{"id":7055,"date":"2025-10-16T19:13:41","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T17:13:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/po-polsku.eu\/love-in-polish-from-valentines-day-to-the-night-of-kupala\/"},"modified":"2025-11-09T12:20:57","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T11:20:57","slug":"love-in-polish-from-valentines-day-to-the-night-of-kupala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/po-polsku.eu\/en\/love-in-polish-from-valentines-day-to-the-night-of-kupala\/","title":{"rendered":"Love in Polish \u2013 from Valentine\u2019s Day to the Night of Kupala"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Wci\u0105\u017c rozmy\u015blasz. Uparcie i skrycie.  <\/em><br \/><em>Patrzysz w okno i smutek masz w oku&#8230; <\/em><br \/><em>Przecie\u017c mnie kochasz nad \u017cycie? <\/em><br \/><em>Sam m\u00f3wi\u0142e\u015b przesz\u0142ego roku&#8230; <\/em><br \/><em>\u015amiejesz si\u0119, lecz co\u015b tkwi poza tym. <\/em><br \/><em>Patrzysz w niebo, na rze\u017aby ob\u0142ok\u00f3w&#8230; <\/em><br \/><em>Przecie\u017c ja jestem niebem i \u015bwiatem? <\/em><br \/><em>Sam m\u00f3wi\u0142e\u015b przesz\u0142ego roku&#8230;<\/em><br \/>\u2013 <strong>Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>(You\u2019re still lost in thought. Stubborn and silent.  <\/em><br \/><em>You look out the window, sorrow in your eyes&#8230; <\/em><br \/><em>Don\u2019t you love me above all else? <\/em><br \/><em>You said it yourself last year&#8230; <\/em><br \/><em>You laugh, yet something remains hidden. <\/em><br \/><em>You gaze at the sky, at the shapes of clouds&#8230; <\/em><br \/><em>Am I not your sky and your world? <\/em><br \/><em>You said it yourself last year&#8230;)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, a chance to sneak a bit of poetry into the post. I hope you enjoy it! For more Polish poetry, you\u2019ll find a recommendation below.  <\/p>\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br \/><br \/><strong>Walentynki \u2013 the Polish Valentine\u2019s Day<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">February 14th \u2013 a controversial day. In Poland, it\u2019s been celebrated only since the 1990s and, of course, has become heavily commercialized: <strong>Walentynki<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But speaking the language of love in Polish isn\u2019t that easy \u2013 because you have to diminutize your partner\u2019s first name and put it in the <strong>vocative<\/strong> case!<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So here\u2019s my little guide: How to address your Polish love the right way<\/p>\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Male names (usually with endings -ek \u2192 -czek \u2192 -czku)<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Radek \u2192 Radeczek \u2192 Radeczku<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Marek \u2192 Mareczek \u2192 Mareczku<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Janek \u2192 Janeczek \u2192 Janeczku<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tomek \u2192 Tomeczek \u2192 Tomeczku<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bartek \u2192 Barteczek \u2192 Barteczku<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Also lovely: Micha\u0142ku, Rafa\u0142ku, Pawe\u0142ku<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Female names (usually with the ending + -u)<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Anna \u2192 Ania \u2192 Aniu<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Katarzyna \u2192 Kasia \u2192 Kasiu<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Joanna \u2192 Asia \u2192 Asiu<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Magda \u2192 Madzia \u2192 Madziu<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Iza \u2192 Izunia \u2192 Izuniu<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ewa \u2192 Ewcia \u2192 Ewciu<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Danuta \u2192 Danusia \u2192 Danusiu<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Harder endings \u2192 -o<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Beata \u2192 Beatka \u2192 Beatko<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Agata \u2192 Agatka \u2192 Agatko<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And if all this feels too complicated \u2013 stick with <strong>kochanie<\/strong> (\u201cdarling\u201d) or <strong>skarbie<\/strong> (\u201ctreasure\u201d). Or pick something from the animal kingdom: <\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Misiu \u2013 little bear \/ teddy bear<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Kotku \u2013 kitten<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Zaj\u0105czku \u2013 little bunny<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Rybko \u2013 little fish<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Myszko \u2013 little mouse<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u017babko \u2013 little frog<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br \/><br \/><strong>Noc Kupa\u0142y \u2013 the Slavic night of love<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Did you know that in Poland, long before Valentine\u2019s Day, there was a love festival of its own \u2013 much older, wilder, and more magical?<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Noc Kupa\u0142y<\/strong>, the festival of the summer solstice (June 20\u201324), was the original Slavic celebration of love, fertility, magic, and purification.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At its heart were two elements:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Fire <\/strong>\u2013 bonfires people jumped over to purify themselves and bring good luck.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Water <\/strong>\u2013 ritual baths in rivers for healing and renewal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A popular custom: young women set self-woven flower wreaths afloat on the water. Whoever caught a wreath and returned it to its owner might become her life partner. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to legend, a mystical fern flower blooms on this night. Whoever finds it is said to gain happiness, wealth, and invisibility. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, the festival is celebrated as the Christian St. John\u2019s Night (Noc \u015awi\u0119toja\u0144ska) on June 24 \u2013 with similar customs, but a new meaning.<\/p>\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br \/><br \/><strong>Discover more Polish poetry<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/polska-poezja.pl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">polska-poezja.pl <\/a>\u2013 a wonderful online audio library of Polish poetry.<br \/>Poems by renowned poets from all eras, read by professional actors and also available in written form.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How do you talk about love in Polish? From the right pet names to poetic verses and the Slavic night of love \u2013 a romantic journey through language, culture, and ancient traditions. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":6867,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[138],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-about-the-language"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/po-polsku.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/po-polsku.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/po-polsku.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/po-polsku.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/po-polsku.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7055"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/po-polsku.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7055\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/po-polsku.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/po-polsku.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/po-polsku.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/po-polsku.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}