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  What it means

  “If it snows or rains on the feast of St. Paul, one can expect a good harvest.” This agricultural proverb links winter precipitation on 25 January to soil moisture and the prospects for spring crops. Moisture in January was welcomed as a sign of a well-watered growing season ahead. It reflects the deep interdependence of the Catholic liturgical calendar, seasonal weather, and farming in traditional Polish rural life.

  English equivalent

  A wet January foretells a good harvest.

  Vocabulary

  • święty Paweł — St. Paul — feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, 25 January
  • śnieg — snow
  • pada — falls (used for both rain and snow: pada deszcz / pada śnieg)
  • urodzajów — of harvests (genitive plural of urodzaj, required after spodziewać się)
  • spodziewać się — to expect, to anticipate (reflexive verb + genitive object)
  • wypada — it is fitting, one should (impersonal predicate)

  Grammar note

  'Spodziewać się urodzajów' uses the genitive case, which is required as the object of spodziewać się (to expect something). The impersonal verb wypada (it is fitting/proper) is common in Polish proverbs to express social norms or natural expectations without a named subject. The conjunction 'albo … albo …' (either … or …) treats snow and rain as equally auspicious.

  Cultural context

  The feast of St. Paul's Conversion (25 January) was an important date in the Polish agricultural folk calendar. Farmers scrutinised the weather on this day for clues about spring planting. The proverb reflects a Catholic folk tradition of reading divine signs in nature at theologically significant moments. It is still found in regional almanacs and ethnographic folklore collections.

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