{"id":886,"date":"2010-06-23T16:57:57","date_gmt":"2010-06-23T16:57:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/polish\/?p=886"},"modified":"2010-06-27T19:57:43","modified_gmt":"2010-06-27T19:57:43","slug":"happy-fathers-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/polish\/happy-fathers-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Father’s Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Happy Father’s Day to all our Polish readers out there that are fathers or father figures. Now, some of our American readers might be saying, Hey Katarzyna, you missed this by about three days, as Father’s Day in the US was celebrated this past Sunday. But this is not a miss. June 23 is Dzie\u0144 Ojca<\/strong> (Father’s Day) in Poland. Poland is a country that celebrates holidays such as these on the same day every year, regardless of the day falling on a weekend.<\/p>\n

So I thought I would take this opportunity to put in another primer on ludzie<\/strong> (people), pokrewie\u0144stwo<\/strong> (kinship) and the rodzina<\/strong> (family). Taking it down to the basics we have:<\/p>\n

man ~ m\u0119\u017cczyzna<\/strong> plural,\u00a0 m\u0119\u017cczyzni<\/span><\/span><\/strong>
\nwoman ~ kobieta<\/strong> plural, kobiety<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the old story goes, a kobieta wychodzi za m\u0105\u017c <\/strong>(a woman gets married; literally, a woman goes for a husband), and then she becomes a \u017cona<\/strong> (wife). \u017bona<\/strong> and m\u0105\u017c <\/strong>are the typical words for wife and husband, however, you may also hear them referred to as ma\u0142\u017conka<\/strong> and ma\u0142\u017conek<\/strong>, respectively. These are derivatives of the word ma\u0142\u017ce\u0144stwo<\/strong> (marriage). As the years go by, the kobieta<\/strong> and m\u0119\u017cczyzna<\/strong> are blessed with a dziecko<\/strong> (baby), also known more endearingly as a dzidziu\u015b<\/strong>. Before the baby is born, more and more rodzice <\/strong>(parents) are opting to find out if their dzidziu\u015b <\/strong>will be a ch\u0142opiec czy dziewczynka<\/strong> (boy or girl). This may be out of their own curiosity or it may be pressure from the dziadkowie<\/strong> (grandparents) who want to get a jump start on spoiling their little wnuczek<\/strong> (grandson) or wnuczka<\/strong> (granddaughter). Without a doubt though, as most Polish people will tell you, it doesn’t matter if you have a syn<\/strong> (son) or c\u00f3rka<\/strong> (daughter),\u00a0 aby dziecko by\u0142o zdrowe<\/strong> (as long as the baby is healthy).<\/p>\n

The term for a man who has become a father is ojciec<\/strong>, and a woman who has become a mother is a matka<\/strong>. When a mother is being referred to, she is called Mama<\/strong> or Mamusia<\/strong>. When addressing a father, a child will use Tata<\/strong> or Tatu\u015b<\/strong>. When the father sees his own kids father or mother a child, he then becomes a dziadek<\/strong> (grandfather). Similarly, a woman becomes a babcia<\/strong> (grandmother). There are several terms of endearment for grandparents; my sons referred to my Father as Dziadzia<\/strong> and Dziadziu<\/strong>, and I remember calling my maternal grandmother Babciu<\/strong> on several occasions. Grandmothers may also be referred to as Babunia<\/strong>. Perhaps our readers have used other words in reference to parents and grandparents? If so, please share your terms of endearment with us all in our comments below!<\/p>\n

To close out this Father’s Day post, I found a song in honor of our fathers. You can click on play below to hear it.<\/p>\n