Living outside the country, we try to maintain strong ties with the Homeland and cultivate Polish traditions. One tradition that is especially important for us is joint singing of Polish Christmas Carols.
Every year, on the first Saturday of January, our JPII Foundation Chapter in Southern California organizes “Christmas Caroling”, during which in the warm atmosphere of the family house, with a flickering Christmas tree with Polish ornaments we are singing Polish Christmas Carols. Mr. Edward Hoffman always selects Christmas Carols for us.
This year, the Christmas caroling meeting was held on January 4, 2020 in Moorpark, Ventura County. Mr. Andrzej Kozłowski (a longstanding member of our Chapter) was playing accordion and accompanied us during our singing. Year after year we have more and more guests, which mean that these meetings are needed and liked. In addition to the joy of joint Christmas caroling, there is also a huge joy of meeting our friends and acquaintances and possibility to share our memories. The meeting cannot go without a joint prayer. We recalled members of our Chapter who went to the House of the Lord in the last year and we also prayed in their intention. This year, we devoted some time to recall memories of late Mr. Stanisław Kazimierz Cybulski, who was the President of our Chapter for 23 years. Mr. Kazimierz was also a poet. We listened to his poem “Christmas”, which he wrote on December 25, 2002.
After our joint Christmas caroling, we enjoyed traditional Polish dinner and desserts and had time for the New Year’s toast and wishes. We started the New Year 2020, with Christmas caroling and that year is very special for us as we will be celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the birth of St. John Paul II.
May this year be for all of us full of God’s Blessings for which we are asking our Holy Patron to intercede for us.
Bogusława Doerr
