Dear Friends,
Let me start my holiday wishes for the members and friends of Helena Modjeska Art and Culture Club with a quote from the great 13th century Persian poet, Rumi: “Wear gratitude like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life.” Gratitude is the most uplifting of emotions; counting the blessings is the key to happiness.
Christmas Carols: https://youtu.be/otMQr9_ZACc
For those who could not get there, on Saturday, December 18, 2021 we organized an international meeting by Zoom: Joanna Sokolowska-Gwizdka from Austin, Texas, gave a richly illustrated lecture about the holidays with Helena Modrzejewska, our club’s patron. There were guests from Texas, Florida and Canada (Agata Pilitowska, winner of our Helena Modjeska Prize 2019) and from Poland (Janusz Bieszk, whose lecture on Lechistan and Lechitach will be held by Zoom on January 15, 2022 at 12 noon).
For those who missed the lecture, here’s the link:
https://youtu.be/oN_McHjU77k
Holidays are a great time to “feed on gratitude”— that is to cook and share “once-a-year” dishes, based on Grandma’s recipes, passed on through generations. Some of this traditional food is pretty weird to outsiders from other cultural traditions. I find that even my Polish American friends in California do not have the same menu of Christmas dishes that I carried with me here, as sacrosanct rules for life, recipes for dishes I must cook once per year, or else there is no Christmas… “Kompot” anyone? “Kutia”? “Kapusta z grzybami”? “Karp w galarecie”? Everyone has their least favorite Polish traditional dish…
Barszcz z uszkami
Gingerbread by Marysia Kubal
My friends came from different parts of Poland and do not share those traditions that I am so attached to, though we share our history, language, culture… Yet, we all cherish what's most important about celebrating holidays together: family love expressed without words, by cooking together, laughing together around the kitchen table. These gifts of companionship and contentment are priceless; they are far more important than anything that money can buy. I tried to capture those feelings in many poems over the years. Today, I’d like to share a holiday poem with all Phoenix House staff and friends as my wishes for Happy Holy Days of many shared delights and blessings!
>Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Best Wishes for the New Year 2022!
~ Maja Trochimczyk, President
Rules for Happy Holy Days
Don’t play Christmas carols
at the airport. Amidst the roar
of jet engines, they will spread
a blanket of loneliness
over the weary, huddled masses,
trying not to cry out for home.
Don’t put Christmas light on a poplar.
With branches swathed in white
galaxies, under yellow leaves, the tree
will become foreign, like the skeleton
of an electric fish, deep in the ocean.
Clean the windows from the ashes
of last year’s fires. Glue the wings
of a torn paper angel. Brighten
your home with the fresh scent
of pine needles and rosemary.
Take a break from chopping almonds
to brush the cheek of your beloved
with the back of your hand,
just once, gently. Smile and say:
“You look so nice, dear,
you look so nice.”
(c) 2009 by Maja Trochimczyk
Good News
Did you know that Christmas
is Love, Love, Love, only Love
to be given, shared, cherished?
When baking together, hands
covered in flour, your fingertips
sweetened with chopped figs,
or roughened from wrapping
so many tamales for the family
dinner, while the honeyed voice
of Nat King Cole asks you to have
yourself a merry, little Christmas—
Love means sharing a laugh
at the antics of the dog that runs
in circles on the lawn, so happy
to be free—without leash, without
orders to sit, roll, obey the master.
Love is a quiet moment of writing
the sweetest of wishes to be mailed
far, far away—this year even further.
Love is this letter, filled with affection,
your kind, gentle words that glisten
with happiness & warmth.
(C) 2018 by Maja Trochimczyk
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