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    Facts About Polish Pierogi

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    redakcja
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    Facts About Polish Pierogi

    All of us know what the famous Polish “pierogi” are. How many of us realize though, that this tasty dish was introduced during the 13th century by Jacek Odrowąż, who was a saint?

    At least so the legend goes. Even though pierogi do remind most people of Poland, they originally arrived in our country from China, by way of Russia.
       Back in the day, pierogi were usually only prepared for weddings or other special occasions such as Christmas or Easter. Nowadays we prepare them for all possible occasions. In order to make the dough, we need just 2 or 3 ingredients – flour, water and sometimes eggs. We roll the dough flat and shape it into a “pierogi circle” by using a glass or cup as a cutter. Then all we need to do is put the filling in the middle of the circle and fold it over. The last step is closing and sealing the pierogi, either by hand or with a special tool.
       The delicate dough, combined with fillings made from various kinds of meat, potatoes or cabbage allowed millions of people around the globe – including Martha Stewart – to fall in love with and want to eat Polish pierogi! Their variations can be even more interesting, though – pierogi can be served with fillings made from strawberries and blueberries, chanterelles or feta and spinach, amongst others. You can eat them boiled, baked or fried, adding different toppings to round out their great taste.

       An interesting fact about the word “pierogi” is that it can be pronounced in many different ways, depending on the region which they originate from: “pierogi, perogi, perogy, pirohi, piroghi, pirogi, pirogen, pierogy, pirohy, or pyrohy.”

    Marcin Gortat brings Polish Heritage Day to the NBA

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    redakcja
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    Marcin Gortat brings Polish Heritage Day to the NBA
    Gazeta Polska

    The Polish basketball star was the co-organizer and driving force behind the 8th annual Polish Heritage Day in the NBA.
    The 34-year old is famous in his home country not just for being a great ball player, but also for being one of the most energetic ambassadors of Polish culture in the United States.

    Sunday’s event took place in connection with the game between Gortat’s new team, Los Angeles Clippers and Orlando Magic. Large parts of the arena in Los Angeles was covered in the colors of the Polish red and white flag as hundreds of Poles and Polish-Americans cheered for Gortat and the winning home team. Gortat organized the event together with the Polish National Foundation and the Polish Consulate in Los Angeles. Several Polish musicians, sportstars and actors had been invited to participate in the event which continued following the game. Polish President Andrzej Duda had sent a recorded message to all participants in which he thanked Gortat and the Polish-American community for representing Poland in an honorable way in America.

    The day was an opportunity for Gortat and the local Poles to share their culture with the residents of Los Angeles and basketball fans across the US. Polish music was played during the game and afterwards it was possible to taste some Polish food and speak with Polish military veterans from World War 2. Marcin Gortat is praised in Poland for never forgetting about his roots. He has constantly promoted Polish culture in every NBA club he has played for and he is also heavily involved in charity work in Poland, particulary working with the youth through his MG13 Foundation. He has helped to fund four schools which train promising young Polish athletes, dreaming to one day repeat Gortat’s success in the US.

     

    Polish PM believes that the EU will change after May 2019 elections

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    redakcja
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    Polish PM believes that the EU will change after May 2019 elections

    An interview given by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki for the Financial Times is stirring up emotions in Poland. In the interview, the Prime Minister states that the European Parliament election in May will have strong impact on the EU and that the European Commission needs to be much more receptive to what’s going on in particular member states.
    The Polish liberal opposition has earlier adopted a tactic of accusing the conservative government of, willing or unwillingly, putting Poland on the path to leave the European Union. It views Morawiecki’s criticism of the European Commission in the interview as a confirmation of its claims. The government has dissmissed the accusation that it’s steering Poland in the direction of a “Polexit”. The ruling Law & Justice Party claims that under its rule, Poland is committed to the EU even though it shares the opinion of many other nations that the EU needs reform and that member states should have more to say.

    In the interview, Morawiecki called on the European Commission to drop its Article 7 proceeding against Warsaw. The Commission has claimed that the rule of law is threatened in Poland following a number of judicial reforms conducted by the Polish government. Through the use of Article 7, the Commission wants Warsaw to back down from the reforms or face political sanctions. An initiative to strip Poland from its right to vote in the EU would require an unanimous decision taken by all 27 members states in European Council which is highly unlikely.

    Morawiecki has earlier stated that politicians from Western Europe have a hard time understanding the reality that people in Central Eastern Europe experience on a daily basis as Western Europeans have no experience of having lived under communist oppression. He has likened the Polish judicial reform, meant to clean up the judiciary from influence of the old communist system, with the reforms and personnel replacements initiated in East Germany after 1989 as well as in France and Norway once Nazi German occupation had ended.

    Prime Minister Morawiecki also pointed to the double standards employed by Western European countries  in their dealings with countries in Central Eastern Europe by bringing up the way the French police treats the “gilets jaunes” protesters.

    “When I look at what is happening in France, I wouldn’t say that France has an issue with the rule of law, but can you imagine if those brutal interventions would happen against demonstrators in Poland how loud the voices would be in Brussels, in Berlin or . . . maybe even Paris?” Prime Minister Morawiecki said.

    Morawiecki seems to have good reasons for his stance as the EU took interest when it accused Romania of police brutality after riot police had clashed with protesters in Bucharest in the fall of 2018 while ignoring the violent clampdown against protesters in Paris or Catalonia.

    Apart from launching Article 7 against Poland for its reforms in the judiciary, the European Commission also took Warsaw to the European Court of Justice. The judges in Luxembourg used an injunction against the Polish judiciary reform, forcing Warsaw to reinstate the judges which had been retired by the new Polish legislation. Since Poland has followed the decision by the ECJ, Morawiecki argues that the Commission now should drop the Article 7 proceedings against Poland, or else it will become obvious that the Commission is using the case as political tool against the Polish governement ahead of the May 2019 elections to the European Parliament.

    “Now is the turn of the European Commission,” Mr Morawiecki said. “If they want to be an honest broker, because I don’t feel so far that they are an honest broker . . . they should really take decisive positive steps to clarify all these issues they have, because now we have done so much”.

    Morawiecki’s hopes that the next European Parliament and European Commission will treat Poland and other Central European states differently after the election in May are well-grounded. Opinion polls show that the ruling Law & Justice are likely to win the election to the European Parliament in Poland while eurosceptic parties such as Fidesz in Hungary, Lega in Italy and National Rally (previously Front National) are poised to do the same in their respective countries.

    It’s quite possible that their electoral surge will force Brussels to rethink the role that member states will play in the EU in the future.

    How much have we lost to the war?

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    redakcja
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    How much have we lost to the war?
    www.mkidn.gov.pl

    Since 1992, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage has been gathering information regarding cultural property lost from within post-1945 borders of Poland and has taken action aimed at its recovery.

    The arduous process of regaining Polish cultural property

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    redakcja
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    The arduous process of regaining Polish cultural property
    www.mkidn.gov.pl

    Since 1992, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage has taken action aimed at the recovery of lost cultural property. Agnieszka Modzolewska explains the nuances of the process.

    Poles happier than ever

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    redakcja
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    Poles happier than ever

    New opinion poll shows that Poles believe that 2018 was a good year.

    Poles have the reputation of being fond of complaining about all things possible but according to a survey by the pollster CBOS, Poles are becoming increasingly optimistic about their own lives as well as the development of Poland as a country.

    The survey shows that 69% of Poles believe that 2018 has been a good year for them personally and 68% of the respondents state that the year has been positive for their families,

    Only 10% argued that 2018 as a bad year for them and even less, 6% stated that 2018 had been a bad year for their family.

     CBOS has a tradition of measuring the outlook of Poles on their situation in life every year in the weeks before New Years Eve. This years statistics show that Poles haven’t been as satisfied about the direction their life is taking since 1989, the year that communism fell in the Soviet satellite states.

    50% of respondents argued that 2018 had been a good year for the country while only 16% were of the opposite belief.

    The Polish economy has been growing at a record high speed, and the GDP growth for 2018 is expected to land on 5%. The average salary has increased by up to 7% while inflation will not exceed 2%. The swift economic development is expected to continue next year even if in a slightly slower rate as the world economy is forecasted the pass zenith of the current economic cycle.

     

     

     

     

    Share love like never before

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    redakcja
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    Share love like never before
    Wikipedia

    If you come to a Polish Christmas Eve dinner, you might experience something that could be the single most powerful tradition that stitches our families together. But watch out; you are getting into serious business.

    First you need a prop, which will be a white Christmas wafer made from water and flour, not unlike the host used for the Eucharist but usually rectangular in shape, probably with a Nativity scene embossed on it. It is called ‘opłatek’ and you will get it from the head of the family. Then you will hear a bunch of generic wishes addressed to everyone but after that, the real deal begins. You approach every single person at the table, break a piece of their wafer, let them have a piece of yours, eat the acquired tidbit, and proceed to wish the other person the best blessings you can come up with. Sharing wishes is serious business in Poland: ‘Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year’ won’t do. They need to be personal, concerning the challenges, that you know of, your family member will face in the upcoming year. It shows that you are honest, care about this person, think about them, and that their problems are dear to you. This is also the best moment to reconcile with someone you have not spoken to for months. You cannot skip a person or brush them off with a ‘Merry Christmas’; this is someone you care for and want to encourage and share in their hopes even if you have struggled with them.

    It is hard to say when this tradition was established, it seems like it has always been with us, especially that breaking and sharing bread was done by the earliest Christians. It changed its character and form over the centuries but its current flat rectangular shape supposedly originated during the time when Poland was partitioned, so that ‘opłatek’ could be sent in an envelope to a relative living abroad. The Christmas wafer is there to keep the unity of the family, to share love, and to remind us that we should be good to each other like bread, as st. Brother Albert Chmielowski would say.

    Go to confession. Jordan Peterson tells you to

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    redakcja
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    Go to confession. Jordan Peterson tells you to
    The Rubin Report / YouTube

    It is almost Christmas and everyone is getting prepared as much as they can. Why not clean up not only your house but also your heart, especially that one of the most influential youtubers of this year recommends it?

    Jordan Peterson, a psychologist, philosopher, academic, YouTube phenomenon, and a major proponent of individual responsibility for one’s life and the world around, admitted on The Rubin Report that sometimes the load people take on themselves is just too much to bear and they need to come clean of their mistakes and faults. ‘You don’t have to be crushed into absolute dust by the fact that you’re not everything you should be’ he said to Ben Shapiro around 1:40:00 in. He noticed that it is easy to be cynical about and mock the Catholic sacrament of penance but then one might miss its real value of letting one live with the burden of being imperfect.

    A few days later, Dr Peterson expanded on that thought on Jocko Willink’s podcast (around 1:08:00), where he praises the Church for getting the balance between the blame and mercy right by giving a chance to start anew without lifting the responsibilty for one’s wrongdoing off their shoulders. This responsibiity has to stay because, according to Peterson, ‘it’s either your fault or it’s someone else’s, and as soon as it’s someone else’s, then you’d better be careful because that idea (…) is definitely going to appeal to the worst in you.’

    There is still a couple of days before Christ is born again. We all groan under the burden of the passing year. If you are Catholic, why not straighten your paths and give yourself a chance to start with a clean slate?

    9 miners murdered by the communist regime commemorated

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    redakcja
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    9 miners murdered by the communist regime commemorated

    On December 16th, Poles commemorate the 37th anniversary of the Wujek Mine Massacre. 9 miners were shot to death and dozens were injured in a deadly strike-breaking action perpetrated by communist police and army forces. The massacre was executed 3 days after the communist military junta under the command of General Wojciech Jaruzelski declared martial law in Poland in order to pacify the 10 million strong Solidarity movement which had been striking and protesting against the regime for more than a year

    Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Deputy-Prime Minister Beata Szydło are participated in the holy mass and commemoration march from the church to the memorial in front of the mine.

    The miners had decided to start the strike hours after their trade union leader, Jan Ludwiczak, had been arrested by the regime on the night before martial law was declared. Up to a thousand miners participated in the sit-in strike directed against the regime. Considerable forces were deployed on December 16th against the miners. Riot police were aided by Infantry Fighting Vehicles and tanks. After the riot police had failed the empty the mine with the help of water cannons, tear gas and batons, a commando-type special unit of riot police armed with automatic weapons was sent in. They quickly opened fire, killing 9 and wounding an additional 22 miners.

    The pacification of the Wujek mine was the bloodiest single massacre during martial law and has ever since since served as a symbol of the violence used by the regime against the political dissidents in the year and a half of martial law.

    Poles commemorate 37th anniversary of martial law

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    redakcja
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    Poles commemorate 37th anniversary of martial law

    On December 13th 1981, the communist military junta of General Jaruzelski announced that they had declared a state of martial law in Poland in order to put a stop to the Solidarity movement. 10 million Poles had joined the first free trade union in the Soviet Block and used the movement to pressure the communist regime to start democratizing the country. In response, the regime deployed thousands of soldiers out on the streets on the morning of December 13th 1981, arresting thousands of solidarity activists. Up to 100 political dissidents were killed by the security forces.

    Solidarity was formed in August 1980 as a protest against the firing of Anna Walentynowicz from from her job as a crane operator at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk. Walentynowicz was fired for belonging to an illegal trade union 5 months ahead of her planned retirement, severly limiting her future pension. Workers across Poland had had enough of being treated poorly and within a month 1 million people were on strike under the slogan „Bring Anna Walentynowicz Back to Work”. The government was forced to back down and allow for the movement to found the first legal trade union in the Soviet Block on August 31st 1981. 

    The 15th months Solidarity existed as a legal organization is known in Polish history as ”the Carnival of Solidarity”. The working masses, and all people longing for democracy and an independent Poland, were for the first time optimistic about future. It was all cut short by General Jaruzelski announcing the introduction of martial law. In a telewized speech on morning of December 13th, Jaruzelski claimed that Poland was on the edge of an abyss. He continued by saying that the strikes were damaging to the economy and that an atmosphere of hatred in which there were voices calling for acts of reprisals against the reds. Jaruzelski announced that a Military Council of National Salvation had been formed and that it would implement martial law across the country. 

    Apart from the deaths and arrests, a curfew was introduced, telephone lines disconnected, mails were yet again subject to censorship and all independent organizations, including Solidarity, were declared illegal. Key sectors of the Polish economy were placed under the control of the military and employees were subject to military courts if declared enemy’s of the state. 

    General Jaruzelski justified his decision as the smaller evil, claiming that his actions had prevented a Soviet invasion of Poland. Documents from declassified archives in both Poland and Russia later showed that there was no truth to the claim and that Jaruzelski had actually pleaded with the Soviet leadership to promise him help to put down the unrests in case the Polish Army would not be able to handle the problem on its own. 

    For many years after communism fell, Poles would gather on the night between December 12th and 13th in front of the villa Warsaw villa where Jaruzelski lived, to commemorate all the victims of martial law and Jaruzelski’s regime. Today, people mark the day by attending commemoration
    marches and participating in or observing historical reenactment shows. 

    This year, Polish President Andrzej Duda, commemorated the event by issuing high orders to a couple of dozen dissidents of the Solidarity Movement. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki commented on the events 37 years ago by saying that it took away the last small remnents of freedom that Poles had. 

    Martial law was abolished on July 22nd 1983 but many political prisoners remained behind bars until an amnesty was issued in 1986. 

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