NEW YORK, NY: Janusz Korczak Seminar

   Celebrating the 2012 International Year of Janusz Korczak, the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland will hold a day-long seminar – Janusz Korczak and Children's Rights in Contemporary Perspective on May 8, 9:30 am-5:00 pm.  The program will include: panel discussions - Part I: Janusz Korczak - a predecessor ofChildren's Human Rights; Part II: Basic education and gender equality; Part III: Child protection from violence, exploitation and abuse; a Q and A session; along with remarks by Consul General Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka and Ambassador Witold Sobków, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Poland to the UN. 

   Janusz Korczak, the pen name of Henryk Goldszmit was a Polish-Jewish educator, children's author, and pediatrician known as Pan Doktor (Mr Doctor) or Stary Doktor (the Old Doctor). After spending many years working as director of an orphanage in Warsaw, he refused freedom and stayed with his orphans when the organization was sent from the Ghetto to Treblinka extermination camp.

   The event will be held at the Consulate General of Poland – 233 Madison Avenue, New York, NY.  RSVP by May 4: newyork.rsvp@msz.gov.pl; 646-237-2112 (or 2185). 

In Recognition of Jan Karski

   The First Annual Jan Karski Celebration was held at the Consulate of Poland in New York on April 24th.  In the midst of World War II, Jan Karski worked as a courier, entering the Warsaw ghetto and the Nazi Izbica transit camp, where he saw first-hand the atrocities occurring under Nazi occupation. 

   He was dispatched by the Polish Underground to inform the West about the atrocities being committed by the Nazis in occupied Poland – including the ongoing slaughter of the entire Jewish population and to seek their intervention.  Karski traveled to London to meet with the Polish government-in-exile and with British government officials. He subsequently traveled to the United States and met with President Roosevelt.  His eyewitness account of the Holocaust was not taken seriously. 

   Karski published the book Story of a Secret State; earned a Ph.D at Georgetown University, and became a professor at Georgetown's School of Foreign Service - educating generations of students about the dangers of staying silent in the face of tyranny and danger. Born in 1914, Karski became a U.S. citizen in 1954 and died in 2000

   The program began with a film clip of President Barack Obama’s announcement at the US Memorial Holocaust Museum in Washington that the late Dr. Karski will posthumously be awarded America’s highest honor – the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Medal is the Nation's highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.

   "We must tell our children about how this evil was allowed to happen-because so many people succumbed to their darkest instincts; because so many others stood silent,” said President Obama.  “But let us also tell our children about the Righteous Among the Nations. Among them was Jan Karski-a young Polish Catholic – who witnessed Jews being put on cattle cars, who saw the killings, and who told the truth, all the way to President Roosevelt himself.”

   Remarks were made by Wanda Urbanska of West Virginia, the Campaign director of The Jan Karski Centennial Campaign – an initiative of the Polish History Museum in Warsaw.  “This highest of civilian honors in our great land validates the principles that Jan Karski stood for: tolerance and understanding among people of all faiths and the courage to speak the truth in the worst of times,” said Urbanska.

   Through a very thick Polish accent, with eyes glued to the text, Marcin Lapiński delivered an impassioned dramatic reading from Karski’s memoir Story of a Secret State.       

   During the event, Consul General Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka awarded Simon Bergson of the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation with the Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland and was herself distinguished with the first ever Jan Karski Spirit Award.  Presented by David Harris, Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee, the award embodies the nature of Karski – a person with a combination of “moral, physical, intellectual and courage” traits and one who leads from the “head, heart, soul and spine.”

   It was announced that 1944 bestseller and “Book of the Month” classic - Story of a Secret State was in the process of being reprinted in a new release for a new generation. One of the initiatives of the Centennial Campaign was to have the book made as required reading in US schools. 

Easter Monday – Poniedziałek Wielkanocny

by Staś Kmieć
for the full article - Easter Traditions: The Holy Week – Wielki Tydzień check the April issue of The Polish American Journal

The second day known as Lany Poniedziałek (Wet Monday) or Śmigus-Dyngus is a favorite among younger people. Breaking from the solemnity of Lent, youths find ways to douse each other with water. Some believe this originated in pagan times, while others derive it from
the baptism of Poland in 966. Śmigus dyngus starts at the break of dawn. Traditionally, only men doused girls with water. Maidens soaked on that day would have a greater chance of getting married that year. It is essentially a marriage of two old Easter rites. "Dyng" meant redemption; "Śmigus" (a word probably of German origin) was to hit one another with green branches, and douse with water.

Various local customs became connected to Easter Monday. Just like caroling at Christmas, chodzenie po dyngusie meant traveling from house-to-house, reciting verses of the Passion, singing, and expecting a
donation.

In Kraków, Emmaus established in memory the walk of the apostles on the road to Emmaus with the risen Christ . Processions of religious brotherhoods carry a statue of the risen Christ holding a red banner. Also in the vicinity, men smeared with soot walked along country roads and city
streets hooking arms, holding, or kissing those passing by.

On Tuesday, residents meet on the right bank of the Wisła River, where the townspeople with
their own hands once heaped the grave of Krak in a custom is called Rękawka.

Siuda Baba refers to the rites of spring, and the legend of a pagan temple in Lednica near Wieliczka where a priestess, who guarded the fire in it, would go out once a year in search of successor. She is black with soot, as the year-round duty had not afforded her time to wash. This custom is now preserved with a man dressed as a disheveled woman in tattered clothes. He carries a large cross in hand, strings of beads made of chestnuts or potatoes around his
neck, and a large basket on his back wrapped in a sheet.

In Kujawy there is przywoływek dyngusowych, where at dusk on Easter Sunday or Easter Monday morning, boys affiliated with the Stowarzyszeniu Klubu Kawalerów (Bachelors’ Club) walk in procession to the village square with a large orchestra. On a platform, high tree, or the roof of the inn, they recite verses about the local girls. Praising or ridiculing them, they accept how much water will be shed to secure a meeting with a girl or to protect her from malicious mischief.

In the southern Małopolska area, mainly in the area of Limanowa, men disguisers called dziady śmigustne or słomiaki wore high hats and outfits braided from straw and went through the village in silence asking for offerings. As according to legend – emissaries who did not want to believe in the resurrection of Christ and proclaim the good news, lost their voices as a punishment. In the area of Mielec silent mówiące beggars pour water from containers with wishes for a good harvest.

In central Poland – Rawa Mazowiecka, Lowicz, Sieradz and Łęczyca, and also in the Śląsk and Wielkopolska regions, kurkiem po dyngusie is observed. A clay or stuffed rooster is placed on a decorated red two-wheeled cart. In ancient times a live rooster was sacrificed to the deities of
fertility and harvest. Kurcarskie celebrations are held in the spirit of courtship and intended to promote the pairing of young couples to provide descendants. The rooster for centuries has been a symbol of strength, beauty and masculinity. Songs and jokes were rewarded with eggs, sausage, cakes and money.

Easter Sunday – Niedziela Wielkanocna, Święto Zmartwychwstania Pańskiego

by Staś Kmieć

for the full article - Easter Traditions: The Holy Week – Wielki Tydzień check the April issue of The Polish American Journal

The celebration begins with a solemn Resurrection Mass, followed by Easter breakfast (Święcone). It was imperative that every member of the family have a taste of all the blessed foods and tradition forbids women to cook during this day, so all the food is prepared during the week before.

The table is covered with a white cloth and the centerpiece is the Easter lamb (angusek from the Latin Angus). The custom of setting the table with a lamb holding a red flag was introduced in the sixteenth century by Pope Urban V in the 16th century. Today, a Polish red and white banner is sometimes used.

A single blessed egg is divided and shared with each person at the table to ensure health, happiness and prosperity. Biały barszcz (white soup) is served with hard-boiled eggs and often meats, white cheese and horseradish from the Easter basket are added. A variety of sausages, sliced cold meats and roasted meats are served, along with side dishes such as: pickled mushrooms (grzybki marynowane) and beet and horseradish relish (ćwikła). Cakes include mazurek – a decorative, flat cake covered with almond paste and other nuts, colorfully iced and decorated with jam, nuts and raisins, sernik cheesecake, and in southern regions – piróg cake with a rice or kasza filling.

The traditional tall babka egg bread, which is baked in a scalloped form, is wonderfully light with a slightly sweet flavor. Using a similar recipe is the paska bread with its intricately-crafted braided top. In Podlasie and southern regions, a sponge cake known as sękacz is baked above a flame on a rotary spit. As a result of pouring layers of dough on the spit, its spikey form resembles a pine tree.

Traditional games using eggs are enacted such as: rolling eggs on the table, or walatka or wybitka – gently tapping the eggs thus scoring points and wins, for the longest period without a crack. A hill rolling game occurred in Upper Śląsk; while in Śląsk and Pomorze, according to German custom, baskets were prepared with surprises for the children.

PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS: Święconka -Easter Basket Blessing

by Staś Kmieć
for the full article - Easter Traditions: The Holy Week – Wielki Tydzień check the April issue of The Polish American Journal

On a Holy Saturday morning in my youth: dressed up in fine clothes, my brother and I prepared to bring our first Easter basket to church to be blessed at the parish Święconka. My mother and father assembled and arranged the contents according to tradition and upon entering the church hall; we were introduced to an ancient Polish ritual and what would become an annual commitment. With each year, the baskets became more elaborate, and eventually embodied the full extent of the custom. Extended family members living four hours away had the privilege to have visits from the parish priest, who would travel from house-to-house to personally bless the Easter table and leave with an envelope in hand.

Two sisters made our family complete, and each year a basket was blessed in either location. As the years went by and elder relatives passed away, celebrations centered at our hometown. Then the Polish parish was closed, and the observance was relocated to a church of merger.

The American priest welcomed this tradition – one he had never heard of. With Polish blessings translated into English by our displaced Polish pastor, the custom continued, and American baskets containing chocolate bunnies, marshmallow peeps, and jelly beans were added. The Polish choir sang, as many parishioners looked in fascination at the odd Polish baskets filled with lambs made from butter or sugar, intricately decorated eggs, sausage, ham, smoked bacon, twaróg white cheese, babka, bread, horseradish, salt, a candle, and water to be blessed. Unlike the other baskets with cellophane grass, these baskets were decorated with fresh flowers, pussy willows, ribbons, and sprigs of greenery and covered with white eyelet embroidered doilies.

The cherished Święconka tradition is one of many Easter traditions that are identifiable
and unique to Polish Catholicism.

Holy Saturday – Wielka Sobota

by Staś Kmieć

for the full article - Easter Traditions: The Holy Week – Wielki Tydzień check the April issue of The Polish American Journal

The blessing of water, fire, thorns and food takes place on this day. In Poland, blessing of the baskets is a practice
dating to the 15th century or earlier, and one which is still maintained by Polish families today. The mother of the family or an older child carries a basket filled with Easter offerings to be blessed by the parish priest. Holy water for home use can be taken from the church.

Historically, only the rich had food blessed in their homes, while the poorer rural and urban population wrapped food and traveled to churches, where the priest blessed them. The poorest brought only bread, salt and eggs. The richer set their entire tables to be blessed directly. In rural areas, the size and contents of a basket was a matter of pride and standing in the community.

The Easter lamb made of butter, sugar, pastry, marzipan, clay, plaster, blown glass, or wood stands for Jesus, the Paschal lamb. The hard-cooked eggs symbolize new life or Christ rising from his tomb. Bread represents the bread of life given by God. Meat and sausages are symbols of the resurrected Christ, horseradish acknowledges accepting the bitter with the sweet in life. Salt is to add zest to life and preserve us from corruption.

Liturgically speaking, Holy Saturday lasts until 6 pm or dusk, after which the Easter Vigil
is celebrated. The service begins with a fire and the lighting of the new Paschal candle. During the "Gloria,” the church statues and icons, which had been covered during Passiontide, are
dramatically unveiled, the organ plays and bells ring once again.

Good Friday – Wielki Piątek

by Staś Kmieć

for the full article - Easter Traditions: The Holy Week – Wielki Tydzień check the April issue of The Polish American Journal

Holy Friday is the day of deepest mourning and a strict fast is observed. Traditionally a time of silence and prayer is observed from 12 to 3 o'clock. In church during afternoon service, a coffin with a cross and surrounded by candles is prominently displayed, and a ceremony of adoring and kissing the Cross is observed at the conclusion.

At Stations of the Cross the martyred Christ is offered to the grave. In cities and towns, people visit various churches to view representations of Christ’s tomb, which are often beautifully and artistically arranged and decorated in flowers.

Honor guards (Turki Wielkanocne) consisting of local fraternities, students, scouts and even the army keep watch in shifts through the night.

Staged events of the Passion often occurred, along with a procession. Mystery Plays are staged at several shrines (including Kalwaria).

Not only was there abstention from meat dishes, but also a single meal fast. The devout voluntarily refrained from eating and drinking, or would drink only water and eat dry bread.

Holy Thursday – Wielki Czwartek

by Staś Kmieć
Also known as Święta Kapłanów (the feast of the priests), this day is known for when the sacrament of the priesthood was instituted at the Last Supper. There is the consecration of oils; all bells are silenced following “Gloria” and replaced by kołatki (wooden hammer or rotating rattle boxes) as a sign of mourning, but also representing the betrayal of Judas; the organ is not played; and at the end of the Mass the altar is stripped bare. Dark matins cover religious artifacts and statues, and all candles are extinguished. Traditionally, the organ is silent from Holy Thursday until the Easter Vigil, as are all bells or other instruments; the only music during this period being unaccompanied chant.

Priests would hit the altar top as a sign of the chaos that followed when the Roman soldiers captured Christ leaving the disciples terrified. This high rite was an excuse for young boys prone to mischief, and who could hardly endure the Lenten seriousness to run through the streets making noise with their own kołatki and by banging sticks on fences and gates.

A straw or stuffed effigy of Judas with thirty pieces of broken glass in his pocket (symbolizing the thirty pieces of silver) was hung, or thrown from the church tower where onlookers would catch the figure and wander through the streets shouting "Judasz!” The effigy is beaten until completely destroyed; the remains are burned or thrown into a pond or river.

REVIEW: Mazowsze - The National Song and Dance Ensemble of Poland

Tour itinerary: http://pajtoday.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html

A Nod to the Past with a Look to the Future

by Staś Kmieć

Mira Zimińska-Sygietyńska, co-founder of Mazowsze once said "There are three stars of Mazowsze - the dancers, the singers and the costumes." The famed Polish company did not disappoint with a

vivacious performance on November 14th at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, which opened their current North American tour. An extension of that assessment would include the memorable compositions based on folk tumes by Tadeusz Sygietyński and the masterful choreography – the majority of which is by Witold Zapała.

The formula of Mazowsze has changed little over the years and familiar favorites are always a "wel

come friend” – worth waiting for, such as Elwira Kamińska's Krakowiak masterpiece, the romance and lift of Zbigniew Kiliński's Kujawiak and the epic scope of Zapała's Mazur from the Duchy of Warsaw period.

The current program includes three new selections. The remainder is drawn from the company's vast repertoire, although in some cases in an abbreviated form. There is the same richness of style; the technical prowess of the performers has evolved over the years.

As the program presented was Christmas in Warsaw, many of the folk melodies that Mazowsze is known for were missing. In their place were majestically performed kolędy carols.

The new costumes for Songs from Racibórz were presented as a cross-section of the area including the uniformed miner Górnik, the men in their yellow doeskin leather pants (jelenioki) and wide-brimmed kania hats, and the maidens attired in a white-embroidered loose jacket (kaftan – “jakla”) with rich brocade aprons and galanda wreaths of artificial flowers. The married woman's representation included the head kerchief (chustka – “purpurka”) and characteristic beads adorned with a cross (korale z krzyżkiem).

The songs with musical arrangement by Tadeusz Niećko were gentle and pleasant tothe ear. The suite included the regional tunes – “W Starym Piecu,” “Zachodzi S

ł

oneczko,” “Piosenka o Raciborzu” and a medley of Waloszki (waltzes).

Chopin's Rondo à la Krakowiak paid homage to the famed artist's 200th anniversary and to the rich tradition of Polish folk-style ballets. The 50-year old stylized ballet costumes were found in the wardrobe's archive. They had been intended for a U.S. Tour when the company was to present a represenation of the classic 19th century Polish ballet Wesele w Ojcowie. The project was abandoned and the costumes lay in storage. Cleaned and refurbished, they now debut in this folk tale.

A delicate pastoral scene with Romantic era gestures and épaulement sets the stage with a scarecrow (Strach na wróble) in the background providing the tone of calm. A lively procession of Krakowiacy enters and the cwal sliding step and hołubiec clicks match the temperament of the composition. The choreography gives a chance for the dancers, many who have trained in ballet from an early age to dance in this classical style.

Visually stunning, Życzenie G-dur op. 74 (the Maiden's Wish) also by Chopin, was exquistely staged, and

costumed in period attire.

With the untimely death of Tadeusz Sygietyński in 1955, Mazowsze considered ceasing its operations; in 1997 when the company lost their beloved Mira, again they were again faced with an uncertsain future;

directorships followed with varying degrees of impact and effect. Today a new artistic director Ryszard Grąbowski – the offspring of two of Mazowsze's finest performers is at the helm with the task of making the company relevant to today's audience. How to attract a younger audience in a Poland lost in the conventions of computer technology and the phenomenon of mainstream entertainment and commercialism.

Master choreographer Witold

Zapała

, whose name is now synomymous with Mazows

ze had an early connection with the company first as its premier soloist and later as its unifyi

ng force as the chief choreographer. He has shaped the

comp

any with unique visual arrangements and style and is the link to its origins and the

continuation of its artistic vision.

He has an assistant/ballet mistress Wioletta Milczuk, who has learned all the repertoire and will b

e the "

keeper of the flame" for the next generation.

Mazowsze has entertained us for years, and despite a fresh artistic interpretaion of village life, it is often regarded as a living cultural archive and a relic of the past. It has a complicated legacy to contend with and today it strives to balance its “nod to the past” with a “look forward to the future.” Sto Lat Zapała; long live Mazowsze!

The tour is presented courtesy of 2Luck Concepts.

Follow Mazowsze on www.MazowszeOnTour.blogspot.com.

Review appears in the December issue of The Polish American Journal

Mazowsze on Tour

The best way to experience the magic and magnificence of Mazowsze – The National Song and Dance Ensemble of Poland is to see the company perform live. The world-renowned company returns to North America in a special 60^th Anniversary celebratory tour of live performances November 14 – December 12. Presented by 2Luck Concepts, the tour will feature 90 dancers, singers and the full 23-member orchestra.

Click link for full tour itinerary and theater contact information: http://pajtoday.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html

Coming soon... Mazowsze on Tour Website

Follow Mazowsze before and during the tour on the website – Mazowsze on Tour (www.MazowszeOnTour.blogspot.com). Background information on the dances, the songs, and the performers, along with historical information, and Mazowsze backstage, on-the-road, sightseeing, and personal.

Lech Walęsa to Join Building and Construction Trades in Solidarity Rally - NYC

Former Polish President and Leader of Solidarity Movement Will Address Thousands of Union Workers in Times Square

Thousands of members of the New York City Building and Construction Trades will rally this Monday, October 25 from 3:00 - 4:00 pm in Times Square for union solidarity with Lech Walęsa, the shipyard electrician who fought for labor rights in Poland and ultimately helped topple Soviet-style totalitarianism in that country, which led to him being its first democratically elected president from 1990-95.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner will headline the rally sponsored by the Building and Construction Council of Greater New York, the umbrella group representing more than 100,000 workers citywide. The rally will highlight Mr. Walesa' experience in leading the solidarity movement that defeated Communist rule and how solidarity among union members and working men and women can fight exploitation and rebuild America's middle class.

“Lech Walesa is legendary figure who epitomizes what the union movement is all about in the U.S. and around

the world: strength, spirit and solidarity,” said Gary La Barbera, president of the Building and Construction

Trades Council of Greater New York. “We know that solidarity is critical to advancing the union movement and the rights of workers everywhere, and this is exactly what will be on display at this historic rally.”

Monday, October 25; 3:00-4:00 pm

TIMES SQUARE (7^th Avenue from 42^nd Street to 36^th Street, Manhattan)