Imieniny
The Polish year and its rituals: name days, the Christmas wafer, the fortune-telling in November, and the carol that is also a priest in your hallway.
opłatek
noun · masculine
- EN
- the Christmas wafer
- RU
- рождественская облатка
Przed wieczerzą dzielimy się opłatkiem i składamy życzenia.
Before the supper we share the wafer and exchange wishes.
A thin unleavened wafer broken and shared at Wigilia, each person wishing the other something for the year. Offices and schools hold their own opłatek in December too.
imieniny
noun · plural
- EN
- name day
- RU
- именины
W kalendarzu sprawdzam, kiedy szef ma imieniny.
I check the calendar for when the boss has his name day.
Printed on every wall calendar, so forgetting one has no excuse. For the older generation it outranks the birthday. RU именины faded in the Soviet century; the Polish ones did not.
tłusty czwartek
phrase · noun
- EN
- Fat Thursday
- RU
- жирный четверг
W tłusty czwartek kolejka po pączki stała już od szóstej.
On Fat Thursday the queue for doughnuts was there from six.
The last Thursday before Lent, and the one day a year the nation queues at a cukiernia at dawn. A pączek is filled, no hole, and the rule is at least one. Faworki are the crisp alternative.
śmigus-dyngus
noun · masculine
- EN
- Wet Monday, the Easter Monday water fights
- RU
- обливальный понедельник
Na śmigus-dyngus dzieciaki wyszły z wiadrami.
For Wet Monday the kids came out with buckets.
Easter Monday, also lany poniedziałek. Two old customs fused: śmigus was the whipping with willow twigs, dyngus the ransom in eggs. What survives is strangers pouring water on you.
majówka
noun · feminine
- EN
- May Day long weekend; a spring outing
- RU
- майские праздники
Na majówkę jedziemy nad jezioro, jak co roku.
For the May long weekend we are going to the lake, as every year.
The 1 to 3 May bridge, taken as one long weekend and the opening of the grill season. RU майские matches the dates; the Polish word also means any spring outing in the green.
Wszystkich Świętych
phrase · noun
- EN
- All Saints' Day, 1 November
- RU
- День всех святых
Na Wszystkich Świętych cały kraj jedzie na groby.
On All Saints' Day the whole country drives to the family graves.
A public holiday and the biggest travel day of the year: everyone visits the family graves, and cemeteries glow all night. Many still call it Święto Zmarłych, the secular PRL name.
znicz
noun · masculine
- EN
- grave candle
- RU
- лампадка, поминальная свеча
Kupiłem trzy znicze i chryzantemy na grób dziadka.
I bought three grave candles and chrysanthemums for grandad's grave.
A candle in a glass lantern, sold at every crossroads in late October and lit by the million on 1 November. The same word is the Olympic flame, znicz olimpijski.
andrzejki
noun · plural
- EN
- St Andrew's Eve fortune-telling
- RU
- андреевские гадания
Na andrzejki lałyśmy wosk przez klucz.
On St Andrew's Eve we poured wax through a key.
The night of 29 November: hot wax poured through a key into water, and the shadow of the blob is your future. The last party before Advent, which is why the date.
Wigilia
noun · feminine
- EN
- Christmas Eve (supper)
- RU
- сочельник
Na Wigilię czekamy z kolacją do pierwszej gwiazdki.
On Christmas Eve we wait for the first star before supper.
The main event of Polish Christmas: 24 December, a meatless supper of twelve dishes with carp, an empty plate for a stranger, presents that night. Lowercase wigilia is the eve of anything.
kolęda
noun · feminine
- EN
- carol; the priest's Christmas home visit
- RU
- колядка; обход прихожан
Ksiądz chodzi po kolędzie zaraz po świętach.
The priest does his Christmas rounds right after the holidays.
A carol, like RU колядка — and the priest's annual visit to every flat in the parish, announced on the notice board and ending with K+M+B and the year chalked on your door.
Drill these ten · earlier morning · later morning
Drill these ten