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Post by Bonobo on Dec 24, 2019 8:17:40 GMT 1
There is another place where you can see Christmas from communist times. polandsite.proboards.com/post/40001Now Wrocław of 1970s. Is nearly 50 years enough to be called far past? Check their interesting site for more photos and comments: www.wroclaw.pl/en/christmas-in-wroclaw-in-archive-photographs-photos
We are taking you on a journey back in time to see Christmas window displays and street decorations, children in skating rinks and skaters in the moat. These archive pics illustrating the city in the 1970s and taken by Wroclaw photographers Stanisław Kokurewicz and Zbigniew Nowak are available at the courtesy of the Remembrance and Future Centre in Wroclaw.
Jarosław Maliniak, PhD, Head of the Archive Section at the Remembrance and Future Centre in Wroclaw, elaborates on what Christmas was like in Wroclaw in the 1970s and what was considered a luxury at the time. One of the most popular slogans of the 1970s was this: 'For Poland to grow in power and for people to be wealthier'. The nation was decreed to enjoy prosperity and luxury at Christmas, despite the name being banned from official usage. Apart from traditional Christmas trees and carp, Christmas in the 1970s still brings back the memory of fragrant oranges. Right from the very beginning of December, television and radio would keep their audiences posted on the shipments of bananas and oranges slowly arriving in Poland. Polish people, who considered the fruit exotic, had their first opportunity to taste them. There were also emergencies, e.g. in 1973, the "Wieczór Wrocławia" daily wrote about unreliable chickens that forced the authorities to import eggs from Czechoslovakia. First Christmas Eves for lonely people were organised. One such Eve was held at the Bachus WInery in 1971. Guests were offered three dinner sets. The first set included herring in oil, carp in aspic, borscht, pierogi and kutia. The second set consisted of stuffed carp a la Juive, eel, mushroom soup and noodles with poppy seeds. The third combined stuffed pike, turkey in Malaga, borscht and boeuf strogonow. Each set on the menu cost ca. 100 PLN.
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Post by Bonobo on Jan 4, 2020 13:42:51 GMT 1
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Post by Bonobo on Dec 23, 2021 12:17:52 GMT 1
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Post by Bonobo on Dec 23, 2021 14:43:07 GMT 1
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Post by Bonobo on Dec 31, 2021 13:43:17 GMT 1
Christmas preparation stories from communist times styl.interia.pl/magazyn/news-swieta-w-prl,nId,5723642 Holidays in the People's Republic of Poland
Carp floating in a bathtub - once a permanent element of Christmas preparations in Polish homes / Agencja FORUM
Łukasz Piątek
Warehouse
Friday, December 24 (05:00)
Christmas in the times of the Polish People's Republic, or rather their planning and preparation, was a real challenge. Hours spent in lines to the store, carp swimming in the tub, a tree that smells like forest and oranges that have never tasted so good again. Our interlocutors talk about the holidays in the People's Republic of Poland from their perspective.
The Christmas tree has always been alive. When it was getting dark, you would go to the forest with an ax and cut a nice tree. It was not allowed, but at that time, in such a small village, no one guarded it. A few candies were hung on the Christmas tree, or basically just papers, because we ate the candies earlier. In addition, a few small apples, chains cut from newspapers and grazing - in the sense of "angel's hair"
Under the tablecloth, hay from the barn was obligatory. The floor was scrubbed so well you could look at it. Cleaning up for the holidays was a whole project - everyone had their own plot for which they were responsible.
Plum soup with homemade noodles on the table. In addition, a herring soup made with herring milk, onion, cream and a little vinegar. But there were also holidays from the so-called "blind herring" - that is, only water, vinegar, onion and cream, because GS did not have any herring. Of course, the cakes are cheesecake and poppy seed cake.
After the Christmas Eve supper, the arrival of "wolves" with pitchforks was expected. This is what we used to say about carollers. There always had to be a penny for them. Otherwise, they would tear off the gate and change it with that of the neighbor ...
Bożena, Warsaw, Mokotów
There was almost nothing on the shop shelves. But under the counter, yes. I was working at a tram depot, so my fellow drivers gave me first-hand information about which part of the city the goods were in. We quickly rushed to the other end of Warsaw to buy something.
I remember that there were holidays without carp, because it was often a scarce commodity. Sometimes large workplaces ordered several hundred pieces before Christmas and organized a carp lottery. This may seem ridiculous and absurd today, but this was what the People's Republic of Poland was like - funny and absurd. Just terrible to me.
The tree was most often alive, but later artificial Christmas trees became fashionable. Though maybe they were just more pragmatic. There may be no carp, herring or poppy seeds in the house, but there was always a Christmas tree. Only those shops with a line of people in front of them were selected. It was a sign that they were about to "drop" something. When a man was agile, Christmas looked so good. And when you had contacts, it was much easier.
Andrzej, Gdańsk
Eternal weaseling. If you ask me what comes to my mind in the context of Christmas in the People's Republic of Poland, this is it. Before these holidays began, the person was completely exhausted mentally and physically. The Television Gazette showed store shelves sagging with goods, but in reality there was only vinegar. And no one has managed to make twelve dishes out of vinegar alone. At least we had no problem with the fish. Nobody even thought about carp anymore. You ate what fell into the net.
And I have the impression that those dishes tasted different, better than those that are on the table on Christmas Eve today. Perhaps because the man appreciated the enormous effort put into the preparation of the holiday, so he remembered every bite.
Piotr, Lodz
As a ten-year-old I "licked" Christmas in the People's Republic of Poland, but it was the end of this period. From my perspective, the most important thing was, of course, the gifts. However, it should be remembered that despite the fact that Poland was approaching transformation, few Polish families could afford to buy foreign gifts from Pewex. But on the other hand, under the Christmas tree, instead of a wooden horse on a stick, you could find colorful springs.
The carp had been swimming in the tub for several days, and when it was time to end its life, the entire kitchen was covered with scales. Our father always took up this ungrateful topic of killing and gutting a carp. For me, the sight was often terrifying, because on that one day of the year, on Christmas Eve, I saw so much blood in the sink.
After the supper we were gathering with our friends from the block of flats and going to the estate to sing Christmas carols. We weren't interested in any candies or oranges. The goal was clearly defined - to get a few pennies from the neighbors.
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Post by naukowiec on Jan 2, 2022 17:33:48 GMT 1
It sounds and looks very bleak.....
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Post by Bonobo on Jan 3, 2022 13:12:03 GMT 1
It sounds and looks very bleak..... Let`s remember some people judge the past using the present perspective, forgetting how wonderful they felt after they had finished all the wearisome preparations and were ready to celebrate Christmas at last.  |
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Post by naukowiec on Jan 4, 2022 15:32:01 GMT 1
some people judge the past using the present perspective, I guess I'm guilty of that in this case. My friend was sharing her memories of Xmas with me yesterday. Her daughter had been given a musical keyboard for Xmas, and already she has taught herself to play Polish carols and Sto Lat on it. This made my friend remember past Christmases and her father always playing the accordion. She remembers Xmas as being a really happy occasion despite the fact that they had very little money and few gifts. What she really misses now is lack of family around at this time. Her mother passed away last January and her father and sister are both in Poland. Only her brother and daughters were there for Wigilia this year. It's definitely having family around you that is the most important at this time of year. |
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Post by Bonobo on Jan 4, 2022 18:38:32 GMT 1
It's definitely having family around you that is the most important at this time of year. Definitely, even if half of the family supports rightists while the other half liberals and they can`t stop discussing the differences. Better spend Christmas with a conflicted family than on your own .... It sounds and looks very bleak..... Definitely, from the perspective of the fish bathing in the tub. But the little girl is thrilled and is going to tell her dad: tonight we will eat this one. |
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Post by naukowiec on Jan 9, 2022 9:42:58 GMT 1
even if half of the family supports rightists while the other half liberals and they can`t stop discussing the differences. Is this the case in your own family Bonobo? the little girl is thrilled and is going to tell her dad: tonight we will eat this one. You cannot possibly know this! It's far more likely the little girl won't want the fish killed at all........ |
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Post by Bonobo on Jan 9, 2022 18:24:14 GMT 1
Is this the case in your own family Bonobo? Nope. Very simply coz I don`t contact any family members close or distant who support rightists. The same refers to friends and acquiantances. The circles of my choice for social contacts are intelligent and decent people. hahahaha |
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Post by naukowiec on Jan 16, 2022 21:36:07 GMT 1
Very simply coz I don`t contact any family members close or distant who support rightists. I don't really have that problem as I have very few living relatives left, but I have to admit that most people I have a lot of contact with are centrist or left leaning. |
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Post by Bonobo on Jan 18, 2022 19:00:13 GMT 1
but I have to admit that most people I have a lot of contact with are centrist or left leaning. Just like me. I tend to avoid rightists in real life coz most of them are extremely narrow-minded or simply stupid and I don`t want to waste my precious time on them. hahaha Life is too short. I only contact them in fora on the net. |
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Post by naukowiec on Jan 29, 2022 20:01:11 GMT 1
I tend to avoid rightists in real life coz most of them are extremely narrow-minded or simply stupid This is true. I only contact them in fora on the net. Why waste your time? You would be better off talking to the wall. My experience of them is that when they are clearly losing the argument, they shift the goalposts, so it's a total waste of time trying for any semblance of a debate. |
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Post by Bonobo on Jan 30, 2022 15:21:27 GMT 1
Because I am a teacher by vocation. Semper Fidelis. Once a teacher, always a teacher. hahahaha |
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