From my observation Wesołych Świąt (used in December to mean Happy Christmas) is used between Poles these days to mean Happy Easter more often than the traditonal Wesołego Alleluja. Although both main tabloids -- Fakt and Super Express -- have Wesołego Alleluja on their front pages today, workmates, friends, neighbours, etc. usually just say Wesołych Świąt..
Was the Wesołych Świąt something the PRL-ites pushed like the way they created a Święto Umarlaków or some such nonsense in place of Wszystkich Świętych.
Perhaps a glance at pre-war Polish Easter greeting cards would show whether that hypothesis is true.
I have never heard any person use Wesołego Alleluja in any setting in person to person situations - Wesołego Alleluja is just a print fancy thing (or a clergy speak after the mass)
Well, I grew up in Poland and can tell, that both phrases are correct. Commonly Poles say Wesolych Swiat, the phrase Wesolego Alleluja is determined by the influence of the church, and most of all is to see rather on postcards.
I have never heard any person use Wesołego Alleluja in any setting in person to person situations - Wesołego Alleluja is just a print fancy thing (or a clergy speak after the mass)
During my 7 years in PRL-Poland, Wesołego Alleluja was used quite often in Wrocław and Zielona Góra where I spent most of my time.
From my observation Wesołych Świąt (used in December to mean Happy Christmas)
NO IT DOESNT MEAN "HAPPY CHRISTMAS"!!! It means "Happy Holidays"! You wanted to write something smart and it turned out to be completely opposite. Polish is not English. "Święta" means "holidays" not "Christmas". Christmas is Boże Narodzenie. Święto is any holiday (religious or not). It's a universal word.
As someone earlier wrote "Wesołego Alleluja" is a postcard wish. No one rather says it when seeing people. It just sounds flamboyant.
If someone has more time to wish decent wishes then say "życzę Panu/Pani radosnych i spokojnych Świąt Wielkiej Nocy."
Perhaps a glance at pre-war Polish Easter greeting cards would show whether that hypothesis is true.
That's because they ARE GREETING CARDS! Wesołego Alleluja is still a greeting card standard wish. How do you know that before war people didn't say "Happy holidays" on Easter when seeing a neighbour?
Święto Umarlaków
What's that? Do you know that word umarlak is colloquial and disrespectful? Such word certainly couldn't be used as a name for All Saints. Besides that Wszystkich Świętych is not the same as Święto Zmarłych.
We use "Wesołych świąt" and "Wesołego alleluja". Both are correct. But we usually use in Christmas, but nothing will happen when you say "wesołych świąt" in easter.
Wesołych Świąt is the typical Christmas greeting but it literraly means Joy to the world and that is why it is used on Easter because you can say Joy to the World cause Jesus rose from the dead.. Polish people are Catholic and some of the translation of grammar and speech can be better explained by explaing the religious connection..
This is why some even translate Wesołych Świąt as Happy Holidays which also clareifys it okay to say on Easter as well!
So to sum it up you can use both; sometimes different people from different parts of Poland use one or the other but both are acceptable. In Church the Priests say Wesołego Alleluja because it fits the enviorment. And on store banners it will say the same, it's more formal but to your friends and family as well as your neighbors Wesołych Świąt is the way to go!
Wesołych świąt most certainly does not mean "joy to the world" (which would be radość światu, which sounds kind of dumb and awkward).
Wesołych świąt means "(I wish you) happy holidays". The plural IIRC refers to the fact that both major Christian holidays (Christmas and Easter) are celebrated for two days (at least!) in Poland.
Technically, it means " Happy World" which doesn't translate too well into English. Literal transfers of language sometimes add confusion (and worse) between people(s). I'm sure that more than one war has been started by such mistakes.
Technically, it means " Happy World" which doesn't translate too well into English.
It's not świat, it's świĄt, I think it comes more from 'saints' than 'world', but maybe I'm wrong. Someone should find the etymology (I tried, but not that easy when you don't master Polish).
What then is the appropriate response to, say, "Mokrego Śmigusa Dyngusia!"? I've always been curious about that, but simply felt embarrassed about asking my Polish colleagues. They know I'm Jewish, by the way, and in fact just got finished wishing me "Wesołych Świąt Pesacha!" I couldn't very well have responded "Nawzajem!", now, could I? A ticklish situation.
Święto is any holiday (religious or not). It's a universal word.
Really? I always relate the word 'święto' with holy. If someone tells me 'dzisiaj jest wielke święto,' I assume they mean it is a holy day for whatever reason. Even when you here them use a phrase like 'wielkie święto piłki nożnej,' as an example, they mean it is almost like a 'holy day'/very important day in football.
Many thanks, Jolu:-) Thought it was something like "Szczęście Boże!" or something like that. Guess I was wrong (again)LOL
Hope you had a "wet" Easter, by the way. Seems this distinctly Polish tradition has no equivalent in English or other languages. The theme of "baptismal cleansing" though on the occasion of Christ's resurrection following Lent and Holy Week might be significant.
Nevertheless Cinek, a language as homogeneous as Polish for example, may not acknowledge the sort of religious pluricity as, for instance, English, might:-) After all, we in the US are practiced with the melting pot for umpteen years, Poles (not to mention most Europeans) aren't!
If anyone dosn't like "Wesołego Alleluja!" as a very common way of greeting someone before and at the Easter time in Poland, I would like to add only that I have a family in podkarpackie voievodship and they used to say even more because sth like this at all Easter time: "Chrystus Zmartwychwstał" to what people answer: "Prawdziwie zmartwychwstał", sometimes even they add more but I don't really know all of it....
Probably you mean: "Wesołych jajek, jajeczek, baranków, pisanek, zajączków..." and all the rest Easter symbols from little poems which are sometimes sent as wishes before the Easter.
That is the blandest collection of so-called Easter cards I have ever seen. Even the sole religious image incongruously shows not Christ Resurrected by Christ the Good Shepherd. Where is the Easter Lamb with banner? How about some Polish pisanki? What about a tall, tapered babka, pussy willows, śmigus-dyngus and food blessing on Holy Saturday? Poland is losing its cultural identity by wallowing in such commercial crap, and that pertains not only to Easter. Try to find some genuinely Polish-themed clipart online.
