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Courier-Journal Thursday, December 24, 1967 >ew-^.-x Iipjigrajjts' e%ie traditions e^Ij %ir lives i? a pew la^d By Teresa A. Parsons t brElzbieta Karpinska, 36, a Polish Christ- mas is bne spent around.the kitchen tables of friends and relatives who fortify themselves for hours of talk with endless cups of tea and trays ofsWeets. : \ \Fhoma^ 30, remembers the 40-minute walk through his Polish hometown to midnight Mass,; surrounded by hundreds of fellow -churchgoers, 'enveloped in darkness and a reverent silence, broken only by the squeak of boots on the snow. \It was a special kind of atmosphere — so many people on the street going to the. church, yet so quiet, so dark,\ he said. \You go into the church, and there was only one light where Jesus was, and one star lit.above.\ ' This year, both Elzbieta and Thomas will celebrate Christmas far removed by. time and distance from their native land and their holi- days ofmemory. Yet their present-day celebra- tions, continue to reflect many of the same traditions that illuminate the past, Christmas will begin as it always has for Elz- bieta — when the first star appears in the De- cember 24th sky. 1 That!s when her family — husband, Piotr, 40; their children Michal, 13, Zuzanna, 12, and Natalia, 8; and Piotr's mother Paulina, 76 — will end a long day of fasting and preparation ' to gather at the dinner table. In Poland, Advent is regarded as a solemn period akin to Lent. Many Poles shun danc- ing, drinking alcoholic beverages, smoking and parties during the four-week period to concen- trate on a regimen of sacrifice and spiritual preparation. The Karpinskis, like many of their country- men, wait until Christmas Eve to decorate their Fairport home, trim their tree and prepare the feast with which they will begin the Yuletide celebration. 3MC 3QC 3HC 3MC \Ii| & olaijd, we ljad prob- lenfs tfyatwere unbear- able, ti^at we couldq't solve ourselves. Here we iye ®Q$ Ienj8 tljat everyone Ijafc -— noting too diffieuitr Elzbieta Karpinska 3MC SMC DOC ane 31 Their dining table is set with special dishes and linens used only on Christmas-Eve — in- cluding one extra place which is covered as a reminder of those who are homeless or hungry, and of those who have died. Afterpausing to pray, the;family will ex- change pieces of the traditional Polish wafer, oplatek, while^pf ferjng their* Christmas wish- es for one' another. . ; The sharing of oplatek will also be a time to remember friends and other family mem- bers whom the Karpinskis left behind in Po- land five years ago, and to give thanks for the good fortune that brought them to the United States together. - Thomas was not so lucky. This year, as he shares Christmas Eve dinner with relatives, bis foremost wish will be that his wife and daugh- , ter can join him before another year passes. He left them late one night in February, 1986, to cross the border into Germany. In or- der to avoid arousing the suspicions of Polish secret police, who he said had been harassing and threatening him because of his political activities, Thomas took nothing with him but a little money and the clothes on his back. For months, he was too frightened to speak openly on the telephone to his family because he suspected that the phones were tapped: He still fears for their safety, which is why he asked that his last name be withheld. Their holiday memories may be pleasant, but neither Thomas nor the Karpinskis brought with them many fond recollections of present-day Poland. They lived in daily fear of an invasion by what Thomas called \our big brother with the big hands next door\ — the Soviet Union. ^. They also left behind what they regarded as a life of chronic economic hardship. Both Piotr arid Elzbieta Karpinski held good jobs with universities in southwestern Poland, near Wroclaw. They employed, a private babysitter and owned their own apartment as ' well as a car — all signs of considerable af- fluence. Yet they were unable to pay their bills un- less they supplemented their income with ex- tra jobs and assignments abroad. \Very few Poles live on their regular income.alone,\ Elz- bieta explained. \One year <of working abroad in Japan) kept us going for five years (in Poland).\ When they did manage to save enough to make a purchase, the Karpinskis were frustrated by the scarcity and poor quality of the goods available. \I think you are born with a hate for the system\ Elzbieta said. \You grow very-tired of always standing in lines, using coupons for everything:' Thomas, an electronics technician, cited a .similar.lack of economic opportunity. \W^ien gasisSiper^gallohandyourwagesareSOcents per hour; when you must work three-quarters • of a year, saving everjqthing, for a color TV, there is not. much satisfaction from the jobj' he explained. \There's no prospect for change unless you join the (Communist) party; other- wise the ways to advance yourself are closed to you. But if you are a Catholic and a patri- ot, Coining the party requires that) you must first change your mind\ In spite of the hardships.they endured, nei- ther Thomas nor the Karpinskis left Poland easily. \It was a very tough decision to bring our children to another country]' Elzbieta said. \Even after we came, it was, 'Maybe yes (we'll stay), maybe not!\ The family's opportunity to leave Poland arose in 1982, when Piotr Karpinski was offered a year-long visiting professorship at Iowa State University. The Karpinskis warned Bonnie TraMBt/Couriar-Joumal For trie Karpinski family, who emigrated from Poland to the United States five years ago, Christmas is a time to celebrate traditions reminiscent of their homeland while at the same time giving thanks for leaving the hardships of Polish life behind. only their closest friends and relatives thatthey might-notiTetiijin. .a,; ;*»;-,-;...-•*.•*... ^ :; As they prepared to depart, Elzbieta, recalled, her husband was watched by members of Poland's secret police. They threatened to \get\ him at the airport if they had any indication that the family planned to stay in the United States. As the Karpinskis awaited their flight at the airport, they heard Piotr's name called over the airport intercom. Five pairs of eyes watched with, trepidation as he went off to answer the page* but he returned moments later to report a simple mix-up over his plane ticket. For Elzbieta, life in Iowa was \peace like in heaven!' Supermarkets and department stores displayed goods in a profusion she found al- most unbelievable. The people she met were friendly — even the-police. \For one year (af- ter arriving), when 1 saw a. policeman, I was shaking!' she said. \Then I realized that they can only give you a ticket, that they are very nice, -very gentle people!' After a year in Iowa, the family moved to Worcester, Mass;, where they spent two-and- a-half years. They arrived in Rochester in 1985, when Piotr accepted a job with Eastman Kodak.. - I: The-Karp'mskis' new life in trie-United States has not been without problems. Landlords took advantage of the family's obvious inex- perience with rental agreements to cheat them out of security deposits and charge them ex- tra-money at every turn. Banking was a chal- lenge since in Poland workers are paid in cash and commonly keep their money at home. In particular, the language barrier continues to frustrate Elzbieta and Piotr, although their children speak English without even a trace of accent. An American Christmas tradition which af- ter five years continues to amuse Elzbieta is the practice of buying gifts for a wide circle of acquaintances. \You spend hours and hours\ to buy everybody everything\ she observed. Continued on Page 16
