Polish Customs, Traditions and Folklore by Sophie Knab

Polish Customs, Traditions and Folklore by Sophie Knab

Polish Customs, Traditions, & Folklore is organized by months beginning with December and Advent, St. Nicholas Day, the Wigilia (Christmas Eve) nativity plays, caroling and then New Year celebrations. It proceeds from the Shrovetide period to Ash Wednesday, Lent, the celebration of spring, Holy Week customs then superstitions, beliefs and rituals associated with farming, Pentecost, Corpus Christi, midsummer celebrations, harvest festivities, wedding rites, nameday celebrations, birth and death rituals. Line illustrations enhance this rich and varied treasury of folklore. Many of the customs and traditions found herein are extinct even in today's Poland. World wars, massive immigration, the loss of the oral tradition, urbanization and politics have changed the face of a once agrarian people and their accompanying life style. In the U.S., the desire for membership within the melting pot, marriages outside one's ethnic group, movement to the suburbs away from the old communities where customs and traditions were once strong, further weakened the link. Although the purpose and meaning may have been lost and forgotten, the oczepiny ceremony (the unveiling) is still the mainstay of almost every wedding where the bride declares Polish heritage. Many Polish American communities still reenact the harvest celebrations, reminding themselves of their ancestors' reverence for the grains and gifts of bread. Eight million Americans still claim their ancestry as Polish, many still diligently practicing that which they learned at their parents' and grandparents' knees. Much has also been neglected or completely forgotten.

“This collection is a tremendous asset to understanding the ethnic behavior of a peopleHighly recommended.”--Florence Waszkelewicz-Clowes, Polish American Journal

“There is nothing on the subject that even approaches this book in its breadth and authority. A prodigious amount of research has gone into the work, as well as sheer education and enthusiasm that keeps an author going, and searching and reading.”--Zgoda

“Eagerly awaited…Most [readers] will be delighted to discover the many regional variations which enrich this informative guide.”--Polish Heritage

Sophie Hodorowicz Knab is a noted Polish-American lecturer and author whose books include Polish Customs, Traditions & Folklore, Polish Country Kitchen Cookbook, and Wearing the Letter P: Polish Women as Forced Laborers in Nazi Germany, all published by Hippocrene Books. She is a contributor to the Polish American Journal and resides in Grand Island, New York.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780781805155
ISBN 10	0781805155
Title	Polish Customs, Traditions and Folklore
Author	Sophie Knab
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Hippocrene Books Inc.,U.S.
Year published	1996-09-12
Number of pages	335
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.