Shopping Sundays in Poland in December 2020In December 2020, there are THREE shopping Sundays in Poland:December 6th, December 13th, and December 20th. On December2nd, the Polish parliament adopted a new law introducing anadditional trading Sunday on December 6th. You can learn more aboutSunday trade ban in Poland in our post: shopping Sundays in Poland in2020 and 2021. Since our readers are asking about online storesoffering home deliveries we have prepared a post with the a of onlinestores in Poland delivering groceries to home.Things you can’t miss to survive !– Hide the candy in the shoe of the person you live withIn Poland, onDecember 6th, St. Nicholas’ Day (Mikołajki) is celebrated. The nameMikołajki comes from Mikołaj (Polish for Nicholas), meaning littleNicholas. On the night of December 5-6th, small gifts are secretlygiven to children while they are sleeping. One of the traditions is tohide treats in shoes. Children should clean them the night before andthe next morning (on Mikołajki day) they would find inside their shoea small surprise. Chocolate Santas can be bought in Polish storesalready at the end of November.– Prepare an extra place setting at your festive table. One of thegreatest Polish Christmas traditions is to prepare an extra seat at thetable. One place more than the number of people gathered is placedon the festive table (including a plate and cutlery). According totradition, an additional seat at the Christmas Eve table is intended foran unannounced and unexpected guest. The unannounced guest has asymbolic meaning – it is someone in need, poor, lost, lonely or withoutfamily. This tradition is to remind us and oblige us to think aboutothers, about those in need. And to help others during the holidays,but not only. In this way, we can also express the memory of ourloved ones who have passed away. The empty plate can alsosymbolise someone from family or friends with whom we cannot meetthis year…– Accept the 12-course dinner challenge! The tradition in Polandrequires that the Christmas Eve dinner (on December 24th) includestwelve courses. 12 dishes may include for example bread, side dishesor desserts. Everyone who associates Polish cuisine with meat disheswill be pleasantly surprised – all dishes served on Christmas Eve mustbe meat-free. Typically, the dinner includes carp fish (karp), beetrootsoup (barszcz czerwony), mushroom soup (zupa grzybowa) or fishsoup (zupa rybna), dumplings with mushroom or cabbage filling(pierogi), cooked cabbage with mushrooms (kapusta z grzybami),herring salad, cooked vegetable salad with mayonnaise dressing(sałatka jarzynowa). Desserts are included in 12 courses: noodles withpoppy seeds, honey, nuts, and dry fruits (kluski z makiem, makiełki), adry fruit compote (kompot z suszu), poppy seeds cake (makowiec),gingerbread cookies (pierniczki), cheesecake (sernik), kutia – madewith wheat or barley grain, ground poppy seeds and honey.COVID-19 - always check for updates before travelling.Current COVID-19 regulations and restrictions in PolandRestrictions in Poland from November 28th to December 27th:On December 24th (Christmas Eve, stores are usually open until 2pm), there willbe NO “senior hours” (stores from 10am to 12am open only to seniors 60+) instores.Re-opening of libraries (1 person/15m2).Events/meetings organised at home – with a maximum of 5 people/guests (thelimit of 5 people does not include the host and people who live with the host).Re-opening of stores in shopping malls and furniture stores (including Ikea)from November 28th. There is a limit of people in shops and shopping malls – amaximum of 1 person/15 m2. The exception are playrooms in shopping centreswhich remain closed.Schools are closed (remote learning) until December 22nd (from December23rd until January 3rd there is a holiday break – no online classes). This appliesto all primary school grades (grades 1-8; children 7+) and high schools. The dateof the winter school break in Poland has been changed. Usually, the winterbreak (ferie zimowe) times differ for each Polish province/voivodship each year.However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the government has decided that in2021, winter break throughout Poland will be in the same 2-week period:January 4-17, 2021. This means that the children will be at home until January17th, 2021 (either with online classes or as part of the Christmas and winterbreak).Kindergartens and nurseries remain open.Travel by international trains outside the EU's external borders is suspended(rail traffic within the European Union’'s internal borders remains unchanged).Restaurants, bars, pubs closed. They can only sell take-away meals.Hotels are closed (hotels available only to guests on a business trip). Night clubsand discos closed. Cinemas, theatres, museums, galleries, cultural centres areclosed. Swimming pools, aqua parks, gyms are closed. Amusement parks andrecreational parks are closed.Beauty, hairdressing and tattoo parlors remain open in accordance with sanitaryrules.From 8am to 4pm (Monday to Friday, on school days), children up to 16 years ofage are not allowed to be outside alone without an adult. This rule does notapply on weekends and when the child goes to school or comes home fromschool.Public transportation: 50% of the seats or 30% of the total number of seatingand standing places. The limit of people in shops. 1 person/15 m2.It is forbidden to organise weddings, funeral banquets, first communionreceptions. The limit of people in churches: 1 person/15m2. Sporting eventswithout an audience. Trade fairs, congresses and conferences can be organisedonline.Shopping hours for seniors. From 10am to 12am, from Monday to Friday, thestores (grocery stores, drug stores, pharmacies) will be open only to seniors60+. They apply to post offices as well. “Hours for seniors” do not apply toclothing stores, household appliances stores, furniture stores etc.08 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND
photo: fotolupaphoto: emicristeaphoto: martin-dmphotos:Onpage 5: Krakówpage 6: Krakówpage 9: top: Wrocław Old Town, photo: B. Budzo, in the middle: food market in Kraków, bottom left: Warszawa Old Town, bottom right: Market Kraków)09 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND
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