General Casimir Pulaski died fighting in the American War for Independence on October 11, 1779. The U.S. Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia received word of the Pole's death and on November 29, 1779 passed a resolution to erect a memorial to honor the hero. Alas, no money was appropriated for it, due to the fact that the United States' finances were stretched so thinly in those early years.

    More than a hundred years passed. Around the turn of the 20th century, Polish Americans rediscovered the Pulaski Memorial resolution, and Polish American organizations petitioned Congress to again consider the issue. They were successful. An act of February 27, 1903 signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt appropriated $50,000 for erection of a statue of Pulaski in Washington, D.C.

Read more: Polish Heroes Honored in Washington D.C. in 1910

Auschwitz is a word which gives me chills in spite of the fact that I should be more used to this place since I visited it several times as a tour guide. Since I visited it many times I will try to give you a bit more personal description of this horrible place. I will tell you what you should see and what you should know - maybe some of this information is not that obvious in any guidebooks which describe Auschwitz in a very standard way.

There is a reason for talking about Auschwitz right now.

Read more: The Anniversary of Auschwitz's Liberation

The first day of the New Year is also an important date in Polish calendar. Not only because it is the International Peace Day. Poles attribute this day to the name of Mieszko and Mieczyslaw. All men with this first name have their namesday on January 1st. The namesday of Mieczyslaw and Mieszko is on the 1st of January not by a coincidence. Mieszko was a name of the first historic ruler of Poland from Piast dynasty. Mieszko was also the first Polish prince which achieved international recognition since he unified Polish tribes against German invaders. He also adopted Christianity by marriage with Czech princess, Dobrawa.

The name Mieszko is for Poles - what Luis is for French.

Poles had two main royal dynasties - Piasts, which established the first Polish state and Jagiellons who expanded the state into Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth, one of the biggest, multinational state in Europe.
The name Mieszko - was very popular among Piast princes since it was a name of the founder. See the images of Polish kings - Mieszko I, Mieszko II and Mieszko III, the Old.

Read more: January 1st is the Namesday of Mieszko, the Founder of the First Polish Royal Dynasty

In Poland a New Year's Eve is called commonly sylwester. Every day in a Polish calendar is devoted to a saint. The celebration of the name is called namesday (Polish - imieniny). Often namesday is much more important in a life of a Pole than a birthday, except of some important birthdays like 18, 25, 50 etc. Since not every name has its saint but everybody want to have a namesday - some names are addigned to a calendar on a certain day even without a saint!

Read more: How Poles celebrate the New Year's Eve (Sylwester)

Hunter's stew has been a Polish favorite for centuries, and most purists believe it should cook about that long to taste right, Baruch notes in his book. "I say, 'No way.' I developed this recipe years ago and have demonstrated it for Elk and Moose lodges around the Midwest without a complaint yet. Get rid of your black caldron and make some bigos today!"

If you like stew on the sweeter side, Baruch suggests adding some pitted dried prunes, diced green apples, and a dash of sugar to the simmering pot.

Read more: Bigos (Hunter's Stew)