Thousands of people dressed as Santa Claus have taken part in parades across Poland as the country celebrates St Nicholas Day. Many did so riding on motorbikes – which in one case almost resulted in tragedy – while others took to paddleboards on the river or joined charity runs on the streets.
St Nicholas Day on 6 December is an important date in Poland, especially for children, who awake to small gifts under their pillows. Recent years have also seen a range of more modern traditions develop.
In the coastal city of Gdynia, around 800 people dressed as Santa rode motorbikes through the streets. The annual event – cancelled last year due to the pandemic – raises money for charity.
In 2019, it gathered over 83,000 zloty (€18,000). The total is still being counted this year, and the money will be used to buy provide gift packages and hot meals for children.
This year’s event saw an unpleasant incident when two of the bikes collided, resulting in one of them driving into the onlooking crowd. A 42-year-old woman was evacuated by helicopter and hospitalised with head injuries. Local authorities later issued a message saying that she was doing well. Police are investigating.
Similar events took place in Warsaw, which was holding its 12th “Moto Mikołajki” (Moto St Nicholas) parade, and in Wrocław, which was holding its seventh.
In the latter city, bikers drove through the streets until they reached an orphanage, where they dropped off presents for the children. In Warsaw, participants also made a collection of items that will be donated to around 100 children before Christmas.
“We start collecting money, gifts and medical equipment weeks before the grand finale,” Paweł Gutowski, who took part in Kraków’s St Nicholas motorbike ride, told Notes from Poland. As well as its charitable aims, the event is also “great fun”, he says, and gives an opportunity to ride bikes under police protection during the winter.
Elsewhere in Kraków, around 50 Santas took to the river on paddleboards, despite the unfriendly weather conditions. Like their counterparts elsewhere, they were raising money for a children’s charity.
In the city of Tarnobrzeg, a St Nicholas Day parade – smaller than usual due to the pandemic – passed through the streets, with Santas handing out sweets to children. Meanwhile, in Opole around 450 people – including Santas, elves and some reindeer – took part in a night-time charity run.
450 mikołajów i mikołajek, kilku elfów, a nawet renifer wzięło udział w I Nocnym Mikołajkowym Biegu Nyskim. Uczestnicy pokonali 5-kilometrową trasę, która wiodła przez rozświetlone świąteczną iluminacją centrum miasta.https://t.co/iICVOcf8JE
— TVP3 Opole (@TVP3Opole) December 5, 2021
Main image credit: Tomasz Pietrzyk / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
