Jakiej tradycji Polacy potrzebują? Rekonstrukcje, celebracje, protestacje, zadymy

Abstract

The article takes the issues of contemporary understanding of cultural tradition and ways of cultivating culture after the 1989 breakthrough. Two basic thesis were accepted, with reference to Jerzy Jedlicki’s book entitled Jakiej cywilizacji Polacy potrzebują. Firstly, two tendencies clash in Polish culture – the conservative and the modernizing one, both present for a long time, but crystallized mainly in the nineteenth century. Secondly, the basic circle of tradition referred to in modern Poland remains the Romantic tradition, properly converted and adapted to the reality of modern Poland. It manifests itself both in the official celebrations of national anniversaries, as well as social protests scenarios and all kinds of historical reconstructions. Romantic cultural codes, symbols, gestures and rituals are used on these occasions. The modernization trends in Polish culture come to the fore especially after the Polish accession to the European Union, but their promotion often encounters various forms of resistance, since they are seen as a threat to Polish identity, understood as founded on patriotic and religious values.