Public holidays in Poland
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Holidays in Poland are regulated by the Non-working Days Act of 18 January 1951 (Ustawa z dnia 18 stycznia 1951 o dniach wolnych od pracy) — Journal of Laws, No. 4 of 1960, item No. 28. The Act, as amended in 1990, currently defines twelve public holidays.
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[edit] Public holidays
Note: The table below lists only public holidays i.e. holidays which are legally considered to be non-working days.
| Date | English Name | Official Local Name (Informal Local Name) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 | New Year's Day | Nowy Rok (Nowy Rok) | |
| Sunday in Spring (movable) | Easter Sunday | pierwszy dzień Wielkiej Nocy (Niedziela Wielkanocna) | |
| Monday following Easter Sunday | Easter Monday | drugi dzień Wielkiej Nocy (Poniedziałek Wielkanocny) | |
| May 1 | State Holiday | Święto Państwowe (Święto Pracy) | This holiday is intentionally not called Labour Day (see below). |
| May 3 | National 3rd of May Holiday | Święto Narodowe Trzeciego Maja (Święto Konstytucji Trzeciego Maja) | This holiday is usually called Constitution Day. (See Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791.) |
| 7th Sunday after Easter | Pentecost Sunday | pierwszy dzień Zielonych Świątek (Zielone Świątki) | As this holiday always falls on a Sunday it is not widely known. |
| 9th Thursday after Easter | Corpus Christi | dzień Bożego Ciała (Boże Ciało) | This is a Catholic Church Holiday |
| August 15 | Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary | Wniebowzięcie Najświętszej Maryi Panny | This is also the day of the Polish army (Dzień Wojska Polskiego), celebrating the battle of Warsaw in 1920 |
| November 1 | All Saints' Day | Wszystkich Świętych | |
| November 11 | Independence Day | Narodowe Święto Niepodległości (Dzień Niepodległości) | |
| December 25 | 1st day of Christmas | pierwszy dzień Bożego Narodzenia | |
| December 26 | 2nd day of Christmas | drugi dzień Bożego Narodzenia |
[edit] The Picnic
Under communist rule, the 1st of May was celebrated as Labour Day with government-endorsed parades, concerts and similar events. Following the 1989 changes, the Sejm decided to keep this day a public holiday but to give it the neutral name of State Holiday. In addition, the 3rd of May was created Constitution Day, so that Poles now have two public holidays within one week. It is customary to bridge the gap by taking a day's leave on the 2nd, and if the weekend falls favourably most Poles can enjoy nine work-free days while using up only three days of leave. For example:
- Saturday (weekend) on 28 April
- Sunday (weekend) on 29 April
- Monday (1st day of leave) on 30 April
- Tuesday (Public Holiday) on 1 May
- Wednesday (2nd day of leave) on 2 May
- Thursday (Public Holiday) on 3 May
- Friday (3rd day of leave) on 4 May
- Saturday (weekend) on 5 May
- Sunday (weekend) on 6 May
It is usually impossible to do any business on 2 May as most government offices, banks, shops, etc are closed on this date. This extended holiday period is known as The Picnic (Majówka).
In February 2004, 2 May was named Flag Day; it was not, however, made a public holiday.
[edit] National holidays
The followings are national holidays in Poland:
- March 13 - World's Day of Remembrance for Victims of Katyn Massacre
- May 2 - Flag Day (formally: Flag of the Republic of Poland Day, Dzień Flagi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), on the anniversary of Polish flag in the aftermath of the battle of Berlin, 1945
- June 28 - (since 2005) Day of Remembrance of the Poznań June of 1956, on the anniversary of the Poznań 1956 protests [1]
- August 28 - Day of Polish Airforce on the anniversary of victory of pilot Franciszek Żwirko and mechanic Stanisław Wigura in Challenge 1932. Formerly: from 1918 to 1932 the anniversary of first Polish Airforce flight, 5 November, and during communist times, 23 August - first engagement by Polish airforce in the East
- August 31 - Day of Solidarity and Freedom, on the anniversary of August Agreement from 1980
- October 14 - Day of National Education (formerly Day of the Teacher), on the anniversary of the founding of the Komisja Edukacji Narodowej (Commission of National Education)
- October 16 - Day of Pope John Paul II
[edit] Former holidays
- May 1 - Labor Day
- July 22 - National Day of Rebirth of Poland on the anniversary of signing of PKWN Manifesto
[edit] Other observances
- Mother's Day on May 26
- Fat Thursday on the last Thursday before Lent.
- Śmigus Dyngus Day, on the Monday after Easter Sunday, is a holiday where the children will have water fights and occasionally adults will participate in the festivities.
[edit] See also
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