Your traditions are of a Poland of what, 100 years ago? That's not the culture of today.
Yes, you are correct, that is why they are called TRADITIONS. Here is a definition of "tradition" from Webster's New World Dictionary:
Tradition: "story, belief, custom, information, etc. that is handed down from generation to generation, esp. by word of mouth or by practice."Traditions are not supposed to imitate the CULTURE of today's Poland. Traditions are to keep alive what was done by our ancestors, so that our children can learn how things were done in the past, so that they can feel connected to their grandparents, great-grandparents, great-great grandparents, etc. down through the ages. By learning Polish traditions, our children are learning some of Poland's history. I don't see anything wrong with that. On the contrary, I think it is very beneficial.
Obviously, one is not forced to teach these traditions to one's children. But I could use ChicagoPollock's argument to reason that we should not teach any history at all in schools today. After all, the culture of today is nothing like it was back then, so why should we have students learn about it? It's totally irrelevant, it would be like living in the past.
That argument doesn't hold up, does it? We learn about the past because it teaches us important lessons for the present and for the future. If we didn't learn from the mistakes of the past, we might repeat them. Also, studying the past shows us how our homeland became the great country that it is today. (There are many more reasons for studying history, of course, but space constrains me to be brief.)
In a sense your living a lie. You live in a never-never land. If someone has been here or anywhere for that matter for two or three generations what connection does one have with the old country? Culture evolves,
I'm not saying that Polish immigrants should live life in America as if they're still living in Poland. Of course they should learn English and absorb American culture and contribute to American society as quickly as possible. But I see nothing wrong with ALSO preserving traditions from Poland (or perhaps some of these are actually Polish-American traditions): for instance, preparing Polish food, Polish dancing in traditional Polish costumes, teaching Polish to the next generations, observing Polish Christmas & Easter traditions, etc.
