Poles are seen as a nation of fun lovers who enjoy festivities, traditions and centuries-old customs. The most ancient rituals, especially those dating back to pagan times, have long lost their magical character, becoming a colourful vestige of the past and a form of amusement. Links with tradition are felt the strongest during the greatest religious feasts, such as Christmas, Easter, Corpus Christi processions and All Saints' Day.

The New Year's Day and its eve, known in Poland as Sylwester (St. Silvester's Day), begins the carnival - a period of balls and parties. One of the traditional forms of having fun is kulig (sleigh rides), for centuries favoured by the Polish gentry and still popular. A cavalcade of horse- pulled sleighs and sledges went from one manor house to another, entertained everywhere with hearty meals followed by dances. Today the rides are less spectacular, usually ending with a bonfire and sausages or the traditional bigos. The last Thursday of the carnival we eat pączki (doughnuts) and deep-fried narrow strips of pastry known as faworki. The carnival ends with revelry on Shrove Tuesday known as śledzik or śledziówka - the "herring feast", after the herrings eaten on that day as a herald of the coming Lent.

Marzanna ("frost maiden") is the pogan tradition which is still popular in Poland and is held on the fourth Sunday of Lent. For ancestors, the custom was associated with the everlasting rhythm of life. It expressed their joy at the coming of spring, which meant a rebirth of nature, promising crops and abundance. Marzanna was a representation of winter, a straw female effigy, dressed in white and adorned with coral beads and ribbons. It’s drowned on 21 March, which is the first day of spring and an unofficial truants' day.

Palm Sunday is the most colourful religious feast before Easter, celebrated in churches across the country to commemorate Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The main attribute associated with that day are the palms. Despite the name, they hardly resemble the real palm branches with which Jesus was greeted in the Holy City. Typically, they are bouquets of common box, dried flowers and willow twigs. Some regions are noted for particularly impressive palms, several metres high and decorated with coloured ribbons, dyed grass, dried or artificial flowers. In the past it was believed that a palm blessed at a mass has special properties; for example, it can prevent disease. After the mass, people hit each other with their palms, exchanging wishes of health, wealth and bumper crops.

Granny's Day (21 January) Women's Day (8 March), Mother's Day (26 May), Children's Day (1 June),

The two main national holidays are the anniversary of the Restoration of Independence in 1918, celebrated on 11 November. The anniversary of the Passing of Poland's first Constitution on 3 May These are official holidays with ceremonies, marches, concerts and other festivities.

Polish tradition of lighting candles and visiting the graves of the relatives on All Souls Day. Its origins can be traced to the times of Slavic mythology. The tradition of lighting candles comes from ancient slavic Dziady feast and originally would take place on All Souls' Day. The first day of November is a holiday in Poland. As many people make journeys to visit the places of burial of their relatives, heavy traffic develops as well as accident statistics peak. Most commercial activity also ceases. Streets are filled with silent and solemn crowds, and cemeteries glow with thousands of candles, presenting a unique and picturesque scene.

A well-established Polish tradition on the 29th of November. the last festive day before Advent, with fortune-telling to check what the new year will bring. The best-known method is by pouring hot wax into cold water and "reading" its shapes.

It is a very festive holiday in Poland. Many customs, ceremonies and beliefs centre around CHRISTMAS EVE such as: X-mass tree decorations, 12 dishes symbolizing 12 apostoles: borscht with dumplings, cabbage with peas and mushrooms., carp, noodles with poppy seeds, dried fruit compote and kutia, pies with mushrooms, dumplings with cabbage, herrings, mushroom soup and poppy-seed cake, as well as the custom of keeping a plate for an unexpected guest. Traditionally, it begins when the first star appears in the sky. First, there is a prayer and then the family wish each other all the best for the new year and, as a sign of reconciliation, love, friendship and peace sharing opłatek- Christmas wafers that symbolise holy bread. After that we have dinner and then open presents.

A popular event during the period after Christmas is jasełka, a Nativity play staged by amateurs. At the countryside, you can still see carol singers who go from house to house with a star or Nativity crib. They are often dressed up and improvise scenes that loosely draw upon biblical motives. Typically, the characters are: King Herod, Angel, Devil, Death, sometimes Gypsy and a bear or goat.