POLISH AUTUMN IS THE FAVORITE TIME
Sunday, September 26, 2010
By Raymond J. Rolak
Autumn in Poland is a great time for tourism. The weather is pleasant and there are many harvest festivals. In the cities, summer hotel pressure is finished and the crowds have diminished. In the resort areas from Sopot to Gdansk (Baltic sea-shore) traffic has diminished. In the interior and folk country (rural) there is a saying. It is now the “Golden Time”.
There is a short period of time every autumn in Poland called ‘Golden Polish Autumn’. According to custom the phrase comes from Wincenty Pol’s poem, “In the Autumn”.
Golden Polish Autumn, (Złota Polska Jesień) – that’s the phrase commonly used to describe this season. Summer is gone, the winter is approaching but the weather is great now and it is time to celebrate and ejoy the colors. The trees are golden and rusty
In Krakow, the giant park Park Jordana, is a do not miss as the trees are changing at their peek. It should be on a ‘bucket list’.
The giant star Arius is bright and directly overhead and in Poland, astronomical autumn is beginning. The ‘Autumnal Equinox’ has commenced and the passage from Summer to Fall is beginning.
The farmers are starting the Dozynki. Harvest festivals that celebrate gratitude for nature’s bounty and winter preparations are all in full swing. The Polish harvest festivals are a custom of many centuries and little has changed. The traditions continue. The festivals celebrate the work of the farmer. Music, dancing, great food and colorful apparel, any Dozynki is worth attending. In America many social organizations and Polish churches have Dozynki Festivals.
This all means it is the first days of Autumn in the northern hemisphere. The sunlight and days are starting to get shorter.
So, the Golden Polish Autumn is a period of few days sometime between the end of September and the beginning of October, when fewer sunny days come after the initial drop of temperature. The Golden Autumn lasts in Poland usually less than two weeks. One of the best regions to see is Zakopane in southeast Poland. The Doznki Festivals in that area are truly Bardzo Dobrze (Very Good). From Krakow to Rzeszow the drive is full of color.