November In Poland

november in poland

- you thought it was cold before? wrong. it’s going to be even colder now. you can expect winds that will blast you in the face with leaves. also: rain or snow, or rain with snow.

- you can swear it was morning two hours ago, but it’s already dark. you can’t really remember sun anymore.

- suddenly the only people you see on the streets are old people. have you even seen this many old people before?

- half of every store is taken up by candles and lights for graves. they’re kitschy and cheap and you wonder if they are actually a true reflection of death. the other half is already filled with christmas decorations.

- “move this one to the side. no, the other one, put the white one next to the flowers. i can’t believe your aunt got here before us, of course she bought the most expensive one. who has the matches? light those up and then we go to great-grandma.”

- the supermarket still has some pumpkins, but you know soon it’ll be filled with oranges and nothing more

- your grandma already worries when the priest will come to visit. your family either tries to find an envelope or plans how to pretend that nobody’s home.

- there are still remnants of the fight whether halloween is okay or not.

- however, half of the country already plans how to make a positive holiday into a day of despair, martyrdom and complaining, and you wonder if they know what “independence” actually means. your family starts arguing about politics again.

- you’re asked for the seventh time what your plans for new years are. the answer never changes, but they ask anyway.