Święty Błażej po świecach łazi
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What it means
“Saint Blaise crawls among the candles.” A humorous folk saying about the Saint Blaise blessing ritual, in which candles are used to bless throats — the saint is imagined moving among all the candles lit in his honour.
Vocabulary
- świeca — candle
- łazić — to crawl, to wander, to move about
Grammar note
'Po świecach' uses the locative plural of 'świeca' after the preposition 'po' (among, around). 'Łazi' is third-person singular of 'łazić'.
Cultural context
Refers to the Candlemas-adjacent feast of Saint Blaise (3 February), when candles blessed at Candlemas (2 February) are used in the throat-blessing ceremony.
Intermediate
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