Stripped of the religion and the history (we’ll come back to this), a name day in modern times becomes simply… a second birthday. It’s treated pretty much identically: you celebrate, you have a party, you get gifts. But it’s actually better than a birthday.
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Also, the non-certified bakeries offer lookalikes anyway, which means that in November, you can also find a bootleg croissant with a beautiful name of “Almost Martin’s.”
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Also also, remember the loud geese etc.? For that reason eating geese is a traditional thing to do on November 11. An old saying goes “Dzień św. Marcina dużo gęsi zarzyna” – “a lot of geese get slaughtered on Saint Martin’s Day.” I’m not even making this up.)
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Anyway! Martin of Tours was buried on November 11, 397. But one-and-a-half millennia later, the same calendar day came to signify a much more important moment: the end of World War I.
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For Poland, the Armistice Day of 1918 was also the end of a century-old annexation by Prussia + Russia + The Habsburg Empire, and the country’s reemergence as an independent state. In other words, November 11 is Poland’s Independence Day.
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So, just by coincidence, I lucked into the best name day. Ever year I get a second birthday with gifts/cake/celebration, a baked good popular enough to have many imitations, a delicious geese dish if I choose to – and all of that happening on a school/work-free day to boot.
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…or, at least, I got it all before I left Poland. Here in America, there is no national holiday, no special cakes, and – the worst transgression of them all – no name days whatsoever!
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This sucks coming from a place where every printed calendar would have a section listing all of the name days, and every internet portal had today’s names listed on its homepage.pic.twitter.com/TrfA7esxKR
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To add insult to the injury, Saint Martin is popular around the world, so today November 11 is observed in many more countries than Poland (for example The Netherlands has its own mini Halloween that day)… but not in America: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Martin%27s_Day …
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So, help me celebrate – and if you can, please donate so that good people have a chance at senate majority, and enacting some real change. And if an idea of a name day appeals to you, claim your own! I can help you find your saint, if you want.https://secure.actblue.com/donate/fair-fight-1 …
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Thank you so, so much,
@mischa! You were first and I just matched your donation. Your name day is September 29 (the closest Polish name is Michał), but there are other choices if you don’t like it!pic.twitter.com/iP6SzBLWfT
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@benwerd, you are awesome. Thank you. You get to choose between March 31 or December 19! https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beniamin pic.twitter.com/bWnO3TGusq
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@kvox, thank you for your generosity! Your name in Polish is related to Katarzyna, so I’ll pick one for you that’s close: November 25! but you can swap it to many others: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katarzyna pic.twitter.com/HU1H4To2Mo
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@exwooton, this is great. Thank you. Your contribution gets us to $260 total! Your name is related to Polish “Helena,” and you have a bunch of options: https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena_(imię) … Let me suggest April 17!pic.twitter.com/n0nlIhj8eb
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@GlennF’s name doesn’t have the obvious equivalent, but Glenn → glen → valley → dolina (valley in Polish) → Lina! So your name day is henceforth September 23. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lina_(imię) … Thank you for donating!pic.twitter.com/Th1OjUaxDg
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Thanks,
@lbudorick! A creative naming license led me to “Larysa,” which means your name day is March 26! https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larysa pic.twitter.com/mmP7f1CYqi
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Thanks so much, Greg (
@spkr4thedead51)! A popular name (Grzegorz) means many options, I’m going to pick May 9! https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grzegorz pic.twitter.com/PEi9mlt8Is
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Thank you to a generous benefactor who’d like to remain anonymous. We are now at $665 total, multiplied by two! Let’s get to $1000!!!pic.twitter.com/DWOC8jxoBM
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Thanks,
@vinibaggio! Your Polish name is… Winicjusz (pretty straightforward), and your name day is April 3! We’re at $765 × 2!pic.twitter.com/vpCkCpMDXE
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Thank you for your generosity,
@mbquilts! Your Polish name (Maria) has… 62 name day options. I’m not joking! https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria I’m going to pick October 10! A nice celebration before winter holiday season.pic.twitter.com/5X8I1IKobN
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@wynkenhimself’s donation brings us to over $800! Sarah, your name has six name day options: https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_(imię) … I think October 9 feels strategically great in the calendar for more gifts!pic.twitter.com/wAvqD5Mtvp
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Thanks,
@adobbs! The Polish equivalent of your name is the awesome-sounding Andrzej, with thirty-two name day options! https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrzej Let’s pick the traditional November 30! (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_the_Apostle …)pic.twitter.com/B4y5fjg6M0
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Another donation comes from
@KariaYoungEagle! Thank you. The closest Polish name I could think of (both phonetically and in terms of meaning) is Karyna, and your name day is August 2! https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karina pic.twitter.com/VG0gm9tIWl
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And thanks to
@jf, another donation makes its way to Fair Fight! Joël’s name day? July 13: https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_(imię) …pic.twitter.com/Me6nzqgQmw
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And this puts us over $1,000! Together, we’ve sent $2,170 today towards what I think is a great, worthwhile, and important cause. I really appreciate everyone who donated and engaged with this, and looking forward to celebrating 14 new (I think?) name days with y’all!!!
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Thank you again,
@mischa@benwerd@kvox@exwooton@GlennF@lbudorick@spkr4thedead51@vinibaggio@mbquilts@wynkenhimself@adobbs@KariaYoungEagle@jf + 1 secret person – I have never tried doing this before, and it means a lot that you helped.Show this thread -
I am over my budget for matching, but this is still awesome and appreciated (and if someone else wants to match, that would be even more so):https://twitter.com/kettering/status/1326680485930545152 …
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We received a generous offer from
@skuwamoto to match another $1,000, so the thread continues! Emily, you have 7 name day options, and some cool saints in your collection! https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilia May I suggest May 23, just when it’s getting warm?Show this thread -
Joshua, thank you for your donation – your name in Polish is Jozue, with a frustrating name day of December 24… but you can always change it!https://twitter.com/schwa23/status/1326683679746240512 …
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Sophia! You are amazing. In Polish, you are Zofia (which is a classic beautiful name), and you have 7 name day options… let’s pick September 2! https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zofia_(imię) …https://twitter.com/spara/status/1326684939987906567 …
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Ryan is here with another donation – thanks! The closest I could get in Polish is “Brajan,” and your name day is now December 10. We are now at $405 doubled for the second batch (thanks,
@skuwamoto) – let’s get to $1000!!!https://twitter.com/rcuppernull/status/1326686537459916802 …
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