PRCUA: Official News Release

Polish American Heritage Polish Custom Essay Contest
By Joann Ozog, PRCUA First Lady

(Photos) The Polish American Heritage Polish Custom Essay Contest sponsored by Polish Roman Catholic Union of America (PRCUA) First Lady, Joann Ozog had fifty-eight entries from the states of Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, Indiana, New Jersey and Wisconsin. Participants ranged in age from adulthood to the younger ones who attended second grade. Employees from Home Office (Chicago Illinois), as well as from the Satellite offices in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Ohio also were able to enter.

The topics varied from Wigilia, Wedding Customs, Blessing of the Easter Basket, Decorating Easter Eggs, Singing Sto Lat at Birthdays, Dyngus Day, Swienconka, Names Given to Children at Birth, Paczki Day and the Visiting of Graves on All Saints/All Souls Day.

A special thank you is extended to the judges, Margaret Zalewski, Felicia Krupinski and Lidia Kowalewicz for taking time to read and score the entries and to all of the participants for sharing their favorite family Polish Custom, especially during Polish American Heritage Month. These are customs that are introduced to our children and they are the customs that they remember well into their adulthood. If we want these customs to remain part of our heritage, then we must instill them into our youth at an early age.

I most enjoy the Polish custom of Oplatek. I like it because we share the blessing of the bread and celebrate. I like sharing blessings because it’s not only fun but it’s a special thing to do too. It’s special because when we share the blessings we share God.

On Christmas Eve my family and I go to my Babcia’s. We say a prayer while holding hands and receive a flat square wafer called oplatek. In addition, we give a blessing in the process. After that we have a prayer and Christmas dinner. My favorite food is potato pierogi.

I think the “Polish Naming Custom” is very fascinating and unique. My great babci named her children after a saint whose feast day was celebrated near the birth of her children. It was fun to look up a saints feast day and match it up to a family member’s birthday.

My favorite Polish tradition is the singing of “Sto Lat”, which in Polish means, “One Hundred Years”, instead of the traditional “Happy Birthday” song. I think it has much more sentimentality to wish your loved ones to live a long and happy life, as we celebrate their special day.

The Polish custom I enjoy the most is Easter. I enjoy it because it is a time that you can express your feelings in patterns on a small egg. It. doesn’t matter if the egg is big or small. It matters that I put my heart and soul into it.

My favorite Polish custom is visiting my grandparent’s house on Christmas Eve and sharing the Oplatek. My grandfather gives the oplatek to everyone before our gift exchange. We come together and join in prayer. Then, we break off pieces of each other’s oplatek and wish them peace and good health. This is a “special time” for all of us!

The breaking of the oplatek on Christmas is a celebrated tradition in my family. It originated with my grandfather bringing the wafers over when I was a small child. I remember each had a distinctive design. I not only enjoyed its uniqueness, but also the time spent with my family.

My favorite Polish holiday is Smigus Dingus where everyone tries to wet one another. But I don’t just like it for all the water fun, I love it because it reminds me that my sins can be washed away and however heavy one’s cross is, like Jesus; like goes on.

A card with oplatki, sent to my Busia, meant an early taste of Christmas for us children. As adults, we have been fortunate to visit our family in Poland, so when we share the oplatki at our wigilia table, I cherish the thought that my hands caress their fingerprints.

The Polish custom I most enjoy with my family is Christmas Eve dinner. I love how we set an extra place for an unexpected stranger, place hay on the table to signify Jesus’ birth in the manger, break and share Oplatek, read prayers and eat a delicious meal together.

My favorite Polish tradition is the visitation of graves on All Saints/Souls Days. While visiting graves, you hear stories about your ancestors and you learn more about your family. Light and smell of thousands of burning candles make unforgettable atmosphere of these days. I cherish it the most because in my opinion it’s the only tradition you can’t really celebrate anywhere else but in Poland.

Our cherished family custom is the celebration of Wszystkich Swietych, observed on November 1^st. The cemetery is awakened as families unite to visit their loved ones. The distinct smell of burning wax can be detected in the night; a murmur of prayers echoes along a hypnotizing backdrop of flickering lights.

All Saint’s Day is one of my favorite holidays. We visit cemeteries and remember the departed members of our family. I love the peaceful atmosphere, the horizon of shining lights from candles and the beautiful flowers everywhere. At the end of the day, my family gathers together to celebrate.