Poznań is a city on the River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's Fair, traditional Saint Martin's croissants and a local dialect. Among its most important heritage sites are the Renaissance Old Town, Town Hall and Gothic Cathedral.
Morana, Morena, Mora, Mara, Morė, Marena, or Marzanna is a pagan Slavic goddess associated with seasonal rites based on the idea of death and rebirth of nature. She is an ancient goddess associated with winter's death, rebirth and dreams. In ancient Slavic rites, the death of the Goddess Morana at the end of winter becomes the rebirth of Spring of the Goddess Kostroma (Russian), Lada or Vesna representing the coming of Spring.
Bogurodzica, in English known as the Mother of God, is a medieval Christian hymn composed sometime between the 10th and 13th centuries in Poland. It is believed to be the oldest religious hymn or patriotic anthem in the Polish language, which was traditionally sung in Old Polish with the Greek phrase Kyrie eleison – "Lord, have mercy". While its origin is not entirely clear, several scholars agree that Saint Adalbert of Prague is the likely author. Polish knights chanted Bogurodzica prior to their engagement at the Battle of Grunwald and it also accompanied the coronation ceremonies of the first Jagiellonian kings.
Science fiction and fantasy in Poland dates to the late 18th century. However, science fiction as a genre in Polish literature truly began to emerge at the end of the 19th century under the influence of Jules Verne's work. During the latter years of the People's Republic of Poland, a very popular genre of science fiction was social science fiction. Later, many other genres gained prominence.
The Poznań International Fair is the biggest industrial fair in Poland. It is held on the Poznań fairground in Poland. Poznań International Fair is located in the centre of the city opposite the main railway station – Poznań Główny, in the centre of Poland and in the centre of Europe.
Dziwożona is a female swamp demon in Slavic mythology known for being malicious and dangerous. Most at risk of becoming one of these demons after death were thought to be midwives, old maids, unmarried mothers, pregnant women who die before childbirth, as well as abandoned children born out of wedlock.
The Germanisation of the Province of Posen was a policy of the Kulturkampf measures enacted by German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, whose goal was to Germanize Polish-speaking areas in the Prussian Province of Posen by eradicating and discrimination of Polish language and culture, as well as to reduce the influence of the "ultramontanist" Roman Catholic clergy in those regions.
In folklore, a hobby horse is a costumed character that features in some traditional seasonal customs, processions and similar observances around the world. In England, they are particularly associated with May Day celebrations, mummers' plays and the Morris dance.
The Constitution of 3 May 1791 is an 1891 Romantic oil painting on canvas by the Polish artist Jan Matejko. It is a large piece, and one of Matejko's best known. It memorializes the Polish Constitution of 3 May 1791, a milestone in the history of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and a high point of the Polish Enlightenment.
Śmigus-dyngus or lany poniedziałek is a celebration held on Easter Monday across Central Europe, and in small parts of Eastern and Southern Europe. The tradition is widely associated with Poland in English-speaking countries and is observed by Polish diaspora communities, particularly among Polish Americans who call it Dyngus Day. The tradition is also deeply rooted in Hungary.
Holy Week in Mexico is an important religious observance as well as important vacation period. It is preceded by several observances such as Lent and Carnival, as well as an observance of a day dedicated to the Virgin of the Sorrows, as well as a Mass marking the abandonment of Jesus by the disciples. Holy Week proper begins on Palm Sunday, with the palms used on this day often woven into intricate designs. In many places processions, Masses and other observances can happen all week, but are most common on , Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, with just about every community marking the crucifixion of Jesus in some way on Good Friday. Holy Saturday is marked by the Burning of Judas, especially in the center and south of the country, with Easter Sunday usually marked by a Mass as well as the ringing of church bells. Mexico's Holy Week traditions are mostly based on those from Spain, brought over with the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, but observances have developed variations in different parts of the country due to the evangelization process in the colonial period and indigenous influences. Several locations have notable observances related to Holy Week including Iztapalapa in Mexico City, Taxco, San Miguel de Allende and San Luis Potosí.
Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska, is a Polish historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland.
Śmiergust is a long-standing folk custom popular in some parts of Poland, particularly in and around the town of Wilamowice. During śmiergust young men are dousing young unmarried women with water. The celebrations take place on the Market Square of Wilamowice on Wet Monday, and in or near the women's homes on Easter Sunday. Śmiergust participants are groups of dressed-up men, wearing special patchwork costumes.
Siuda Baba is an old Polish folk custom, celebrated on Easter Monday and surviving today in only a handful of villages surrounding Kraków. The character of Siuda Baba is performed by a local man who dresses up as a shabbily clothed woman whose face is blackened with soot. Siuda Baba walks from house to house, accompanied by other characters – a Gypsy and Krakowiacy. The group visits houses, collecting donations and smearing girls' faces with soot.
Beheading the Kite is a Kashubian Midsummer Eve custom of ritually beheading a kite, a bird which in the Kashubian region used to symbolize evil. Since mid-19th century the ritual has become a part of Midsummer Eve, Whit Sunday or Corpus Christi celebrations. After all the residents have gathered, the village elder and village council publicly condemned the captured kite, blaming it for evil deeds, and sentenced it to death by beheading. Whenever a kite could not be captured alive, a hen or a crow could be used instead.
In the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, and some parts of Hungary, the Easter whip is used as part of a tradition where boys are splashed with water and girls whipped with a decorated willow branch on Easter Monday.
Podłaźniczka, polazňička is a traditional Polish and Slovak Christmas decoration. It was usually made from branches or the top of a conifer tree turned upside down, which was then decorated with colored paper cutouts (wycinanki), candies, apples, nuts, typical Polish świats, or stars and crosses made of straw. The podłaźniczka was then hung from the ceiling rafters over the Wigilia dinner table on Christmas Eve.
Kaliszans are members of an ethnographic group of Polish people from the Kalisz Region, located within the Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland. They are part of the bigger ethnographic group of Greater Poland people.
Ludwik Bociański was a Polish certified infantry colonel of the Polish Army and the Second Polish Republic's voivode of the Poznań and Vilnius voivodeships.
Social science fiction in Poland is a subgenre of science fiction that falls within the scope of social science fiction. It emerged in Polish science fiction literature in the second half of the 1970s and was present until the end of the 1980s. Critics describe the trend as a literary and social phenomenon.
