Arts & Culture

Wicker is nothing more than young shoots of several species of willow, which are used in braiding. This name is also the common name for the purple willow, known as a braid, basket, or weaving. The greatest number of wicker braids was made in former Poland around Easter. Therefore, in Poland, basketry is often called an Easter activity.

The idea of ​​establishing the Center was born in 2011 by the Germans during the "round table" session on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the "Treaty between the Republic of Poland and the Federal Republic of Germany on good neighborhood and friendly cooperation" of June 17, 1991. It was described as "a form of compensation for the harm done to Poles living in Germany before the outbreak of World War II by the Nazis."

Fat Thursday is a tradition in many countries. For example, in the Rhineland, Germany, Weiberfastnacht (Women's Carnival Night) is the day when women take over town halls, symbolically cutting off... the gentlemen's ties — in exchange for a kiss on the cheek. Giovedì grasso is also celebrated in Italy, and jueves lardero (also called Día de la Tortilla, or Tortilla Day) in Spain. In Poland, this day is celebrated rather sweetly, by eating mainly pączki and faworki (angel wings). This year, Fat Thursday falls on February 24.

The event that I want to inform you about took place on November 13 and 14, 2021 in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. These were two days saturated with love and attachment to Poland and a sense of solidarity with the country of origin of the participants of this "Great Festival", which was organized by the "Poles in Essen" Group.

When Poland regained its independence after 123 years of partitions, it developed in every respect, especially in the cultural area. This fact was noticed in Warsaw, which from moment to moment was becoming a real European capital. During the celebration of the New Year, balls were held here, which attracted guests from all over the country, which raised the rank of our capital.

In August 2021, a new Polish Studies Program was launched at the St. John Paul II Institute at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. The St. John Paul II Institute was founded in 2019 in order to facilitate the understanding of the life and work of St. John Paul II in the context of Polish history and culture.

The Polish-language media in Germany are already, as Germans call them — indicating their age of 131 years — "old". They were organized by political, military and economic emigrants, as well as the people who had chosen to settle outside Poland. They (the media) were an element and expression of identity and culture-creating activities of various Polish communities and emigrants. Their content were and are the phenomena that existed on the border of two cultures: Polish and German.

Kuryer Polski would like to introduce you to a certain Pole, Marek Probosz, living in California, who — with great success — alone and without anyone's help, introduces America to "one of the greatest heroes of the 20th century", as The New York Times wrote, to Captain Witold Pilecki.

The nativity scene (pol. szopka), as the father prelate Michał Słowikowski from Lublin used to say, "...is a kind of sacred scene that primarily represents the Holy Family and everything that happened in Bethlehem..."

Let the thankful memory of his countrymen in Poland and in exile be the most important award for everything that Janusz Sporek did for the Polish culture and the Polish community. People like Him are unique and irreplaceable, but their ideas can and should be continued. We regret to say goodbye to the Maestro, but we are proud that we had Him among us.

People struggled with my last name when I was single, refusing to attempt a pronunciation or apologizing before they even started. My married surname is no easier for them. One man even asked why I couldn’t marry someone named Jones or Smith. I think he was joking, but it stung. This was my ethnicity he was mocking.