BARBÓRKA DERBY BALL 2022| 12.11.2022 SAN RAMON, CA

St. Barbara’s Day, also known as Barbórka, is traditionally celebrated by miners, as its namesake is a patron of coal miners. Barbórka originated in Poland and is also recognized in other nearby countries with a strong mining tradition, such as Germany–where the celebration is known as “Barbarafeier”–and the Czech Republic.

St. Barbara's feast day is typically celebrated on December 4 and features bread and other wheat-based foods made according to traditional recipes. These foods symbolize the harvest and connect to themes of death and rebirth. In France and the Ukraine, two or more grains of wheat are planted and forced to grow. Folklore states that if they flourish by Christmas Eve, the wheat crop will prosper that year.

Baborka Ball is an exciting annual fundraising event hosted by the Polish Language School of John Paul II, a nonprofit education and cultural center located in California’s beautiful East Bay.

Since its founding in 1967, the Polish Language School of John Paul II has served as a thriving center of education, culture and information for the Polish community in the Bay Area.

The goal of the Polish Language School is to create an appropriate educational environment for its students, enabling comprehensive personal development centered on patriotic values.

In pursuit of this goal, the Polish Language School provides students with the best conditions possible for the establishment and growth of interpersonal skills, self-confidence and the search for knowledge. Throughout their education, students learn to speak and read the Polish language, discover and develop pride in their heritage, and connect with each other to form lasting relationships within the thriving Polish-American community.