Photo: Glowimages
Well, it’s that time of year again. No wait, hang on. I started my other Letter with the same line. Oh well. I suppose during Yuletide a number of topics spring to mind which are based on a theme. I’ve spoken about shopping malls and carp, but now I want to go that one step further to discuss the general picture, really get into the nitty-gritty. Yes, dear listeners and dear readers, this time we are going to delve into the traditions which surround Christmas shopping.
Now we all know what shopping centres look like up and down the country at this time of year. If you thought that Black Friday was the day when shoppers go crazy, or at least they’ve started to in Poland, then multiply by ten and leave it running for a good couple of weeks in the run-up to Christmas.
According to a poll by TNS Polska for the Polish Banking Association – very telling indeed – Poles will spend an average of PLN 824 (around EUR 195) on their Christmas shopping in 2014. According to another report, this time by consultancy Deloitte, the average Polish family will spend PLN 1,158 on presents, food, and Christmas gatherings, although I’m not sure the office party fits under this budget line… However, what it does mean is that Poles will spend 12.6 percent more in nominal terms than in 2013.
Quite a tidy sum, I’m sure you’ll agree, so let’s do an experiment to see where this cash – and we’ll use the former figure – goes. But before we get to things like presents, there are so many other things which the average Polish household has to kit itself out with in the run-up to the Wigilia Christmas Eve dinner.
First, there’s the Christmas tree and all the frills that go with it. Last year, my wife and I ventured south to Warsaw’s district of Ursynów on the tip-off that there’s actually quite a good Christmas market there. I mean ‘good’ here may be an overstatement of sorts, but there were certainly enough Christmas trees to fill up a small Alpine forest. Most of the trees were of a decent price, something around PLN 100, although we decided to plump for an indoor festive decoration. That’ll be PLN 50. Then there’s the lights, the candles, and the small pile of hay you place under the tablecloth during the Christmas Eve dinner.
That’ll be another PLN 50. You can usually pick these up from your local parish church, but it seems that more and more Poles are picking them up from their local stores, at twice the price too.
Right, with decorations done and PLN 100 spent, we have another PLN 700. So how about we go down the supermarket and get our food. If you’re planning to do a twelve course dinner for Wigilia then you might end up running out of cash, so let’s stick to a few courses, such as salads, the Christmas vegetarian bigos, herring, carp, and other bits and bobs. A usual Christmas food shop may put you back around PLN 300-400, so let’s just count that, shall we? That leaves us with something in the region of PLN 350.
And that kind of works out when you look at the statistics. According to the TNS survey, Poles will spend about PLN 338 on prezzies for Christmas, in fact in December the average Pole will spend about 30 percent of his salary on presents. But where to spend this money? Of course, there are the traditional Christmas markets, which are usually geared towards tourists and hold no more than some felt slippers, Bolesławiec pottery, sheepskin jackets, lots of sweets and the occasional stall of mulled wine. In fact, most Poles will head down the shopping malls, which host frenzied scenes of late shoppers going crazy before Christmas Eve hits. I can only imagine what it’s like working in a branch of an electronics shop or the local supermarket at this time of year. And I say ‘imagine’ for good reason. Because, like many Poles, I have taken to the internet to sort out my Christmas shopping, although I’ve got a feeling that I’ve left it too late this year.
However, why try and beat the crowds when you can sit at home – or at work – and deal with all those things at a safe distance, far from the madding crowd? I know it works for me, and I know it’ll work for you too. Just think about it, you can get your presents online and wrapped and delivered to your doorstep. All you have to do is to remember which present is for whom, including yourself of course.
And then, when the candles are lit and you share the Christmas wafer – the opłatek – you will be safe in the knowledge that you really have earned it this year, because managing to do your shopping in good time and not frantically at the last minute will leave you with a smug smile and make those pierogi taste that much better. Have you done your Christmas shopping yet? What will you be getting your loved ones?