Culture and Tradition

The Wawel dragon (smok Wawelski) is the most famous beast in Poland. It is rooted in Krakow`s tradition and culture and is well known to every Polish child. The dragon symbol can be find on the streets, in schools, offices, radio and TV stations, literature and theatre, advertisements and commercials. Wawel dragon is not the only dragon known in Poland, Warsaw has its own dragon called Bazyliszek.

Read more: Wawel Dragon in Children Plays and on the Street Bazaars

An old Polish folktale tells us that frogs, lizards, snakes, and other similar animals became so numerous and caused so many problems that God put them all in a sack to get rid of them. He gave the sack to a a human, with instructions to empty the sack into the sea. Curiosity overcame the weak human, who opened the sack to see what was inside. All of the animals escaped and hid, so God changed the man into a stork to hunt them and clean up the mess (Knab, 1996)

Another tale describes how the stork got her colors of black and white, and why she travels from Poland to Africa each year. You can read this tale at Poppyfield Press, where you will also see beautiful notecards with the image shown here.

Read more: Storks in Mythology and Literature

Sophie Hodorowicz Knab's book about Polish folklore entitled Polish Customs, Tradition and Folklore should be recommended to all interested in the traditions of their Polish ancestors. It is a "must read" book for these who are want to learn about Polish culture. Reading of this book is a real pleasure since it is full of interesting stories about Polish folklore. It is also a great reference book for somebody who is looking for an inspiration how to prepare Polish Christmas, Easter or any other Polish holiday.

Read more: Polish Customs, Tradition and Folklore - Book Review

Schindler's List was originally released in 1993, it is presently being re-released again on DVD (March, 2004). The movie directed by Steven Spielberg received seven Oscars, it had excellent reviews so it is hard to write anything new about the movie but I will try - from the position of my Polish origin.

Read more: Schindler's List from a Polish Perspective