The decision was made by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage at its 16th session in Paris, Poland's PAP news agency reported.
“It’s our third inscription on UNESCO’s world intangible heritage list,” said Polish Deputy Culture and National Heritage Minister Magdalena Gawin.
“I’m immensely happy that we can meet and announce this success for Poland,” she told a news conference.
In 2018, UNESCO honoured Poland's nativity scene tradition, and last year the country’s tree beekeeping culture was added to the agency's list of international cultural treasures.
A 200-year tradition
Polish people have been arranging flower carpets for the annual Corpus Christi feast for the past two centuries, the culture ministry said.
Particularly famous for such floral compositions is the village of Spycimierz, in the central Łódzkie province, as well as several localities in the southwestern Opolskie region. The wide array of flowers making up the carpets includes wild roses, red poppies and cornflowers.
“For the feast, which involves a mass followed by a procession, families in several villages use flowers to arrange colourful and symbolic carpets on the route of the procession,” UNESCO said.
“The tradition unites the entire community and has shaped local identity,” the United Nations agency added.
It noted that "the practice has been passed on for generations, especially within families."
"Pattern-making workshops are also regularly held in schools, with support from the parish and non-governmental organizations,” UNESCO also said on its website.
The agency’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity celebrates the diverse nature of the planet’s manmade intangible heritage.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, ich.unesco.org
Click on the audio player above for a report by Radio Poland's Elżbieta Krajewska.