Today, a slight review will be put on the celebration of Easter in Poland. Not with a religious angle, but more specifically on the preparation and aspects typically Polish, that probably don't exist in France or elsewhere.

First, one week before Easter we celebrate Palm Sunday. In Krakow, the branches are made of colored dry grass. Well illustrated in the following picture:

The left one is made by myself, and that right was bought on the main Market Square where they are sold each year.

On Saturday, families go to church with baskets like these:

In these pictures, you can recognize different products, most of them have a real symbolic:

* The egg symbolizes new life, resurrection, the beginning, etc.

* The bread is the basic product on the table and the symbol of Christ's body

* Salt and pepper are the symbols of protection against rot. They are also synonymous with immortality.

* The sausage is a symbol of wealth

* The horseradish represents the victory against grief

* Lamb is synonymous of Christ

* The baba (a type of cake made with yeast) represents perfection and know-how.

And so, all these products are eaten for breakfast on Sunday.

Renata

Formerly, the king Krak reigned in Krakow. His castle stood near the Vistula, on the Wawel Hill and the king ruled with great wisdom. All went well until one day a drafon came and sat at the foot of the hill. It was terrifying. When he flew, his shadow covered the entire city and scared fell upon the inhabitants. When he roared, the echo sounded in the rocks of the hill and walls of the houses trembled. When he walked, you could feel it, even in the remotest villages.

The problem with the dragon was so concerned that the king should lose sleep. Every day, they had to bring a cow and let it in the front entrance of the cave where the sleeping dragon was. Otherwise, it seized and devoured the inhabitants of Krakow. The situation became increasingly severe. Residents should take a longer route to avoid the dragon, but there was no guarantee about their safety as the dragon attacked the village when he was hungry.

The king summoned the bravest knights of his kingdom and he announced that he would offer his daughter's hand to those who would have defeated the dragon. But none of them would have been able to defeat the beast. Many ended up with serious injuries and some perished, because the skin of the dragon was harder than an armor and its teeth were sharper than the swords of the knights.

One day, when the king had no hope left, a little and simple shoemaker came and said that he was able to defeat the dragon. The whole court fell at laugh, but the king was so desperate that he gave his agreement. The shoemaker was not stupid and he devised a good plan. He killed a fine sheep. He stuffed it with sulfur and sewed it with great care to make it invisible. At the dawn of day, the shoemaker came with the stuffed sheep at the dragon and he left it at the front door. When the dragon awoke, he had a great hunger, as always. He went out for its cow. When he found the sheep, without thinking a very long time, he devoured it. At that time, he felt an incredible thirst. He ran to the Vistula and started drinking. He drank and drank and drank... Suddenly, in the town they heard a loud explosion. it was the dragon which exploded!

***

Joy reigned in Krakow. The king held a large wedding party for his daughter and the shoemaker who became a knight. The princess and the knight-shoemaker lived happily a very long time.

THE END

 Renata

It seems like ages I've written something here so I decided to write a series of posts telling and describing how to become a real Parisian. Here is the Act I.

Usually, you begin to write a text from least to greatest. But once will not hurt, I will waive this rule and tell you one or the most essential thing to master and know here. In Paris, putain (fuck) is more than a word. It's a crutch for parisian's mental and social impediments. It is more than difficult to have a long conversation with a Parisian without hearing the crutch resonate. Except if you are a Parisian yourself. Indeed, Parisians have developed an usual ability of not hearing, noticing the sound of this word anymore. The word putain is completely inaudible to the Parisian.

The noun putain refers to a prostitute. The interjection putain refers to no one. In its common usage, it vividly expresses Parisians feelings like discontentment, anger and frustration: "Putain, mais c'est pas possible" (F... , that's not possible); about someone: "he's so stupid, putain.." The word works like a full stop.

But, putain also defines surprise: "Oh! putain, it works"; "Putain, it's already that time" Or, it becomes a firm injonction to stop joking around: "Putain, are you serious". At the same time, used on its own, it could express sympathy and interest when a sad subject is being talked about:

A: and it's when her husband passed away...

B: Putain!

A: Yeah, she now has to take care of her children alone.

The last known meaning of the word, the surprise, the joy or satisfaction: "Putain, it was fantastic"; "he has a putain of great car"

In conclusion, the word putain can express surprise, anger, encouragement, frustration, emphasis or admiration. For sure, it can really be helpful. But, its most frequent use results in events leading to negative feelings like anger or frustration.

A useful tip: if you don't know what to say, just say "Putain..."

Sounds like a Parisian: "Non mais putain... c'est quoi ce bordel!" (F... , what is this mess!)

And, as the images are better than words, here is a video that sums up, with great humor and talent, the use of this magic word. Who said that French was a difficult language to learn? 

Michelle is an American who lives in Paris and she puts online the little things she notices with great skills and spirit. So, just have a look to this address:  http://www.theobservingparticipant.com