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  What it means

  “When Candlemas loses winter, St. Matthias will enrich it.” If the weather is mild at Candlemas (February 2), St. Matthias’s Day (February 24) will bring cold and snow back. A folk weather proverb about the unpredictability of late winter.

  English equivalent

  If Candlemas Day be fair and bright, winter will have another flight.

  Vocabulary

  • Gromniczna — Candlemas (February 2)
  • tracić — to lose
  • wzbogacić — to enrich, to make rich
  • święty Maciej — St. Matthias (February 24)

  Grammar note

  'Ją' is the accusative pronoun referring back to 'zimę' (winter).

  Cultural context

  Gromniczna (Candlemas) and St. Matthias's Day are two key dates in the Polish folk calendar for predicting the end of winter.

  Intermediate

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