Święta Katarzyna klucz zgubiła, święty Jędrzej znalazł, zamknął skrzypki zaraz
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What it means
“Saint Catherine lost the key, Saint Andrew found it and immediately locked away the fiddles.” Catherine’s feast (25 November) ends the season of music and dancing; Andrew (30 November) locks it away for good as Advent begins.
Vocabulary
- klucz — key
- zgubić — to lose
- znaleźć — to find
- zamknąć — to lock, to close
- skrzypki — fiddle, violin (plural)
- zaraz — immediately, right away
Grammar note
'Zgubiła' and 'zamknął' are past tense forms (feminine and masculine respectively). 'Skrzypki' is accusative plural.
Cultural context
In Polish folk tradition, Advent was a time of fasting and abstinence from dancing and music. The proverb uses the image of locking away the fiddles to describe the end of the pre-Advent festive season.
Intermediate
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