24 December to become work-free in Poland

From next year, 24 December is to become a public holiday in Poland. The lower house of parliament, the Sejm, passed the law on Wednesday evening by 403 votes to ten, with twelve abstentions. However, it is doubtful that Polish President Andrzej Duda will approve the law and bring it into force.

Poland's state broadcaster anonymously quoted an employee of the presidential chancellery on Thursday, who assumed that Duda would veto the bill. In doing so, he wants to prevent there being three Sundays open for business in December instead of two, it was said. The law passed by the Sejm allows retailers to open on the three Sundays before Christmas to compensate for the closure of shops on Christmas Eve. The second chamber of parliament, the Senate, can still make corrections.

Church in favour of new law

The Catholic Church in Poland welcomed the fact that Christmas Eve is to be work-free in future. "This will certainly help people to prepare better for Christmas," said Leszek Gesiak, press spokesman for the Bishops' Conference. However, he regretted that the price for this would be more Sundays open for business during Advent. The Church has always taken the position "that Sunday should be a day off from work, offering the opportunity to spend it with the family, including retail workers".

In Poland, 25 and 26 December are currently public holidays, but 24 December is not. Most recently, Epiphany on 6 January was declared a public holiday in the country. It has been free from work again since 2011, having been abolished in 1960. Since 2020, shops have also been banned from opening on Sundays - with the exception of seven fixed Sundays per year. This year, these include the third and fourth days of Advent. (KNA)