November 12 a holiday to mark Poland's independence centenary
November 12, 2018 will be a national holiday and a day off under a bill adopted by the Sejm (lower house) on Tuesday night to mark Poland's independence centenary. There were 233 votes for the draft, 105 against and 77 abstentions.
Poland regained independence on November 11, 1918, after 123 years of partitions.
Substantiating the draft, its authors stressed that "Independence Day is for Poles one of the most important state holidays." They also underlined that a trading ban will not be in force on that day and that all public hospitals, out-patient's clinics and pharmacies will be working on a regular basis.
Law and Justice's MPs, who authored the bill, explained that they decided to file the bill as this year November 11 falls on Sunday.
"As November 11 is a national holiday and a day off, declaring November 12 a day off this year will have no significant influence on the economic growth but will have positive social results," Law and Justice's Elżbieta Kruk said.
"During this year's observances of November 11, we will be paying homage to the people, to whom we owe our own state, who managed to rebuild it after WWI, and who created conditions for its economic development as well as economic and social modernisation," reads the draft. (PAP)
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