Discuss the importance of language and popular traditions in the creation of national identity.

The local language and traditions proved to be the biggest factor for creating awareness among people regarding nationalism. Use of vernacular language, folk tales and music became the tools to carry the modern nationalist message to large audiences who were mostly illiterate. For instance, when Russia occupied Poland, Polish language was forced out of schools and the Russian language was imposed everywhere. But many members of the clergy in Poland began to use language as a weapon of national resistance. Polish was used for Church gatherings and all religious instruction. Karol Kurpinski celebrated the national struggle through his operas and music, turning folk dances like the polonaise and mazurka into nationalist symbols. Thus, the use of local language came to be seen as a symbol of the national struggle and traditions helped to keep alive the spirit of nationalism.