Various Factoids About Poland

Various Factoids About Poland

By Robert Strybel

– Poland’s legal (work and school-free) holidays include two days of Christmas (Dec. 25-26), Easter Monday (known in Polonia as Dyngus Day), May 1st (Labor Day) and May 3rd (Constitution Day), Corpus Christi, The Feast of the Assumption/Polish Army Day (Aug. 15), All Saints Day (Nov. 1) and Independence day (Nov. 11).

– The only professional Polish symphonic ensemble outside Poland devoted to popularizing Polish music and culture is the Polish-American Symphony Orchestra: 1056 North Mill St, Suite 206, Naperville, IL 60563-2543; tel/fax: (847) 303-6285 or (630) 548-0978; fax: 360-4657.

– The Chase family of American bankers (as in Chase Manhattan) is descended from Polish Jews whose original name was Ciesla (meaning carpenter in Polish).

– An e-mail address such as kowalski@onet.pl is read out in Polish as: kowalski-malpa-onet-kropka-pl. “Malpa” (monkey) is how the @ ("at" sign) is referred to, because the symbol reminded whoever thought up the expression of a little animal with its tail wrapped around.

– Poland is 7th in Europe in terms of area and population but No. 3 as regards the number of dogs and cats per capita. Britain and France hold first and second place respectively.

– You can have the origin of your Polish last name custom-analyzed, learn how many use it, where they live and whether a coat of arms goes with it by sending a $15 check (adding $5 for each additional name) to: Robert Strybel, ul. Kaniowska 24, 01-529 Warsaw, Poland.

– Of Poland’s 16 voivodships (provinces) only Wojewodztwo Lubuskie was named after a city in a foreign country. Lubusz, the city from which it got its name, is in Germany where it goes under the name of Lebus.

–Under the slogan of “Dwa razy euro” (“Two times euro”) in some quarters there is growing pressure for Poland to discard its national currency, the zloty, and adopt the European Union’s common currency, the euro in 2012, the year Poland co-hosts the Euro Cup Soccer Championships with Ukraine.

– Chicago’s Polish Museum of America boasts America’s most extensive collection of Polish art and historical items, a 60,000-volume library and the personal effects of Kosciuszko, Modrzejewska and Paderewski. It hosts various community events (concerts, lectures, movies, craft classes, etc.) and welcomes individual visitors and tour groups. Imported Polish souvenirs are available at the gift shop. Contact: 984 North Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, IL 60622-4199; phone (773) 384-3352; website: pma.prcua.org.

– Poland’s red and white national colors are believed to have originated during the reign of Przemyslaw II (1257-1296) when the white eagle was portrayed on a red shield for the first time. White is the traditional color of innocence, purity and virtue, whilst red symbolizes martyrdom, courage and heroism.

– The portrait painter for Britain’s Royal Family is Polish-born Barbara Kaczmarowska-Hamilton, a graduate of Gdansk’s Academy of Fine Arts. She paints portraits only of those who pose for her, and those have included the late Pope John Paul II.

– America’s foremost headquarters for imported Polish goods of every type (gifts, folkcraft items, folk costumes, recordings, maps, gourmet items, etc.) is Polish Art Center, 9539 Joseph Campau Avenue, Hamtramck, MI 48212; phone toll-free: (888) 619-9771; e-mail; website: polishartcenter.com.

– The “Dr” before a Pole’s name does not necessarily means he’s a medical doctor. In Poland, anyone who has earned a doctorate (PhD) in economy, biology, history or any other field is entitled to put the doctor abbreviation before his name.

– In a recent survey conducted by Poland’s Wprost magazine, 79% rated Polish cookery as the tastiest, but only 9% called it trendy. Other cuisines received the following tasty-trendy ratings: Chinese (29% - 43%); Italian (38% - 41%), American (17% - 37%) and French (18% -34%).

– America’sforemost publisher of Polish dictionaries, phrasebooks, cookbooks, folk art, legends and literature including Henryk Sienkiewicz’s famous “Trilogy” in English. You can order it here.

– Feliks Dzierzynski (1877-1926) was a Polish nobleman who turned his back on his country, religion and class, adopted Soviet citizenship and founded the Cheka (Soviet secret) police, which together with its renamed successor groups (including the NKVD and KGB) had the blood of millions on its hands.

– The five internationally registered Polish dog breeds–the Tatra Shepherd, Polish Lowland Sheepdog or PON, Polish Hound, Polish Hunting Hound and Polish Greyhound–may be viewed here.

– Prior to the late-18th-century partitions, in which the country was wiped off the map by Russia, Prussia and Austria, Poland had a population estimated at between 11 and 14 million. Prior to the outbreak of World War II it stood at 35 million, and at present amounts to 38 million.

– If seeking the Polish-American travel agency nearest you, Contact: Global Travel & Cruises, 6811W. Commercial Blvd, Tamarac, FL 33319; phone: (954 726-9162; fax: 726-9375; they are part of SPATA (Society of Polish-American Travel Agents) which has been serving Polonia since the 1950s.

– The Syrena (meaning mermaid – the symbol of Warsaw), Poland’s first completely Polish-designed passenger car, recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of its market launch in 1957. A two-door four-seat sedan, it originally had a two-cycle engine in which oil had to be mixed with the gas before being poured into the tank.

– Before becoming king of Poland in 1632, for a brief period Wladyslaw IV was Czar of all the Russias. A revolt by Russian boyars (noblemen) expelled him and his Polish troops from the Kremlin, and the anniversary of that event (Nov. 7) is now celebrated as Russian Unity Day.

– The Stars and Stripes should be on the viewer’s left and Poland’s colors on the right, according to American flag etiquette, whenever an American and Polish flag are displayed crossed. When both anthems are performed in public, “Jeszcze Polska nie zginela” should come first, followed by “The Star-Spangled Banner”.

– “Grochowka zolnierska” (army pea soup) is one thing many Polish males nostalgically recall from their army days, because it took on flavor by simmering for hours in field kitchens. Less pleasant memories include humiliating hazing, time-wasting make-work, nasty drill sergeants, crack-of-dawn military exercises and poor lodgings.