English Section

Polish parliament to vote on making Christmas Eve a public holiday

01.11.2024 09:21
Polish parliament is to vote on a plan to make Christmas Eve a public holiday in Poland. The project bill was submitted on Thursday by the Left grouping.
Photo:
Photo:Przykuta, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

The party’s MP Dariusz Wieczorek told Polish Radio that the bill was a response to public demand, as surveys show that 75 per cent of Poles want Christmas Eve to be a day off. He also added that his grouping wanted the bill to be introduced before this year’s Christmas celebrations and come into force immediately.

The draft amendment to the law on public holidays points out, that Christmas Eve is an important day for all workers and their families, who spend this time honouring religious traditions.

The authors of the project bill also remind that Christmas Eve is a statutory holiday in Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia and Hungary.

In Poland, Christmas Eve is the most significant day of the Christmas break, as Polish families gather for suppers, breaking the Christmas wafer and exchange presents on that day.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said in a media interview earlier this week that he agreed with the idea, and that he would sign the bill, if it was adopted by the parliament.

(tf)

Source: IAR