Świętowanie Wybranych Rocznic Bitwy Pod Grunwaldem Formą Komunikacji Rytualnej Państwa i Narodu / Celebrating Selected Anniversaries of the Battle of Grunwald as a Form of Ritual Communication Between the State and Nation

The commemoration of the six-hundredth anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald inclines one to reflect on the role of this celebration in the process of communication between the state and nation. The question arises of how this past event serves the present and how celebrating its anniversary has changed at various moments of history. On the basis of an analysis of historical documents, the press, observations, and surveys of participants in the celebrations, the author presents the following main theses: (1) succeeding celebrations, particularly after the second world war, have been an instrument of communication strengthening the tie between the nation and the state; (2) shaping memory of the celebrated event and its rituals gives a needed meaning to the conditions of current everyday life. At the same time, central and peripheral layers of the ritual of celebrating and the accompanying communicative action can be distinguished. The media has a particular layer of communications and rituals. Ritual communication intensifies the significance of opinions, attitudes and social problems articulated during the course of the celebration.