{"id":21552,"date":"2023-08-09T11:33:10","date_gmt":"2023-08-09T10:33:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings-new\/inclusion\/ethnic-minority-and-traveller-support\/english-as-an-additional-language-eal\/one-minute-guides-to-understanding-cultures\/understanding-bulgarian-culture-3\/"},"modified":"2023-11-14T17:05:44","modified_gmt":"2023-11-14T17:05:44","slug":"understanding-polish-culture","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/inclusion\/ethnically-diverse-education-achievement-service\/supporting-multilingual-children\/one-minute-guides-to-understanding-cultures\/understanding-polish-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Polish culture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:25%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><h2>Contents<\/h2><nav><ul><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#key-historical-events\">Key historical events<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#religious-outlook\">Religious outlook<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#socioeconomics\">Socioeconomics<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#food\">Food<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#society\">Society<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#culture-beliefs-and-traditions\">Culture, beliefs and traditions<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#communication\">Communication<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#education\">Education<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#uk-differences-to-note\">UK differences to note<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\t<div class=\"dcc-documents-cpt-fixed dccdocs-sticky dccdocs-hidden\">\r\n    <div class=\"grid-container\">\r\n        <div class=\"grid-x grid-margin-x\">\r\n            <div class=\"cell medium-12\">\r\n                <a class=\"back-to-top hide-for-print\" href=\"#content\"><svg class=\"app-c-back-to-top__icon\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"13\" height=\"17\" viewBox=\"0 0 13 17\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M6.5 0L0 6.5 1.4 8l4-4v12.7h2V4l4.3 4L13 6.4z\"><\/path><\/svg> Contents<\/a>\r\n            <\/div>\r\n        <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:75%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:41.333%\"><div class=\"document-meta-acf-block clearfix \" id=\"block_b683208ceffc42d0dd0d00ea895d4204\"><div class=\" dcc-documents-meta\"><div class=\"dcc-documents-widget dcc-documents-widget-block\"><div class=\"dcc-documents-widget-box2\"><p class=\"dcc-documents-published\"><span>Published<\/span> <time datetime=\"2023-08-09T11:33:10+00:00\">09\/08\/2023 11:33am<\/time><\/p><p class=\"dcc-documents-updated\"><span>Last Updated<\/span> <time datetime=\"2023-11-14T17:05:44+00:00\">14\/11\/2023 5:05pm<\/time><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:58.666%\"><div class=\"document-download-acf-block clearfix \" id=\"block_c9f25b38988b2cd9102e797665978c49\">\r\n\r\n\t\t<div class=\" dcc-documents-downloads hide-for-print\"><div class=\"dcc-documents-widget dcc-documents-widget-block\"><div class=\"dcc-documents-widget-box2\"><div class=\"content-container\"><div class=\"content-column download-copy\"><h2 class=\"dcc-documents-title\">Document resources<\/strong><\/h2><p class=\"dcc-documents-intro\">These files may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"content-column download-button\"><ul class=\"dcc-documents-widget-dropdown dcc-documents-widget-menu\"><li class=\"dcc-documents-widget-is-dropdown\"><button class=\"button secondary dcc-documents-widget-noarrow dcc-documents-widget-button dcc-documents-widget-download-button\" >Download<\/button><ul id=\"\" class=\"dcc-documents-widget-vertical dcc-documents-widget-menu dcc-documents-widget-is-submenu\" data-disable-hover=\"true\" data-click-open=\"true\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/devoncc.sharepoint.com\/:b:\/s\/PublicDocs\/Education\/EQs5s-K-PetJuyPiogslyhkBFOLtvoOdD40ExtSyJGkOiQ?e=TPgIyn\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"dcc-documents-widget-text\"><span>Understanding Polish ulture (Document)<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"key-historical-events\">Key historical events<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>966&nbsp;<\/strong>\u2013 Duke Mieszko I, the historically recognised founder of the Polish state, adopts Catholic Christianity<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>1025&nbsp;<\/strong>\u2013 Boleslaw I- proclaims the Kingdom of Poland<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>1569&nbsp;<\/strong>\u2013 Poland signs Union of Lublin with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to establish the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>1772&nbsp;<\/strong>\u2013 The Commonwealth is subjected to the first of three major partitions by its neighbours Prussia, Russia and Austria<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>1807&nbsp;<\/strong>\u2013 Napoleon creates the Duchy of Warsaw as a client state to rally Polish support for his cause<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>1918&nbsp;<\/strong>\u2013 After more than a century of foreign rule, an independent Polish state is restored after the end of World War One, with Marshal Jozef Pilsudski as head of state<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>1939&nbsp;<\/strong>\u2013 Nazi Germany invades Poland. Beginning of World War Two. Germany begins systematic persecution of the large Jewish population<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>1941&nbsp;<\/strong>\u2013 Germans start to build concentration camps in Poland. Their names \u2013 Auschwitz, Treblinka, Majdanek \u2013 become synonymous with the Holocaust<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>1945&nbsp;<\/strong>\u2013 Soviet forces capture Warsaw in January. All German forces are driven from Poland by March. Poland loses territory to the Soviet Union but gains some from Germany<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>1947&nbsp;<\/strong>\u2013 Poland becomes a Communist People\u2019s Republic after Soviet-run elections<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>1981&nbsp;<\/strong>\u2013 Martial law imposed. Many of Solidarity\u2019s leaders, including Walesa, are imprisoned<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>1989&nbsp;<\/strong>\u2013 Round-table talks between Solidarity, the Communists and the Catholic Church pave the way for fall of communism in Poland<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>1999&nbsp;<\/strong>\u2013 Poland joins NATO<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>2004&nbsp;<\/strong>May \u2013 Poland is one of 10 new states to join the EU<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"religious-outlook\">Religious outlook<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Roman Catholics make up 90% of Poland\u2019s population<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Roman Catholic Church is said to have played a pivotal role in the fall of communism in Poland<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The appointment of Cardinal Karol Wojtyla as Pope John Paul II in 1978 further strengthened the Roman Catholic Church in Poland<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The religion is studied as an optional subject in school<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"socioeconomics\">Socioeconomics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Poland remains one of the world\u2019s leading producers of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/plant\/rye\" rel=\"noopener\">rye<\/a>and Other principal crops include wheat and sugar beets<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The surface area of agricultural land in Poland constitutes nearly 50% of the total area of the country<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Unemployment rate is 3%<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"food\">Food<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Polish cuisine is rich in meat, especially pork, chicken and game, in addition to a wide range of vegetables, spices, mushrooms, and herbs<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Among the well-known Polish national dishes are&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bigos\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>bigos<\/em><\/a>(hunters stew), <em>pierogi<\/em> (dumplings with various fillings,)&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kotlet_schabowy\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>kotlet schabowy<\/em><\/a>&nbsp;(pork loin breaded cutlet),&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Go%C5%82%C4%85bki\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>go\u0142\u0105bki<\/em><\/a>&nbsp;&nbsp;(cabbage roll),&nbsp;<em>zupa og\u00f3rkowa<\/em>&nbsp; (sour&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cucumber_soup\" rel=\"noopener\">cucumber soup<\/a>),&nbsp;<em>zupa grzybowa<\/em>&nbsp;(mushroom soup), <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ros%C3%B3%C5%82\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>ros\u00f3\u0142<\/em><\/a> (meat broth),&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/%C5%BBurek\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>\u017curek<\/em><\/a> (sour rye soup)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A popular type of Polish street food is <em>zapiekanka, <\/em>a pizza-like baguette with cheese, mushrooms, onion,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ketchup\" rel=\"noopener\">ketchup<\/a>, and sometimes meat<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>T\u0142usty Czwartek<\/em>, or \u201cFat Thursday\u201d, is a Polish culinary custom on the last Thursday before&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lent\" rel=\"noopener\">Lent<\/a>, equivalent to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pancake_Day\" rel=\"noopener\">Pancake Day<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Traditional&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Christmas_Eve\" rel=\"noopener\">Christmas Eve<\/a>supper called&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wigilia\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Wigilia<\/em><\/a>&nbsp;is meatless (except for fish)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"society\">Society<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Poland is pretty much ethnically homogeneous<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The family is the centre of the social structure<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Religion is very important<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Polish culture values laboriousness, punctuality, and respect for deadlines<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"culture-beliefs-and-traditions\">Culture, beliefs and traditions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Poles celebrate birthdays and name days (birth date of the saint after whom they are named)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Poles prefer to remove shoes at home and to wear slippers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&nbsp;\u2018All Saints\u2019 Day takes place on November 1st. On this day Poles visit cemeteries to honour their loved ones who have passed away<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>On Christmas Eve, Poles practice breaking and sharing of a thin white wafer with all family members. While sharing the wafer, individuals express wishes of good health and prosperity for the coming year<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>On the first day of Spring is a way to say goodbye to winter and includes children making a Marzanna (a straw doll with beautiful colorful ribbons) and playing truancy. Once the Marzanna is made, adults will help set it on fire while the whole group casts it into the river<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>On Easter Monday boys and girls play water fight using a mixture of water guns, buckets, and pussy willow branches<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Picking wild mushrooms at the end of summer is a popular family activity for Poles<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"communication\">Communication<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Greetings are generally reserved yet courteous<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Poles address people by their honorific title, \u201cPan\u201d for a man and \u201cPani\u201d for a woman, and their surname<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do not use first names until invited to. Moving from the use of formal to the informal names is an important step<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Handshakes are quite firm and eye contact is valued<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Many men still kiss women\u2019s hands upon greeting them<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"education\">Education<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Education in Poland is compulsory. <strong>Every child<\/strong>&nbsp;must receive<strong>&nbsp;education from when they are 7 years old until they are 18 years old<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is also mandatory for 6-year-old children to receive one year of kindergarten (pre-school)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Primary school lasts eight years (grades 1\u20138)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Secondary_school\" rel=\"noopener\">Secondary school<\/a> lasts 4 or 5 years<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>After graduating from secondary school and passing the final exam, called the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Matura\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>matura<\/em><\/a>, one can pursue a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Higher_education\" rel=\"noopener\">higher education<\/a>at a university, college, etc<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For further information, please see our OMG on Polish Education<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"uk-differences-to-note\">UK differences to note<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The cost of living in the U.K is far higher than it is in Poland<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Children start education when they are 6 years old<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>School year starts on 1<sup>st<\/sup> September and ends on 25<sup>th<\/sup> June<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pupils don\u2019t wear uniforms at school<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Poles are known for being direct communicators, i.e. they say what they are thinking<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key historical events Religious outlook Socioeconomics Food Society Culture, beliefs and traditions Communication Education UK differences to note<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2416,"featured_media":0,"parent":21545,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"longdocument-template.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-21552","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"updated":"","dccdocs_documents":null,"section-guidance":"","sections":null},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-11 20:09:09","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2416"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21552"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21552\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23371,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21552\/revisions\/23371"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}