About Polish Occasion Cards

Polish immigration to the UK can be traced back to two events in history: the end of World War II and the expansion of the EU.

During World War II the Poles played a key role. They formed one of the largest armed forces of the conflict and were pioneers in the breaking of the Enigma code. Following the end of the War many Polish troops who served with or under the British army felt betrayed by the emergence of Soviet communist rule in their homeland. At the same time, post-War Britain was suffering from a depleted labour pool. This led to the Polish Resettlement Act 1947 and granted British citizenship to over 200,000 Poles.

In 2004 the EU was expanded to include Poland which paved the way for a new batch of immigrants to the UK. Current estimates place the UK Polish population at around 500,000. (Trade customer's note: That's a significant, as yet untapped card-buying market!)

The predominant religion in Poland is Roman Catholic and as such Polish greeting cards will cover Christian festivals such as Easter. Imagery for Polish Easter cards will be recognisable to all, e.g. Easter eggs. Polish Mother's Day is also a very popular celebration. Polish Mother's Day falls on 26th May. Here are some common Easter and Mother's Day greetings with their translations:

"Wesolego Alleluja" translates as "Happy Easter"
"Wszystkiego najlepszego z okazji Dnia Matki" translates as "Happy Mother's Day"

Polish birthday cards are also very popular and will of course sell throughout the year. The message "Sto Lat" is a common occurrence on birthday cards. Sto Lat translates as "Wish you life of 100 years". Another popular occasion in Poland is Name Day, and is often celebrated in place of a birthday (particularly as one gets older!). Each day of the calendar has associated with it a set of names; people of a given name celebrate their Name Day on the designated date with gatherings of friends and family, in much the same way as a birthday. Sto Lat is a greeting used for Name Days too.

By the way, don't worry about remembering the translations - all Davora cards have the English translation on the reverse!