haberkula

When I consider my work and academic duties, there’s hardly anything special about it: the work requires some intellectual effort to collect information, then to put it all together and finally write it down or teach about it. Many other scientists in various institutes, archives and museums work in much the same way. One important part of this job is to promote or present your knowledge in front of a group of people. The students forge their opinions about their teachers basing on various circumstances, scientific and non-scientific. One of the factors, as I can remember from my own student days, is the professor’s outfit. I suppose it dates back to the early childhood, when in the kindergarten the lady wearing a glittering pink sweater is much better recognised than someone wearing bland, boring clothes. Keeping in mind my own opinions based on how the professors appeared, I try to prepare myself not only in the intellectual way, but also in terms of looks. So here comes my newes

Many Christmas traditions are for some reasons often linked with the Advent. One can thus commence the festive time still in November. However, the common tendency for those who start in late autumn is to finish before the New Year. Personally, I do not celebrate until the Christmas Eve, but – as in most Catholic countries from Central and Eastern part of Europe – the festive season lasts till 2nd February. Among other traditions, there is one that I’m especially proud of and I continue from the time I was a child. It is a Cracovian custom of building nativity scenes. This particular type is restricted to Krakow and they are constructed only here. As one can read in a booklet “The nativity scenes are Kraków and Poland in a miniature, as revealed by the national symbols and historical figures that populate them.” The tradition of building nativity scenes dates back to the 19th century, when they were made by craftsmen from the suburbs and villages nearby Krakow. The wooden construc