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  What it means

  “Saint Catherine ties up Advent, she feasts and drinks herself, yet forbids us.” This humorous saying points to the contrast between Catherine’s feast day, with food and drink, and the Advent fast that follows.

  Vocabulary

  • zawiązywać — to tie up, to bind, to start
  • hulać — to revel, to feast wildly
  • zakazywać — to forbid, to prohibit

  Grammar note

  'Zawiązuje', 'hula', 'pije', 'zakazuje' are all third-person singular present forms. 'Nam' is the dative of 'my' (us).

  Cultural context

  The proverb pokes fun at the irony that the feast of Saint Catherine (25 November) is a day of celebration, yet it ushers in the penitential Advent season.

  Intermediate

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