MARCIN ZOLTOWSKI
The Associated Press
October 10, 2007 at 12:59 PM EDT

KAZIMIERZ DOLNY, Poland — Police pushed their way into a Polish convent Wednesday and evicted about 65 rebellious nuns – arresting the mother superior and a monk who had occupied the complex with them illegally for two years.
Read the rest of this entry »

Buffalo’s odd rite of spring

Once a year, pussy willows and water get their very own festival, writes Francine Kopun
April 08, 2007

In Buffalo, N.Y., the mad, last-minute rush to prepare for Easter includes two items that don’t make many shopping lists: pussy willows and squirt guns.

That’s because the city is home to the largest celebration of an ancient Polish rite of spring – Dyngus Day, traditionally held on Easter Monday. That’s when thousands of residents and visitors will gather in community halls and neighbourhood pubs around Buffalo and its suburbs to eat and drink and polka, and – oh yes – sprinkle each other with water and tap each other with pussy willows.
Read the rest of this entry »