It's nearly over! The day that comes around every four years and which, according to British custom, allows women to propose to men. This tradition on 29th February, like many in Britain, does not exist in Poland... it's just another day. The British have a long history of tradition, a wealth of customs, superstitions & sayings which do not exist in Poland.
Just two weeks ago many couples (& hopefuls!) in the UK would have been enjoying Valentines Day, but this time-honoured and luurve-filled day was only adopted by Poland in the 1990's. In the last few years Poland has learnt and copied a lot from the West, from banal tv 'talent' and quiz shows to shopping centres, from lifestyle magazine and newspaper sections to espresso and cafe latte. Ten years ago none of this existed in Poland. You couldn't even buy beer in a can.
The most surprising is the English vocabulary which they use because there is just no Polish equivalent. eg. weekend. Can you believe that there is no Polish word for weekend? Here are some other examples of words which do not exist in Polish: pub, bar, drink, barman, businessman, joint, camping, casting, leasing, hobby, trendy, cool, glamorous, piercing, peeling, stretching, online, laptop, celebrity, VIP, t-shirt, honeymoon... and many more. Nappies are called pampers and trainers (all makes) are simply called adidas.
Due to Communism, Poland ceased to evolve through the 20th Century so hence this lack of many modern words and activities, they now use English to describe their new lifestyles. When you look at the their lack of modern vocabulary you realise that Poland really sat out most of the twentieth century.
