Niedziela Palmowa (Palm Sunday)

Like most religious holidays here in Poland, Niedziela Palmowa (Palm Sunday) is celebrated with gusto and has been given a unique Polish flavor. Easter decorations have been for sale in shops and adorning storefronts for a week or so now, but it wasn't until we stepped outside on Palm Sunday that we really got a taste of the Polish Easter Spirit. As soon as we stepped outside of our apartment Sunday morning, we could tell that there were far more people than usual out and about, especially on a Sunday morning. The square near our apartment was very busy and there were hundreds of people walking around outside the local church.

In addition, we quickly realized that instead of receiving simple palm branches to have blessed during Mass, Poles purchase for a few złoty these elaborate, colorful, woven bunches of dried plants, palms, and flowers. Booths and tables selling these Polish palms occupy almost every street corner, especially in the vicinity of churches. Every booth had lines of people waiting to purchase their palms, and the children especially were enjoying waiving their colorgul arrangements around. Here is a shot of Susan and us with our palms, just after Mass on Sunday!

Like in the US, Palm Sunday Mass began with an outdoor blessing of the palms followed by the whole congregation processing into the church together. This was the first service at out church that was so crowded that we needed to stand in the back! For the rest of the day, throughout the city, there were tons of people milling about, most of whom were carrying their brightly-colored palm arrangements. Once again, the Polish zeal for religious celebrations was a beautiful, amazing thing in which to participate and witness, and it made us sad to realize that we will miss experiencing Easter (Wielkanoc) in Poland. But not too sad, after all...off to Rome!! Happy Easter, everyone!

My, naród" (We, the people) - The other side of Polish politics

Ah, presidential primary season. Believe it or not, a surprising number of folks on this side of the Atlantic are aware of the intricacies of the current U.S. political situation. We've had friends ask candidly about our take on it and even go so far as to express concern since the U.S. has such an effect on the matters of the rest of the world. But it's with some relief that I can say we are not bombarded by the rat race every minute over here. Need a break? Let's talk Polish political shop! It may make you feel better...

We have not experienced much change day-to-day under PiS, the current governing party in Poland; however, we have been horrified to follow their actions since taking power (see this earlier post). Despite all of this I am optimistic, which one of my Russian teachers in St. Petersburg would have considered "very American" of me. It gives me hope to see Poles in Warsaw reacting in large numbers, especially an event we think may have been overlooked by Western media. It happened the weekend before last:

Saturday, February 27 - My, naród" (We, the people) protest
We were heading down to a museum in the afternoon until our tram stopped prematurely and forced everyone off. Aleje Jerozolimskie - the busiest thoroughfare in the city - was eerily empty of cars and buses and blocked off by police, and a helicopter circled overhead.

Walking east, we heard drums and the dull roar of a crowd. We squinted and saw a tidal wave of people in the distance crossing Most Poniatowskie, filling the wide street. The stream of marchers seemed endless as it passed us. We watched for about twenty minutes before joining, and still the bridge was full of people, tens of thousands of them. There were older couples, young couples with small children, students, parents, grandparents. Neighbors greeted each other. It felt universal. Everywhere you looked there were EU flags and Polish ones. The signs and conversations were
emotional, pointing to Poland's history and cherished national heroes, defending what their tragic history was for, and calling for a return to legitimate democracy. It was powerful. It ended in a historically monumental spot: Pilsudski Square, and the huge space could not have squeezed in any more people than it had. Police set the number at 15,000, but we feel it was much higher. The sponsoring organization K.O.D (Komitet Obrony Demokracji / Committee for Defense of Democracy) claimed 80,000.

I'm not sure what can be done but I hope some good comes out of the efforts of KOD and all of these Poles (perhaps a call for early elections like a decade ago). This isn't over yet, and we will be following it closely as we continue our lives here in Warsaw. We're certainly just observers here but have a lot of hope for this country - and our own. If Trump has his way, we can't help but wonder if Americans of the future will be like the Poles of today, scratching their heads wondering how the unthinkable happened and got them into the mess they're in.

Happy International Women's Day / Wszystkiego najlepszego z okazji Dnia Kobiet!

Ladies, today is our day to be celebrated! Today is Dzień Kobiet, or Women's Day, in Poland.

Women's Day takes place on March 8th each year and is predominantly celebrated in Russia and Eastern/Central European countries, although it has recently become popular globally.

The celebration has a long history but was generally adopted by Socialist parties in the mid-20th century (and, in particular, the Soviet bloc countries) to glorify the ideals of women as hard-working contributors to the economy. Despite its Soviet origins, the holiday became part of the culture and is one of the biggest holiday celebrations in this region to date. It is an official holiday in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, and other eastern European countries.

Not to be confused with Valentine's Day - which was adopted by Poland once the fall of Communism permitted an opening for Western culture -Women's Day is a day to honor all of the women in one's life. Mothers, girlfriends, female friends and colleagues, and teachers are flooded with flowers, sweets, and small gifts, not only privately but also at work and schools. Tulips are especially popular, and Bryan said there were flower stands on every street corner with short lines of men waiting to purchase them.

Here's what my wonderful husband brought home tonight!

Happy Women's Day to our favorite female blog followers, especially our mothers who we know are reading<3