Just recently I, Alexis, was driving down a street and suddenly became overwhelmed with how much I love seeing Autumn arrive. Everything about it beats every season out of the water. But, the best part of autumn is that it ushers in the holiday season. Costume parties, large family meals, pumpkin spiced everything, eggnog, caramel covered apples, hay rides, pumpkin picking, Christmas everything, New Years and eventually “Expectation Day” also known as Valentines day.(I won’t even get on THAT soap box) So, as the holidays approach, I was emailing with a missionary friend in Turkey how I was morning the loss of some of the traditions here that I love so much.

As I was writing I was challenged to look up and research all the different holidays and traditions the Poles have this time of year. Sure they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, but they do celebrate the Restoration of their Independence in November. It’s a HUGE holiday, as it should be, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what it looks like to celebrate this. And, on a silly side note, they have a holiday named: Woman’s Day! Hello! Where have you been America? We could have been celebrating Women once a year?! That’s my kind of family holiday. They also have Children’s day- which I think is cool.

Christmas is a big deal there just like it is here…but their St Sylvester’s Eve or New Years Eve parties are WAY, WAY COOLER. They have like a week long celebration and parties all the time and carnivals and of course fireworks and yeah- everything. I’m really looking forward to being apart of that.

All in all, the Poles have tons more holidays than we do. Even though they are obviously different, I really want to taste and experience what it is like to be there and see memories happen.

*I only hope I have my camera ready.