With the Christmas holidays drawing near, other than the reason for the season – the birth of Baby Jesus – tradition is front and center. Traditions vary from family to family and Polish Christmas traditions, especially, Christmas Eve, were and are no exception. The Christmas Eve meal is the most traditional element – or is it? The Opłatek is the one unifying element among the traditional Wigilia meal with czerwony barszcz with uszka (mushroom-filled dumplings) and mushroom soup, a very close second. Of course, it is a meatless meal which I thought was originally a tribute to the farm animals in the stable where Jesus was born, but my resources site long-standing Church mandates for fasting. Other than various types of fish including the “good luck charm” – herring, we cannot forget the unlimited varieties of pierogi (meatless, of course) as well as an array of pastries. However, traditions within the family dynamics adapt with each generation. When Richard (from Rzeszów) joined the family, he brought his buckwheat groats with mushroom sauce into the mix – and voilà! A new tradition was integrated to our family menu. Food is one thing, but even the tradition of serving an odd number of dishes on Wigilia shifted to 12 dishes, presumably sometime after World War II. The number 12 is symbolic of the 12 apostles and became widely adopted as the preferred number of dishes to serve, even though historically, families opted for an odd number like 5, 7, 9 or even 11. The latter was the case in our family. My father’s grandparents came to the United States from southern Poland beginning in 1910 and my French-born mother and her Polish-born parents (originally from the Wielkopolska and Sieradz regions) in 1949, both honored the odd number of dishes and we continue to do so to this very day. From generation to generation, the dishes served were modified accommodating different palates, but we outside of Poland were not the only ones. Within the article, “The changing face of Poland’s Christmas dishes” written by Natalia Parzygnat, the author paraphrases Henryk Domański, a sociology professor at the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), “Poles treat the festive supper (Wigilia) as ‘an exceptional event’ when they are ‘free of certain norms regarding food’ such as health concerns, which ‘are increasingly encroaching on our lives. But the draw of tradition also remains strong…and you could say it is a sin, colloquially speaking, to stop the tradition.” In any event, it is not the food on the table or the date on the calendar, but the celebration of family gathering to celebrate the birth of our Savior. Hope your holidays will be merry and bright, healthy and hopeful, peaceful and blessed. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our family to yours!
December is not just full of personal holiday preparations, but our PRCUA members, language schools and dance groups are busy preparing Christmas programs to nurture the spirit of the season for all to enjoy. Check the calendar of events in this issue of the Narod Polski for information for December and January!
With the New Year, there will be changes to the printed version of the Narod Polski. You will be able to continue enjoying the Narod Polski monthly online only, but a printed bi-monthly version will be available to those who have subscribed (it is free). This bi-monthly version will synopsize the previous two months of the online version which we will call the e-Narod Polski. Please understand that the rising costs of printing and mailing must be taken into consideration and we at PRCUA are doing our due diligence. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
The beautiful autumn month of November was filled with many celebrations and gatherings. On November 2, the PRCUA Tatry Dancers (Mary Skurnit, School Director; Karen Lubiarz, Dance Instructor) honored 2025 Graduate Isabella Ann Machowicz at the Hellenic Cultural Center in Westland, Michigan.
The Henryk Sienkiewicz Polish School (Ilona Sobiech, Principal; Renata Kaleciak, President; Asia Tarchala, 1st grade teacher) celebrated its 55th anniversary at the induction of its first graders on November 3 at Crystal Grand Banquets, in Lemont, Illinois. Richard and I had the pleasure of attending this event. I direct you to p. 24 of this issue for an article written (in Polish) by the principal, Ilona Sobiech, and photos. Wishing the Henryk Sienkiewicz Polish School continued success!
President Robaczewski and Secretary-Treasurer Bastrzyk attended the annual celebration of Polish National Independence Day at the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago. Consul General Bernadetta Pałka-Maciejewska welcomed the distinguished guests from the diplomatic corps, U.S. government, foreign dignitaries, the Illinois National Guard, and leaders of Polish diaspora organizations. The evening featured presentation of awards to Polish American activists and our very own PRCUA member, Alan Królikowski, sang the national anthems of both the Republic of Poland and the United States.
On Saturday, November 9, Richard and I together with District 8 Director, Elizabeth Dynowski, and D-8 Vice President, Joanna Niedzielski, celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the Jan Karski Polish School (Marek Adamczyk, Principal) at Alpine Banquets in Darien, Illinois. The stars of the program from the emcees, songsters and performers were the students of the school. Sto lat! Our PRCUA entourage then joined the festivities at the Holy Cross Polish School Autumn Dance (Barbara Szuba, Principal) at Crystal Grand Banquets, in Lemont, Illinois. Among other familiar faces at the Zabawa were: D-8 Social Media Manager, Desiree Sacinski and husband Andy; PSFCU Orland Park Branch Manager Grazyna Pikul and husband Mark; Teacher Maria Wnek with her husband Stanisław.
On the weekend of November 15-16, the PRCUA Opole Dancers (Elizabeth Thacker, School Director and Chair; Donna Skurski, Choreographer and Head Cheerleader) hosted the 7th PRCUA National Volleyball Tournament at Centerline High School Gymnasium in Center Line, Michigan with 7 coed, 6 women and 3 men teams participating. All details and team photos will be in the next issue of the Narod Polski. In the meantime, here are the winners: Co-Ed Division Champions: Block Party (Cora Kujawski, Jessica Plague Sanchez, Joey Robaczewski, Tommy Robaczewski, Andres Sanchez Garcia, Kasey Straub, Michael Straub); Most Valuable Player: Joey Robaczewski; All-Stars: Theresa Baker, Lindsey DuFresne, Maria Fischione, Patty Johansen, Michael Straub, Ania Toboy, Alexis Zosel. Women’s Division Champions: Ah Tam (Michelle Gerdan, Camillia Matuszewski, Basia Owczarek, Sabina Sawicki, Elizabeth Tokarski, Regina Urbina, Angela Yasso); Most Valuable Player: Basia Owczarek; All-Stars: Elena Delcotto, Tabetha Hubbard, Kristen Johns, Cora Kujawski, Karrine Snyder, Ela Tokarski, Maria Vultaggio. Men’s Division Champions: St. John Paul II (Drew Baker, Robert Baker, Trent Baker, Brian Brumm, Chris Ozog, Joey Robaczewski, Tommy Robaczewski); Most Valuable Player: Brian Brumm; All-Stars: Parker Baranski, Tommy Robaczewski, Andres Sanchez-Garcia, Paul Thacker. Congratulations to all the participants and thank you to the Opole Dancers for hosting!
On the way to the awards banquet from the volleyball tournament, President and Mrs. Robaczewski, together with Agnieszka and Daniel Bastrzyk, paid a visit to President Emeritus Wally and former First Lady Joann Ozog. Mr. Ozog donned his Southwest Center of Polish Dancing sweatshirt, which made me so happy! Mrs. Ozog was celebrating her birthday the next day, so she received a bouquet of flowers! All the best to the Ozogs!
On Sunday, November 17th, the National Directors from District 10, Colleen Bonkowski and Valerie Brumm, hosted a Dance Workshop with Choreographer Richard Jaminski for the Michigan dance groups AND a PRCUA Round Table for District 10 sales agents and members. PRCUA #162 Hall was the site of these two events beginning at 9:00 am (thank you Stan Pasko, President of PRCUA #162). Bravo to the dancers who completed the six-hour workshop! Best aerobic exercise is Polish folk dancing! Thank you to those in District 10 who attended. President Robaczewski, Sec-Treas. Bastrzyk, Sales Coordinator Marge Grzeszczuk, Fraternal Coordinator Conrad Wiecek, and yours truly were happy to be part of the presentation and answer questions.
Celebrating its 55th anniversary, the Adult Culture Group of PRCUA (Elizabeth Dynowski, President; Richard Jaminski, Artistic Director and Choreographer) hosted its 52nd Cinderella-Prince Charming Ball on November 23rd at Belvedere Chateau in Palos Hills, Illinois, where they presented 28 candidates: Wiktoria Julia Białas, Julia Bieszke Parzuch, Grace Ava Friery, Liliana Helene Gal, Paulina Karkoszka, Ruby Claire Konopacki, Aleksandra Julia Kroplewski, Emilia Marie Kroplewski, Karolina Danielle Kroplewski, Zofia Alexandra Kuzmiuk, Mia Isabella Little, Natalia Makuch, Nicole Mariscal, Allie Ann Panozzo, Lilliana Rosalia Skwirut, Isabelle Olivia Stanek, Amilia Grace Szwajnos, Monika Angela Toltzman, Veronica Emily Walkosz, Olimpia Stefanie Witek, Dominica Zyskowska, Joseph Bartoszek, Steven Jan Skowyra, Benjamin Szram, Krystian Szwajnos, Maciej Truty, Piotr Tumiel, and Kevin Mieczysław Wenc. Gracing the event with her presence was the Consul General Bernadetta Pałka-Maciejewska of the Polish Consulate in Chicago. As is customary, President Robaczewski selected the envelope with the name of the Cinderella; yours truly, the Prince Charming; and Sec-Treas. Bastrzyk, the runners-up. Congratulations to all candidates and members of the Adult Culture Group, especially the winners: 2025 Cinderella Emilia Kroplewski, Prince Charming Maciej Truty, Runners-up Liliana Gal and Kevin Wenc. Bravo to the outgoing Royal Couple Daniela Gal and Dylan Skowyra for representing the PRCUA and the Young Adults of the Polish American Community so beautifully during this past year. Look to a future issue of the Naród Polski for details and photos.
Richard and I will be in Florida celebrating the Christmas holidays with our immediate family, so we celebrated Thanksmas (Thanksgiving/Christmas) with my sister and her family. Hope your Thanksgiving was memorable!
Since this issue went to print before the close of the month, you will have to wait and see photos for the events that happened on November 30. Until next time… Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
