes of their cribs were the best-known buildings of Krakow with their towers and spires. The tradition is still alive, and even flourishing. On the first Thursday of December nativity crib makers - from young children to elderly citizens - gather around the Monument to Adam Mickiewicz in the Market Square to take part in the yearly competition for the most beautiful crib. The tradition runs in families and there are some famous families of Krakow nativity crib makers. The...

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Carol Singers

by evaanna

At Christmas time or around the New Year Polish houses in some parts of Poland are visited by carol singers, especially in the country where the tradition is stronger. When I was a little girl, children singing Christmas carols even knocked on our flat's door in Warsaw but no longer. Yet, in some regions of the country carol singers still go on their rounds in the hope of being rewarded with some food or money by the hosts. They may just carry a nativity crib or a star and sing the carols, but some are also dressed up as angels, the Three Kings, the Pilate and even the devil or Death with a scythe. There is a lot of fun, chasing the young girls or children. Then they are off to the next house. Christmas pageants are also performed by children in some churches all over Poland.

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Tea Drinking in Poland

by darren_st

This one will mean a lot to you if you are a Brit in Poland.Tea is usually taken with lemon or some kind of booze instead of milk in Poland. You might be greeted with disbelief (although this is now happening less) when ordering a tea with milk.Tea in Poland is called Herbata (pronounced Heer-batter).To ask for tea with milk, just ask for Herbata z Mlekiem (pronounced Heer-batter zuh Muh-lek-ium).

Hospitality

by magor65

There's an old Polish proverb that says: 'A guest in the home, God in the home'. It is still up-to-date. We like receiving guests and want to offer them the best things available. When we feel like meeting a group of friends or family, we invite them to our house rather than go out to a restaurant. It usually means that we prepare an elaborate meal followed by a dessert. In the event of namedays or other ocassions to celebrate, the amount of food and drinks served is usually far too big.

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Family above all

by magor65

Family is still a superior value in Poland. The bonds are strong not only among the closest relatives, but also in so called extended families. We keep in close touch with aunties, uncles, cousins, in-laws, etc. Ususally Christmas and Easter are the time for exchanging visits, but also namedays or just weekends. As for the closest family, it is still quite common that three (or even four) generations live together under one roof.

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Haloween?-Not everywhere!

by zaffaran

If you visit Poland around the 1st of November , don't expect any Haloween street parties or so. Of course such parties are held in clubs and children meet together to scare neighbours-as every excuse is good to get some sweets, but in Poland the day we celebrate is All Saints Day on the first of November.On that day (and days around it) people go to graveyards to their relatives and friends' graves to pray for them ,to put some flowers and light candles.Graveyards are crowded with people as even those whose relatives are buried somewhere far away just come and light a candle to show they remember.Oh, and there's also one thing important for tourists- you may expect some problems with the traffic around graveyards and public transport schedules may be changed.

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Pubs

by arantha

If you are visiting a pub where you order a drink at the counter, not when you are waiting for a waiter service at the table, don't be suprised if the barman/barmaid charge you when you get your drink. The bill is not settled at the and of your drink session, as is customary in a lot of European countries. It's the a common situation in Poland, but when I was working as a barmaid, I used to meet foreign customers, who didn't understand this custom and weren't very happy that I was asking about the money when they get a drink. It was very uncomfortable situation, as I couldn't act different because my boss wouldn't be content :(

Local traditions and culture in Poland

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Local Customs: Cities in Poland
  1. Krakow Local Customs
  2. Warsaw Local Customs
  3. Gdansk Local Customs
  4. Wroclaw Local Customs
  5. Zakopane Local Customs
  6. Poznan Local Customs
  7. Szczecin Local Customs
  8. Oswiecim Local Customs
  9. Katowice Local Customs
  10. Lodz Local Customs
  11. Lublin Local Customs
  12. Sopot Local Customs
  13. Torun Local Customs
  14. Bialystok Local Customs
  15. Tychy Local Customs
  16. Czestochowa Local Customs
  17. Rzeszow Local Customs
  18. Kazimierz Dolny Local Customs
  19. Wieliczka Local Customs
  20. Bydgoszcz Local Customs
  21. Mazury Local Customs
  22. Gdynia Local Customs
  23. Malbork Local Customs
  24. Pszczyna Local Customs
  25. Suwalki Local Customs
  26. Gliwice Local Customs
  27. Swinoujscie Local Customs
  28. Bialowieza Local Customs
  29. Poznan Local Customs
  30. Hel Local Customs
  31. Wadowice Local Customs
  32. Kolobrzeg Local Customs
  33. Rybnik Local Customs
  34. Tarnow Local Customs
  35. Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Local Customs
  36. Sandomierz Local Customs
  37. Gniezno Local Customs
  38. Tatrzanski Park Narodowy Local Customs
  39. Zgorzelec Local Customs
  40. Kolbuszowa Local Customs
  41. Bukowina Tatrzanska Local Customs

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Questions and Answers

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Q:  Hello everyone, My name is Gloria from Rome and I'm coming to Poland soon for a pilgrimage following the history of your... 

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A: Hi Gloria! From Krakow, I'd recommend that you pay a visit to Wadowice, the home town of Pope John Paul 11 - visit the cathedral where he served - then the house where he... 

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