Casimir Pulaski Day

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Casimir Pulaski Day

Observed by	Chicago - Illinois
Type	City Holiday, State Holiday
Date	First Monday of March
2008 date	March 3
Related to	General Pulaski Memorial Day

Casimir Pulaski Day is a holiday observed in Illinois on the first Monday of every March to commemorate Casimir Pulaski, a Revolutionary War cavalry officer born March 4, 1747 in Poland as Kazimierz Pułaski. He is known for his contributions to the US military at the time by training its soldiers and cavalry. The day is celebrated mainly in areas that have large Polish populations. Chicago has one of the largest Polish populations in the United States. This is a separate holiday from the federal holiday, General Pulaski Memorial Day, which commemorates Pulaski's death at the Siege of Savannah on October 11, 1779.

Illinois enacted a law on June 20, 1977 to celebrate the birthday of Casimir Pulaski and held the first official Pulaski Day celebrations in 1978. The bill was introduced by Senator Leroy W. Lemke (D)- Chicago. Chicago celebrates Pulaski Day on the first Monday in March with an annual parade. Cook County government (which includes Chicago) and the Chicago Public Library also close on this holiday. The holiday is also observed in Wisconsin public schools, celebrated March 4th, as outlined in state statute 118.02 (although this is not universally observed). Indiana also marks the day as a commemorative day by governor's proclamation (IC 1-1-12.5), although it is not a state holiday.

[edit] In popular culture

Michigan-born songwriter Sufjan Stevens titled a song "Casimir Pulaski Day" on his album Illinoise. The song is not specifically about the celebration but about a personal event that took place on Casimir Pulaski Day as indicated by the lyric, "...in the morning, in the winter shade, on the first of March, on the holiday..."

Chicago-based rock band Big Black had a song titled "Kasimir S. Pulaski Day" on their 1987 album Songs About Fucking.