SlideTalk Video: New Year Celebrations in Poland
New Year in Poland- Customs and TraditionsThe Central European country of Poland celebrates its New Year on the date of January 1st. The time in and around New Year is excitedly awaited by everyone in the Poland. New Year’s Day, out of its traditional relevance, is also called as St. Sylvester’s Eve.According to legends, it is associated with Pope Sylvester I, who supposedly caught a dragon named Leviathan.On the first date of the year of 1000, the dragon was able to get himself liberated from Pope Sylvester’s regime and went on to demolish land, people, as well as set fire to the heavens. However, the dragon was later caught again, and the world still survived itself on the New Year’s Day. In the commemoration of the same, people started celebrating and rejoicing the New Year’s Day as St. Sylvester’s Day.New Year Celebrations in PolandThe New Year celebrations as made in Poland are regular in some ways, and complete unique in some others. Festival time during New Year in Poland is prominently about spending some good time with close friends and family members at home while spreading happiness and cheer.Many others wish to do the same by planning an outing, or a night party in a famous night club, discotheque, or a pub preferably offering something more than usual on New Year’s Eve. The pop concerts, which most of the time are open air concerts, are also organized in many places in Poland and are attended by thousands and more.A bottle of champagne is necessary to be toasted at midnight in the family party, street party, or any other common or uncommon place where the place is going on. Some of these parties are so prominently classic and vibrant that one might lose an entry in any one of them if one starts planning any time later than the month of September.So, one need to have reservations far ahead of time, if one wishes to be in those big-time classic parties. Those holding private parties make sure to have great dinners with equally beautiful dishes on the platter, necessarily including sausages and bigos.There are some who wish to get close to nature during the time of New Year. The preferred places are the marvelous Tantra Mountains, from where one can see the beautiful sunrise of the first dawns of the New Year rising over the mountains range. Also, since it is the time of the year when Poland is in dry cold weather, with a little powdery snowfall, many people loves to spend their New Year’s time in skiing or sledding. Some people plan to have a loose party in a forest, by putting up a bonfire, and singing and dancing around it the whole night.Traditional New Year Celebrations in PolandFor the fact, even in the present time, only affluent families living in Poland can have those special New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day celebrations. Therefore, one can find the majority of the people spending the time getting glued to a television set, which on a special day is telecasting special programs.However, the core of New Year celebrations in Poland quotes that no one should be lonely for the day. It is not necessary the way they celebrate it, but the important thing is that one has to feel good and be optimistic. There is also a tradition of wishing at least one person good by saying, “do siego roku,” which refers to “I wish you well.”Also, there is an important tradition of smudging windows and doorknobs of the house with tar, or to hide pots that were left drying on a fence. Doing all such things is traditionally believed to symbolize for driving out the old year, and welcoming the New Year. Some parts of the country have people baking donuts, with the belief that it will ensure abundance of wealth in the coming year.
