Polish

By: Lauren Trevor

As expected, due to being the official “melting pot” of the globe, many of us who are born in America have families who have more foreign origins than we can count. “Pure American Mutts,” as some would put it. Among this amalgamation of cultures are the Poles. If you ever decide to visit Poland, be expectant of a few things. First thing’s first, the term “Pollack” when directed toward someone of Polish descent is derogatory. Even if it seems harmless, don’t use it or you will most likely be shunned and/or glared at, and you definitely won’t be getting directions back to your hotel.

In the Polish culture, family and close friends of the family are top priority in all situations, as family is after all in the center of the entire social structure. Simply put, family members and close friends are part of ‘inner circles’ and many Poles draw lines between people within their ring and outsiders.

Another thing is pierogi. Because really, who doesn’t love pierogi? Unless of course you have never had them, which is a crime in itself. This dish can be said in many different ways such as Pierożki and pyrogy as well and it is pronounced pie (as in pit), ro (as in row), and gi (glee). If you haven’t seen them at a grocery store or a restaurant, or if you have not even ever heard of them, they are basically just dumplings that can be stuffed with potatoes, mushrooms, cheese herbs, etc. and they look kind of like half-moon ravioli. Pierogi, which is the plural form of the word, are a traditional Polish food that are always served in portions of three or more. I mean, you can’t just eat one pistachio, and you definitely can’t eat just one pieróg.

The next aspect of the culture might be even better than potato-filled dumplings. How about two birthdays? That’s right. The Poles are one of the cultures who celebrate not only birthdays, but name days as well. When one celebrates their Name Day, it is like a second birthday. In the Polish calendar, each day is paired with a saint and when the tradition began all Poles were named after a saint. So each year, anyone who is over the age of thirteen has a celebration on the day of the saint they were named after.