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 1951 No. 4, Item 28). The Act, as amended in 2010, currently defines thirteen 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) | |
| January 6 | Epiphany | Objawienie Pańskie (Trzech Króli) | in effect since 2011 |
| 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 | Labour Day | Święto Państwowe (Święto Pracy) | This holiday is not officially called Labour Day (see below), but it is commonly called that and coincides with Labour Day as celebrated internationally on May 1. |
| May 3 | Constitution Day | Święto Narodowe Trzeciego Maja (Święto Konstytucji Trzeciego Maja) | Celebrating the May 3rd Constitution |
| 7th Sunday after Easter | Pentecost Sunday | Zesłanie Ducha Świętego (Zielone Świątki) | As this holiday always falls on a Sunday, it is not widely known that it is considered a non-working day, as all Sundays are already non-working days and holidays falling on Sunday don't give the right to another free day. |
| 9th Thursday after Easter | Corpus Christi | Ciała i Krwi Pańskiej (Boże Ciało) | This is a Catholic church Holiday |
| August 15 | Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary | Wniebowzięcie Najświętszej Maryi Panny | This is also Polish Armed Forces Day (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 | Christmas Day | pierwszy dzień Bożego Narodzenia | |
| December 26 | Boxing Day | drugi dzień Bożego Narodzenia |
[edit] May Holidays
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 as Constitution Day. May holidays (1st, 2nd and 3 May) are called in Polish "Majówka", a pun made from the May month name (it can be translated as May-day picnic[1]).
[edit] National holidays
The following are national holidays in Poland, although they are normally working days:
- April 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), the anniversary of the raising of the Polish flag in the aftermath of the battle of Berlin, 1945
- May 9 - Victory Day Narodowe Święto Zwycięstwa i Wolności, 1945
- June 28 - (since 2005) Day of Remembrance of the Poznań June 1956, on the anniversary of the Poznań 1956 protests [1]
- August 15 - Polish Armed Forces Day, Święto Wojska Polskiego - set on day of Miracle at the Vistula
- 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
- July 22 - National Day of Rebirth of Poland on the anniversary of signing of PKWN Manifesto
[edit] Other observances
- Grandmother's Day on January 21,
- Grandfather's Day on January 22,
- Women's Day on March 8,
- Boy's Day (Dzień Chłopaka) on September 30 - on this day girls are giving presents to boys,
- Mother's Day on May 26,
- Father's Day on June 23,
- Children's Day on June 1,
- Teacher's Day on October 14,
- "Mikołajki" on December 6 - on this day Santa Claus is giving presents to children,
- Christmas Eve (Wigilia Bożego Narodzenia) on December 24,
- St. Andrew's Day (Andrzejki) on November 30 - on this day people (mainly children and teens) are making prophecy by pouring candle wax by key hole to water and guessing what does the wax shape mean,
- Ivan Kupala Day (Noc Kupały) on the night from June 21 to 22 and "Noc Świętojańska" on the night from June 22 to 23,
- Fat Thursday on the last Thursday before Lent,
- Śmigus Dyngus Day on Easter Monday (the day following Easter Sunday) is when traditionally the young (and young of heart) have water fights, in continuation of a pagan spring fertility ritual observed in many other cultures,
- September 1-Day Germany invaded Poland in 1939, triggering World War II.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
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