Packages of Goodness: Difference between revisions

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[[File:Paczki.png|501px|center|Paczki vs pączki]]

From the point of view of a modern Pole, the English-speakers’ confusion regarding ''pączki'' versus ''paczki'' is at least justifiable; after all, the English language doesn’t have any nasal vowels or the little hooks indicating them (as in ''ą, ę''). What’s more grating to many Polish ears, is referring to a single Polish doughnut as “a paczki” and to more than one as “paczkis”. Yet often, the same Polish people who would be ready to ~~criticise~~ this grammatical error have no qualms about wearing ''dżinsy'' (“jeanses”), eating ''czipsy'' (“chipses”) or listening to ''Beatlesi'' (“the Beatleses”). ~~Depluralisation~~ of loanwords is a common linguitic phenomenon and it often cuts both ways.

From the point of view of a modern Pole, the English-speakers’ confusion regarding ''pączki'' versus ''paczki'' is at least justifiable; after all, the English language doesn’t have any nasal vowels or the little hooks indicating them (as in ''ą, ę''). What’s more grating to many Polish ears, is referring to a single Polish doughnut as “a paczki” and to more than one as “paczkis”. Yet often, the same Polish people who would be ready to criticize this grammatical error have no qualms about wearing ''dżinsy'' (“jeanses”), eating ''czipsy'' (“chipses”) or listening to ''Beatlesi'' (“the Beatleses”). Depluralization of loanwords is a common linguitic phenomenon and it often cuts both ways.

[[File:Zasięg wymowy ą jako ų.jpg|thumb|upright|Geographic extent of Polish subdialects exhibiting the ''awn → oon'' nasal vowel shift. Based on a map by A. Krawczyk-Wieczorek, according to an atlas by K. Dejna.]]

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| rok = 2018

| strony = 156

}}</ref> But sometimes members of some local community, wishing to atone for their sins, usually when faced by some kind of disaster, would voluntarily vow to fast even more strictly than required by Church authorities; the entire community would then follow this more rigorous fast for decades until the local bishop, or even the pope himself, released them from the vow. This meant that fasting customs could differ from country to country and even from diocese to diocese. Generally speaking, fasting was very strict in the early Middle Ages and was gradually ~~liberalised~~ as time went by. But in Poland liberal novelties have always taken longer to take hold, so Polish people were considered particularly strict fasters for centuries. And Masovians, who lived in a northeastern backwater part of Poland, had the reputation of the kind of folks who would rather kill a man (especially one who broke fast himself) than eat cheese on a Friday.<ref>''Ibid.'', p. 173</ref>

}}</ref> But sometimes members of some local community, wishing to atone for their sins, usually when faced by some kind of disaster, would voluntarily vow to fast even more strictly than required by Church authorities; the entire community would then follow this more rigorous fast for decades until the local bishop, or even the pope himself, released them from the vow. This meant that fasting customs could differ from country to country and even from diocese to diocese. Generally speaking, fasting was very strict in the early Middle Ages and was gradually liberalized as time went by. But in Poland liberal novelties have always taken longer to take hold, so Polish people were considered particularly strict fasters for centuries. And Masovians, who lived in a northeastern backwater part of Poland, had the reputation of the kind of folks who would rather kill a man (especially one who broke fast himself) than eat cheese on a Friday.<ref>''Ibid.'', p. 173</ref>

And so, Polish people used to fast not only on every Friday (as many still do), but also on every Saturday and Wednesday, on every eve of each of several dozen major holidays, on [[Good Humour, Good Health#Humoral Diet in Practice|Ember Days]] (three in each quarter of the year) and during the entire Advent and Lent (which also happened to be longer than they are today). On average, every other day was a lean, or fasting, day.<ref>''Ibid.'', p. 158</ref> Nowadays, Lent covers the period of 40 days (not counting Sundays) prior to Easter. But it used to start 17 days earlier than that. This additional 17-day period of fasting was then declared optional and, known as Shrovetide or Pre-Lent, it was treated as a time of preparation for Lent proper. Some of you may remember me mentioning Shrovetide in my post about [[Holey Breads|holey breads]], the pretzels and ''obwarzanki'' traditionally eaten on lean days. And also about how the Duchess of Masovia paid a visit to Queen Hedwig of Poland during Pre-Lent; when they dined together, Saint Hedwig ate only herrings and ''obwarzanki'' (ring-shaped breads), whereas the Duchess, who opted not to fast during that time, had chicken instead.<ref>{{ Cyt

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And what the heck does “Shrovetide” mean? It’s from the archaic English verb “to shrive”, which refers to the action of a priest hearing your confession and absolving you of your sins. “Shrovetide” is sometimes used interchangeably with “Pre-Lent”, but technically, it’s just the last three days before Lent – from Quinquagesima Sunday to Shrove Tuesday – when people were expected to confess their sins and get shriven. The Polish names for this period are ''Zapusty'' and ''Ostatki'' (“Last Days”).

In some countries, like France, Shrove Tuesday is celebrated as Fat Tuesday. In England, it’s Pancake Tuesday. And in Poland, it’s Herring Day (''Śledzik'' or ''Śledziówka''). But herring is a lean dish, so why would you celebrate the last day ''before'' Lent by having Lenten food already? You know you’re gonna be sick of it by the time Lent is over. Well, the reason is quite logical, actually. When you’re partying, it’s easy to lose track of time and not ~~realise~~ that you’ve slipped into Lenten territory. And, as they used to say in Poland, “on Shrove Tuesday the devil stands outside the tavern door and marks down those leaving after midnight.”<ref>{{Cyt

In some countries, like France, Shrove Tuesday is celebrated as Fat Tuesday. In England, it’s Pancake Tuesday. And in Poland, it’s Herring Day (''Śledzik'' or ''Śledziówka''). But herring is a lean dish, so why would you celebrate the last day ''before'' Lent by having Lenten food already? You know you’re gonna be sick of it by the time Lent is over. Well, the reason is quite logical, actually. When you’re partying, it’s easy to lose track of time and not realize that you’ve slipped into Lenten territory. And, as they used to say in Poland, “on Shrove Tuesday the devil stands outside the tavern door and marks down those leaving after midnight.”<ref>{{Cyt

| nazwisko = Gloger

| imię = Zygmunt

@@ Line 59: / Line 59: @@
 [[File:Paczki.png|501px|center|Paczki vs pączki]]
-From the point of view of a&nbsp;modern Pole, the English-speakers’ confusion regarding ''pączki'' versus ''paczki'' is at least justifiable; after all, the English language doesn’t have any nasal vowels or the little hooks indicating them (as in ''ą, ę''). What’s more grating to many Polish ears, is referring to a&nbsp;single Polish doughnut as “a paczki” and to more than one as “paczkis”. Yet often, the same Polish people who would be ready to criticise this grammatical error have no qualms about wearing ''dżinsy'' (“jeanses”), eating ''czipsy'' (“chipses”) or listening to ''Beatlesi'' (“the Beatleses”). Depluralisation of loanwords is a&nbsp;common linguitic phenomenon and it often cuts both ways.
+From the point of view of a&nbsp;modern Pole, the English-speakers’ confusion regarding ''pączki'' versus ''paczki'' is at least justifiable; after all, the English language doesn’t have any nasal vowels or the little hooks indicating them (as in ''ą, ę''). What’s more grating to many Polish ears, is referring to a&nbsp;single Polish doughnut as “a paczki” and to more than one as “paczkis”. Yet often, the same Polish people who would be ready to criticize this grammatical error have no qualms about wearing ''dżinsy'' (“jeanses”), eating ''czipsy'' (“chipses”) or listening to ''Beatlesi'' (“the Beatleses”). Depluralization of loanwords is a&nbsp;common linguitic phenomenon and it often cuts both ways.
 [[File:Zasięg wymowy ą jako ų.jpg|thumb|upright|Geographic extent of Polish subdialects exhibiting the ''awn → oon'' nasal vowel shift. Based on a&nbsp;map by A. Krawczyk-Wieczorek, according to an atlas by K. Dejna.]]
@@ Line 90: / Line 90: @@
   | rok      = 2018
   | strony   = 156
-  }}</ref> But sometimes members of some local community, wishing to atone for their sins, usually when faced by some kind of disaster, would voluntarily vow to fast even more strictly than required by Church authorities; the entire community would then follow this more rigorous fast for decades until the local bishop, or even the pope himself, released them from the vow. This meant that fasting customs could differ from country to country and even from diocese to diocese. Generally speaking, fasting was very strict in the early Middle Ages and was gradually liberalised as time went by. But in Poland liberal novelties have always taken longer to take hold, so Polish people were considered particularly strict fasters for centuries. And Masovians, who lived in a&nbsp;northeastern backwater part of Poland, had the reputation of the kind of folks who would rather kill a&nbsp;man (especially one who broke fast himself) than eat cheese on a&nbsp;Friday.<ref>''Ibid.'', p.&nbsp;173</ref>
+  }}</ref> But sometimes members of some local community, wishing to atone for their sins, usually when faced by some kind of disaster, would voluntarily vow to fast even more strictly than required by Church authorities; the entire community would then follow this more rigorous fast for decades until the local bishop, or even the pope himself, released them from the vow. This meant that fasting customs could differ from country to country and even from diocese to diocese. Generally speaking, fasting was very strict in the early Middle Ages and was gradually liberalized as time went by. But in Poland liberal novelties have always taken longer to take hold, so Polish people were considered particularly strict fasters for centuries. And Masovians, who lived in a&nbsp;northeastern backwater part of Poland, had the reputation of the kind of folks who would rather kill a&nbsp;man (especially one who broke fast himself) than eat cheese on a&nbsp;Friday.<ref>''Ibid.'', p.&nbsp;173</ref>
 And so, Polish people used to fast not only on every Friday (as many still do), but also on every Saturday and Wednesday, on every eve of each of several dozen major holidays, on [[Good Humour, Good Health#Humoral Diet in Practice|Ember Days]] (three in each quarter of the year) and during the entire Advent and Lent (which also happened to be longer than they are today). On average, every other day was a&nbsp;lean, or fasting, day.<ref>''Ibid.'', p.&nbsp;158</ref> Nowadays, Lent covers the period of 40 days (not counting Sundays) prior to Easter. But it used to start 17 days earlier than that. This additional 17-day period of fasting was then declared optional and, known as Shrovetide or Pre-Lent, it was treated as a&nbsp;time of preparation for Lent proper. Some of you may remember me mentioning Shrovetide in my post about [[Holey Breads|holey breads]], the pretzels and ''obwarzanki'' traditionally eaten on lean days. And also about how the Duchess of Masovia paid a&nbsp;visit to Queen Hedwig of Poland during Pre-Lent; when they dined together, Saint Hedwig ate only herrings and ''obwarzanki'' (ring-shaped breads), whereas the Duchess, who opted not to fast during that time, had chicken instead.<ref>{{ Cyt
@@ Line 118: / Line 118: @@
 And what the heck does “Shrovetide” mean? It’s from the archaic English verb “to shrive”, which refers to the action of a&nbsp;priest hearing your confession and absolving you of your sins. “Shrovetide” is sometimes used interchangeably with “Pre-Lent”, but technically, it’s just the last three days before Lent – from Quinquagesima Sunday to Shrove Tuesday – when people were expected to confess their sins and get shriven. The Polish names for this period are ''Zapusty'' and ''Ostatki'' (“Last Days”).
-In some countries, like France, Shrove Tuesday is celebrated as Fat Tuesday. In England, it’s Pancake Tuesday. And in Poland, it’s Herring Day (''Śledzik'' or ''Śledziówka''). But herring is a&nbsp;lean dish, so why would you celebrate the last day ''before'' Lent by having Lenten food already? You know you’re gonna be sick of it by the time Lent is over. Well, the reason is quite logical, actually. When you’re partying, it’s easy to lose track of time and not realise that you’ve slipped into Lenten territory. And, as they used to say in Poland, “on Shrove Tuesday the devil stands outside the tavern door and marks down those leaving after midnight.”<ref>{{Cyt
+In some countries, like France, Shrove Tuesday is celebrated as Fat Tuesday. In England, it’s Pancake Tuesday. And in Poland, it’s Herring Day (''Śledzik'' or ''Śledziówka''). But herring is a&nbsp;lean dish, so why would you celebrate the last day ''before'' Lent by having Lenten food already? You know you’re gonna be sick of it by the time Lent is over. Well, the reason is quite logical, actually. When you’re partying, it’s easy to lose track of time and not realize that you’ve slipped into Lenten territory. And, as they used to say in Poland, “on Shrove Tuesday the devil stands outside the tavern door and marks down those leaving after midnight.”<ref>{{Cyt
   | nazwisko = Gloger
   | imię     = Zygmunt