Queen Becca
I've always slightly envied the Queen. Not for her fame or fortune, not for her hats or corgis and certainly not for her neverending appearances and charity dos. I envy her two birthdays.
I mean how great is that? Two birthdays! Two occasions when you feel special, without the inconvenience of ageing a year at each celebration.
Well guess what? I came to the right country. The Poles are all queens! (I bet the homophobes love that label I've just attached to every single Polish person.) Each person has an actual birthday (no, really?) and then they celebrate their name-day in addition. Each day of the year is attributed to several names and when yours comes round you get presents and people drink vodka and sing 'sto lat' all night. They're saints' days as far as I can make out, but they don't sit quietly in the back like in the UK (ignoring the globally renound St. Patrick's Day of course) - calendars, even buses, announce whose name day it is on a daily basis.
Today was the name day for girls called Julita, so we were with Marek's sister Julita all day, drinking vodka and eating cake. The good life.
That's all very well and nice for them I thought when the name day phenomenon first came to my attention. Shame I'm English and my name isn't Dorota, Agata or Justyna. Rebecca doesn't have a name day. Guess again! My name day is coming up...
For those of you who don't know the months in Polish (imagine that!) I'll help you out. Sierpień is August in Polish. My name day is in August (w sierpniu), to be precise on the 30th (trzydziestego sierpnia) Notice how Sierpień changes to sierpniu to sierpnia. Oh yes.
One month to go! Get your vodka and singing voices ready.
I mean how great is that? Two birthdays! Two occasions when you feel special, without the inconvenience of ageing a year at each celebration.
Well guess what? I came to the right country. The Poles are all queens! (I bet the homophobes love that label I've just attached to every single Polish person.) Each person has an actual birthday (no, really?) and then they celebrate their name-day in addition. Each day of the year is attributed to several names and when yours comes round you get presents and people drink vodka and sing 'sto lat' all night. They're saints' days as far as I can make out, but they don't sit quietly in the back like in the UK (ignoring the globally renound St. Patrick's Day of course) - calendars, even buses, announce whose name day it is on a daily basis.
Today was the name day for girls called Julita, so we were with Marek's sister Julita all day, drinking vodka and eating cake. The good life.
That's all very well and nice for them I thought when the name day phenomenon first came to my attention. Shame I'm English and my name isn't Dorota, Agata or Justyna. Rebecca doesn't have a name day. Guess again! My name day is coming up...
For those of you who don't know the months in Polish (imagine that!) I'll help you out. Sierpień is August in Polish. My name day is in August (w sierpniu), to be precise on the 30th (trzydziestego sierpnia) Notice how Sierpień changes to sierpniu to sierpnia. Oh yes.
One month to go! Get your vodka and singing voices ready.
posted by Becca | 9:10 pm
2 Comments:
So would I be guessing right that Niestety w naszej bazie nie istnieją takie dane means that Poles haven't heard of me (yet)?
Sorry saint gareth, I'm afraid you can't get away from the fact that your name is most definitely Welsh and not Polish...
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