Daniel Kij iv wrote: > > Do you remember childhood days when the family kitchen was glorified > with the heavenly aroma of pa~czki ["PAWNCH-kee"], those delicious, > spherical Polish doughnuts bobbing about that cauldron of bubbling > cooking oil? Or chrus~ciki ("Khroosh-CHEE-kee"), those fragile "bow- > ties" dusted with powdered sugar that made them look like miniature angel > wings? And czernina or czarnina ["Char-NEE-ah"], "that" soup made with > duck's blood? > And when Sophie-from-across-the-street got married, what was all that > stuff about her hair and a garland, and the women singing oczepiny ["Aw- > cheh-PEE-nih] songs as they placed a matron's cap on her head? > When was the last time you were at a funeral and heard them sing the > plaintive Witaj, Kro~lowo Nieba i Matko Litos~ci [Hail, Queen of Heaven > Above and Mother of Mercy]? Or sang of Christ's lamentations during the > Lenten Gorzkie Z*ale [GAWZH-keh ZHAH-leh"], or the joyous Christmas > Kolenda Dzisiaj w Betlejem [JEE-"shy" v'Bet-LEH-yem - Today in Bethlehem.. > ]? > Did you come across an old letter in Polish, Russian, German, Slovak, > Yiddish. Lithuanian or some other language that might hold a clue to your > family research, and you could use some help? > If you're interested in sharing similar memories and questions about > Polish and Polish-American customs, traditions and family practices, we > invite you to join the newly-organized "POLfrina", the Polish Family > Research Institute of North America. It's an enlargement of the very > successful POLISH CLUB that has encompassed more than 650 members on the > PRODIGY computer network over the last six years. > We've assembled a talented array of educators, folklorists, > genealogists, translators, sociologists and historians throughout the USA, > Canada and Europe that want to learn from your recollections, and want > to help answer questions you might have about ancestral villages, > superstitions, surname research, proverbs, recipes, travel, songs, etc. > It's a study of the past as a guideline to your children's and > grandchildren's heritage! > As a start, send us a question or observation. Then, give us two > Polish surnames in your family, and we'll E-mail you some informtion that > might be interesting! > > DAN KIJ (pron. "Key"), Buffalo-Lackawanna NY USA > President, PRODIGY POLISH CLUB > POLfrina - Polish Family Research Institute of North America > > POLfrina > 1200 Electric Avenue > Lackawanna NY 14218-1417 > Phone: (716) 822-5258 > > Internet: TGHD67A@prodigy.com Yes, I remember all of the above, and also remember as a young boy serving as an altar boy at funerals, the very very moving Witaj, Kro~lowo Nieba. It still brings a tear to my eyes.