A cappella Polka? A little piece of happy.

This video is so fun and happy! I discovered it on Fr. V's blog yesterday and have been dancing polkas in my head ever since. And boy, what a treasure of memories it has uncovered as well. The little girl in me can still see my babushka covered Grandmama dancing in the kitchen. My roots are in Cleveland, which has a rich polka heritage. Many strong ethnic communities formed in the area "way back when" and brought their colorful heritage with them. The area boasts the United States Polka Association and had the only polka television program. It ran from 1956 to 1975 and was called Polka Varieties.

I watched reruns of that show at my Hungarian Grandmama's house for hours (or it seemed like hours) on end. Polka, boxing, Cleveland Indians games, and Magnum PI. She would turn on the television at polka time and bounce around the house while she cooked and cleaned. I remember her pretty painted Easter eggs, her rolled down stockings, the Infant of Prague in her kitchen, her frequent animated exclamations in Hungarian (which the adults would never translate for me)... and polka.

Fr. V describes the video of this Slovenian choir (Perpetuum Jazzile) as "three and a half minutes of pure happiness." Jellybean agrees and has had me play it at least 12 times, bouncing and singing along.

If you like polka, you'll love it. And even if you don't, it's still great fun.