Poland and Holiday Culture

I rather messed up the other week by not posting about All Saints Day on November 1st. In my defense, I did not know what to expect and we were out biking and somehow I did not have my camera along. Next year I will indeed cover it as the day was remarkable.

   Halloween is not celebrated here, and unless you looked very closely, the day went right by without notice. However, All Saints Day is a national holiday and everyone visits the graves to mourn and to cover them in flowers and lanterns. Driving by the cemeteries the next couple of evenings, the glow emitted was a beautiful yet slightly eery sight.

   The roads in Poland are already the most dangerous in Europe and All Saints Day weekend marks even more accidents. According to the editor of the online newspaper that I subscribe to "The New Poland Express" (a free email sent out each Friday, worth the read if you're interested), the numbers quoted this year were a good decline from last year.

   Are you ready for this? Between Wednesday and Sunday of All Saints Day there were 428 traffic accidents with 36 people killed and 557 injured along with 1,839 drivers arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol (in slight defense of some of these drivers, whereas the BAC is .08 in the US, it is .02 in Poland). Last year 51 people were killed, 592 injured and there were 2,128 dui's. This year had an even more increased police presence on the roads which cut numbers sharply, but holy cow!

   Last Sunday, November 11th, was Independence Day in Poland. We happened to be in Wroclaw and when we set foot that morning there were trucks of military police and the Renek was roped off with yellow crime tape. We were a bit daunted as we were unaware of the holiday (I was also amused that the officers were wearing bullet-proof gear when guns are illegal). Then finally we put everything together and the market square before too long became the center for speeches and music with a growing crowd of people gathered around with flags, signs and lots of red.

Independence Day Celebrations in Wroclaw

   Unlike the states where holidays become day or weeklong events of sales, sales and more sales... Here, the holidays mean everything is closed. Besides gas stations, some corner markets and Starbucks, the world was quiet and focused on the holiday and it's meaning. We had not planned for this and since we were leaving town for the weekend, I let the dorm-style fridge in our flat run empty. Even a stop to the big grocery chain in the mall revealed that yes along with the big grocery store, even the mall was completely closed. A stop by a gas station for water (drinking the tap water is fairly unheard of) and we were as set as we were going to be.

Crowd Participants

   And if you're now curious about Starbucks.. It's getting to be the holiday season there as well. No pumpkin pie lattes here in Poland but they do have gingerbread (pierniczowa) lattes...

   Now that we've expierenced two new holidays, it's now the holiday season of Christmas that we are all familiar with. And yes, the displays are already out at the stores here as well; mainly toys and foiled wrapped chocolates shaped in Santa, snowmen and other holiday characters. It feels very odd to skip Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Although, I did come across a posting of Thanksgiving menus being served at some restaraunts in Paris (along with Easter it is my favorite holiday)...

Poster of Starbucks Holiday Menu in Poland 

   So, while I anxiously await travels to Munich and Nuremburg, Germany next month to wander the Christmas markets, I may be biding my time with a competely unneccesary sugar-loaded latte because it tis the season. And sometimes a sense of home is just the ticket.