Religious Festivals & Traditions (AQA GCSE Polish): Revision Note
Exam code: 8688
Religious festivals and traditions in Poland
For the topic of 'Religious festivals and traditions in Poland', you need to:
know vocabulary for religions, religious festivals and religious buildings
understand information about different religious and cultural celebrations
say what happens during festivals, celebrations and traditions
say when festivals and traditions take place, including important dates and times of year
use time phrases and conjunctions to add more detail when describing customs and traditions
Religious festivals and traditions: vocabulary
Some useful words and phrases for the topic of religious celebrations are:
Category | Polish | Part of speech | English |
|---|---|---|---|
Religious beliefs and traditions | choinka | n(f) | Christmas tree |
chrześcijanin / chrześcijanka | n (m/f) | Christian | |
katolik / katoliczka | n (m/f) | Catholic | |
kolędy | n(pl) | Christmas carols | |
wierzyć | v | to believe (in) | |
religia | n (f) | religion | |
opłatek | n(m) | Christmas wafer | |
pisanka | n(f) | decorated Easter egg | |
święcić pokarmy | v phase | to bless the food | |
wiara | n (f) | faith | |
tradycja | n (f) | tradition | |
tradycyjny | adj | traditional | |
kultura | n (f) | culture | |
pasterka | n(f) | Midnight Mass (Christmas Eve/Christmas night service) | |
obchodzić święto | v phrase | to celebrate a festival | |
opłatek | n(m) | Christmas wafer | |
Wielki Piątek | n phrase | Good Friday | |
wieniec adwentowy | n phase | Advent wreath | |
zajączek wielkanocny | n phase | Easter bunny | |
znicz | n(m) | grave candle / memorial candle | |
Religious buildings | kościół | n (m) | church |
świątynia | n (f) | temple | |
Religious celebrations | Boże Narodzenie | n phrase | Christmas |
Wigilia | n (f) | Christmas Eve | |
Wielkanoc | n (f) | Easter | |
Boże Ciało | n phrase | Corpus Christi | |
Wszystkich Świętych | n phrase | All Saints’ Day | |
uroczystość | n (f) | celebration/ceremony | |
Sylwester | n(m) | New Year's Eve | |
święto | n (nt) | festival/holiday | |
Months | styczeń | n(m) | January |
luty | n(m) | February | |
marzec | n(m) | March | |
kwiecień | n(m) | April | |
maj | n(m) | May | |
czerwiec | n(m) | June | |
lipiec | n(m) | July | |
sierpień | n(m) | August | |
wrzesień | n(m) | September | |
październik | n(m) | October | |
listopad | n(m) | November | |
grudzień | n(m) | December |
In Polish, days of the week and months are normally written with a lower-case letter, e.g. poniedziałek (Monday) and styczeń (January)
The names of many holidays and celebrations are capitalised, e.g. Wielkanoc (Easter) and Boże Narodzenie (Christmas)
To say a date, use an ordinal number + month in the genitive, e.g. trzeciego stycznia (on 3rd January), pierwszego maja (on 1st May).
In writing: 3 stycznia, 1 maja
For the first day of the month, use pierwszy, e.g. pierwszy maja (1st May)
In writing: 1 maja
Boże Narodzenie and Wielkanoc are among the most important religious celebrations in Poland
Many people celebrate them by spending time with family and following traditional customs, such as sharing opłatek at Christmas or preparing pisanki at Easter
Higher tier
Polish | Part of speech | English | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
fajerwerki | n (pl) | fireworks | W Sylwestra zawsze jest wspaniały pokaz fajerwerków. | On New Year's Eve, there is always a great fireworks display. |
zwyczaj | n (m) | custom | W naszej rodzinie wspólne świętowanie jest ważnym zwyczajem. | In our family, celebrating together is an important custom. |
symbolika | n (f) | symbolism | Symbolika tego święta jest bardzo ważna dla wielu ludzi. | The symbolism of this celebration is very important to many people. |
palić się | v | to burn | W Zaduszki w nocy na cmentarzu pali się wiele świec. | On All Souls' Day, many candles burn in the cemetery at night. |
Dożynki | n(pl) | harvest festival | Bardzo lubię dożynki w mojej miejscowości. | I really like the harvest festival in my town. |
tłusty czwartek | n phrase | Fat Thursday | W Tłusty Czwartek jem pączki. | On Fat Thursday, I eat doughnuts. |
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