Genealogy / Is Aleska a Polish baby name ? [42]

Aleśka doesn't sound half bad. It is not typical but hypocoristic forrms are very fluid with many unique-case scenarios. There is baby talk, in-jokes, pet names and (amongst lovers) sweet nothings which are not guided by standard grammar. In the eastern borderlands Aleśka could well be the way some families refer endearingly to an Aleksandra. So if it suits you, go with it!

USA, Canada / A typical Polish American wedding [25]

From the start of the 20th century what set the typcial PolAm wedding apart from the mainstream American WASP-style ones included the following:
-- PARENTAL BLESSING at the home of the bride; bride & groom-to-be plus close family and friends gathered at bride's home; the couple knelt as both sets of parents bestowed their blessing; no Anglo-saxon superstition about the groom not seeing the bride ahead of chruch..

-- TRANSFER TO CHURCH, depending on distance by foot or vehicle.
-- NUPTIAL AT CHURCH; after the nutptial the bride often left a bouquet at the side altar to the BVM where she knelt and prayed before rejoining her spouse in front of the main altar.

-- PHOTO BREAK: bride & groom go to photographer's for wedding portrait; this allows guests to assemble at reception site;
-- BREAD & SALT WELCOME at entrance to reception site.
-- BREAKFAST RECEPTION: usually a more mdoest affair for 100-150 family and closer friends; food was regulary savory PolAm dinenr fare: roast chicken, gołąbki, kiełbasa z kapustą, etc., deserts, open bar.

-- BREAK
-- EVENING RECEPTION: usually larger 200-300 or mroe guests; Polish wedding March (often a selection called 'Pożegnanie z Ojczyzną'); grace by clergyman; more sumptuous feast than breakfast reception, punctuated by repeated chants of gorzko, gorzko (or glass-clinging) for newly weds to kiss.

-- FIRST DANCE: bride dances with her father.
-- BALLROOM DANCING to a Polish orchestra which later (around mid-century) became known as a polka band.
-- DOLLAR DANCE: male guests make a cash donation to dance with the bride; an attendant would provide a nip of vodka and cigar to each male dancer before he gave the bride a whirl round the dancefloor.

-- OCZEPINY (becapping ceremony): ritual removal of veil and replacement with a smybolic wife's czepek (cap) symbolising a maiden's final transition to wifehood amid ritual ditties sung by seasoned female wedding mistresses.

-- TO THE BITTER END; Unlike the WASP weddings at which teh bride and groom would rush off at midnight or even earlier leaving guests ot their own devices, as a sign of resepct PolAm newlyweds would stick around till the last guest left .

-- POPRAWINY: one, two or more days of follow-up celebrations usually at the bride's home but also at the groom's.
I ŻYLI D£UGO I SZCZĘŚLIWIE!!!

Genealogy / Please help me trace my surname origin - Gurklis [9]

GURKLIS: This is the Lithuanian word for crop. There is (or was) only one person in Poland named Gurklis living in the Bydgoszcz area. That was according to a previous census, so unless that peson was a male of reproductive age, by now the name may be extinct in Poland.

News / The cross in Polish parliament - Does it bother you? [100]

By accepting the corss Mieszko I brought his country into the fmaily of european nations, and it was the Chruch that crowned Poland's first monarch, Bolesław Chrobry. The cross has been a part of Poland's history and culture since the very beginning. As the great Adam Mickiewicz who wrote:

'Tylko pod krzyżem, tylko pod tym znakiem, Polska jest Polską a Polak Polakiem!
Under the cross Prince Henryk the Pious died in Legnica in 1241 defending Europe against the pagan Tartar hoirdes, Sobieski did so at the gates of Vienna, and Father ignacy Skorupka led Poles against the Bolshevik invaders in 1920. The Solidarity revolution also took place under the sign of the cross.

That is part of Poland's national heritage. The French insist on their extreme laïcité, banning cassocks in public and tearing Muslim shawls away from school girls. But in Switzerland, all court trials take place in the present of a crucifix on the judge's bench.

Each country should have the right to cultivate its own heritage, and in Poland the cross is defintiely a major part of it.

Genealogy / Kresy, Lwow - Where can I find information on where people in Poland are from? [4]

SZCZERBIŃSKI: root-word szczerba (gap, fissure); toponymic tag from Szczerbin (Gapville)

USA, Canada / A typical Polish American wedding [25]

Is there some high-falutin, e-Gatesian, hihg-tech explanation for the poor quality of this YouTube? Why so jerky -- like still pictures strung toegtehr rather than a smooth-running film? The audio portion is also pretty poor.

Genealogy / Jednoralski Family from Zalno, Poland [9]

JEDNORALSKI: Dialectal form of archaic jeneralski (currently generalski); most likely a patronymic tag to identify the general's son. Not a very common name so tracking down relatives should not be that difficult.

Genealogy / Looking for Julian Skalski from Poland / Skaletski / Skalecki [6]

SKALSKI: root-word skała (rock); probably topo nick from Skała, Skałka, Skałów or similar.

News / What do PO voters expect from the new Polish government ? [32]

Why the constant stream of hatred and derision against Poland B by elitist snobs who happened to have better-to-do parents who could afford to educate them?

A bit of humility wouldn't hurt.

News / Poland's 'oburzeni' (indignant)? [41]

On the contrary, Palikot is stupid...like a fox! Jerzy Urban predicts Tusk will become president 4 years from now and Palikot in the term that follows. Palikot will not sit back on his laurels

but will be expanding his base. The youth protests are a true gift to such an ambitious politico. His mvt has not onyl an anti-clerical but also a vaguely anti-establishmentarian theme, so buikding on it and cathing the wind of grass-roots protest in his sails seems a logical manoeuvre.

News / Poland's 'oburzeni' (indignant)? [41]

It is very difficult to have people take to the streets even to back the most noble cause or justifiable demands without hooligans joining in. Solidarność was a notable exception. Wałęsa used to say the peaceful "S" revolution took place without a single pane of glass being shattered. There was one excpetion, when an irate crowd attacked and burnt down a polcie station in Otwock and Kuroń was sent in the pacify their ire. But considering the breadth of the protest, that one incident cannot change the overall evaluation.

Food / POLISH RECIPES! [287]

I can't imagine any powdered mix (pancakes, soups, wheatevr) holding a candle to the real thing. In Polish there is a saying about placki kartoflane: Jak nie tatre to g*wno warte!

News / Poland's 'oburzeni' (indignant)? [41]

In Italy the protest have taken on an ugly vandal twist (smashing shops, burning cars, numerous injuries). PAP is reporting ther vandalism of a church where hooded thugs broke into a parish and smashed a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes. Polish text follows:

16.10. Rzym (PAP) - W czasie gwałtownych sobotnich zamieszek w Rzymie, wywołanych przez setki chuliganów, dokonano zniszczeń w jednym z kościołów w centrum. Włoskie media opublikowały nagranie sceny, gdy banda wandali wtargnęła do parafii i rozbiła o ziemię figurę Matki Bożej z Lourdes.

News / What do PO voters expect from the new Polish government ? [32]

Someone on one of the Polish talking-heads shows noted that Palikot represneted a new-style 21st-century partry. The old-style party was led by soemone who for better or worse had some convictions (like Kaczyński) and was willing to fight for them to the bitter end. The modern party first surveys the market, follows the polls, and sees what the current public demand is like, and then creats a programme that fits the biill. Tusk is somewhere in between, some ideas but a lot of political marketing, survey-following and image-honing.

News / Poland's 'oburzeni' (indignant)? [41]

Anyone know why all of a suddent the youth of the world are protesting? The mad-dog reovlution of 1968 led by the hatemongering Cohen-Bandits and their ilk also transcended borders but that was before globalism. Is what is going on at present only a global copycat phenomenon or is there any basis for the protests? How, if at all, will they affect the fat, satiated, mythical 1%?

Genealogy / Trying to locate information on my Great Uncle Frank Pryeor [9]

Actually a kłos is an ear of corn (wheat, rye, etc.) which comprises several kernels.

Language / How similar are Polish and Romanian languages? [75]

Poland and Romania shared a common border before 1939. Many people are not aware of that fact.

Genealogy / JARENTOWSKI/BIELAWSKI/MAKOWSKI [20]

The Jarentowski ancestral nest appears to be in western Poland's Wielkopolska region, notably in and around the city of Kalisz (84 users). Smaller clusters are found to the north of there in northern Poland's Kujawy region, particularly its Bydgoszcz-Toruń area (56).

Since Jarentowski is not a very common surname, there's a good chance you are related to all or most of them.
13 people spell their name Jarętowski — 8 in the Bydgoszcz area and 5 in or around Kalisz.

Genealogy / Trying to locate information on my Great Uncle Frank Pryeor [9]

PRZEWOR: possibly from przewora, the stall wall separating one horse from another in a stable; or toponymic tag from Przewory or Przeworsk.

Genealogy / searching for my ancestors Erasmus Stasik [9]

STASIK: patronymic nick meaning son of Staś (English equivalent: Stanson).

JAGU£A: probably derived from such female first names as Jagata (Agata), Jagnieszka (Agnieszka), Jagna or Jadwiga (Hedwig).

MROCZEK: squinting person; the stars or spots people see before their eyes when hit over the head.

OGRÓDEK/OGRODEK: diminutive of ogród (garden), hence little garden.

Genealogy / Maria POLLOCK or Mary Polack: Came to USA in 1880's to Baltimore, maybe from Chicago. [3]

You can start by getting the names right. First of all, the name in the Old Country was probably Polak and got respelt or misspelt in the New World. And Stella was most likely Stanisława. Also Drzewieski does not exist but Drzewiecki is used by some 10,000 people in Poland. And again the first name was probably Władysław, although I have also seen Walter used for Włodzimierz and Wacław. For assistance contact:

genealogy@pro.onet .pl or office @po gen research
Good luck!

Genealogy / One parent Polish, the other one German - their children? [16]

One should not generalise, as various scenarios are possible re rearing kids in a bilingual/biethnic setting. It can be a blessing since many bilingual youngsters do better at school, but it can also be traumatic. If each spouse tries to sway the child over to their own ethnicity and derides that of hteir spouse, the youngster may feel torn. In some cases, one spouse is culturally active whilst the other is ethnically indifferent. Probably the best arrangement is where each parent supports the ethnicity of his/her spouse and helps turn the family's biculturalism into an interesting adventure.

USA, Canada / US Polonia 70% for Kaczyński [343]

Those who would flippantly disenfranchise (deprive of voting rights) Polish expats in America would do well to bear in mind that that a goodly portion of US Polonians' hard-earned money is sent to families in Poland. That effectviely amounts to a form of voluntary taxation which probably exceeds what the average RP dweller pays in taxes.

USA, Canada / US Polonia 70% for Kaczyński [343]

If they had lived there they too might have fallen for the glib rhetoric of smooth and slippery Don. The benefit of distance gives US Poloninas a better overview of what it's all about. And selling off Poland's last remaining assets to foreign interests, which the Tusk gang is so keen on, is not a good career move for Poland.

USA, Canada / US Polonia 70% for Kaczyński [343]

Merged: US Polonia gives PiS 80% backing

informacjeusa.com/2011/10/09/pis-znow-wygralo-wybory-w-usa

Once again the American Polonia has shown it has a better grasp of what is good for Poland. Their Old Country brethren, mesmerised as they are by PO's clever political marketing, image-mongering and glib rhetoric, have once again fallen prey to slippery, tricky Don & Co.

Language / I would really like to learn Polish, but I'm struggling.. [13]

Nothing can beat total immersion. I don't know where you live and whether you have access to newly arrived natfve Polish speakers, preferably your peers, but if that is an option that would be the way to go. Just hanging out with people your age who know little or no English should speed up the learning process greatly.

Travel / Area's of Warsaw worth a visit? (including outdoor camping) [9]

Puszcza Kampinoska comes to mind.

Language / Ambulans displacing karetka - similar meaning of different Polish words? [19]

I thought it was to assimilate to international terminology. In TV news reports I have even seen Israeli ambulances which (besides their Hebew hen-scratching) have the backwards word AMBULANCE thereon.