Polish Customs, Traditions and Folklore [Hardcover]

Sophie Hodorowicz Knab (Author), Mary Anne Knab (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1996

New appendix: Traditional Polish Games and Pastimes for Children.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A richly detailed and well-informed month-by-month accounting of all the major Polish customs and traditions practiced over the centuries. Knab stirs and reawakens our ancestral memory." -- The Kosciuszko Foundation Newsletter.

About the Author

Sophie Hodorowicz Knab

Product Details

• Hardcover: 335 pages
• Publisher: Hippocrene Books; Revised edition (October 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0781805155
• ISBN-13: 978-0781805155
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #361,583 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource, Interesting Reading, February 1, 2001

By 

Jennifer G. Miller "jennifergmiller" (Manassas, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Polish Customs, Traditions and Folklore (Hardcover)

I chose this book to try and get a flavor of Polish customs for some projects I was writing on, and I was so pleased to find a treasure trove of the Polish heritage. This book is a goldmine. It's easy to read, and not necessary to read straight through. It covers all the feasts during the year, broken down by months, then it includes birth and death customs and Polish games and Pastimes for Children. My only "regret" is that when different Polish dishes or menus were mentioned that no recipes were given, but I guess that would have to be another volume. I highly recommend this book!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Encyclopedia of Polish Tradition and Customs, August 14, 2004

By 

Jagoda Urban-Klaehn "PolishSite Host at: http... (Idaho Falls, ID USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Polish Customs, Traditions and Folklore (Hardcover)

According to my knowledge this is the most comprehensive book devoted to Polish customs available for English speaking readers. I recommend it especially for people with Polish ancestors or these who are interested in Polish traditions or anthropology. It may be also used as a reference book or the encyclopedia. But, the book is very interesting to read from cover to cover also. It contains an index and some pictures - I wish it had more!
Overall, Sophie Hodorowicz did a wonderful job - she arranged the majority of customs according to calendar - entangling the customs with the seasons of the year and the Christian feasts traditions.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great source of information, August 9, 2004

By 

Sylwia (MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Polish Customs, Traditions and Folklore (Hardcover)

This is a book full of interesting things, neatly organized by month. It talks about many, many customs, traditions, and proverbs, but doesn't mention much folklore, and leaves the reader wondering just *why* most of the customs she's talking about came to be. Still, it's highly readable, covers a lot, and there aren't many books on the subject, especially not in English, so this is something I'd highly reccomend to any Polish-American, and to other curious people.