Casimir Pulaski Day
| Casimir Pulaski Day | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Observed by | City of Chicago; state of Illinois |
| Type | city holiday; state holiday |
| Date | First Monday in March |
| 2023 date | March 6 |
| 2024 date | March 4 |
| 2025 date | March 3 |
| 2026 date | March 2 |
| Related to | General Pulaski Memorial Day |
Casimir Pulaski Day is a holiday observed in Illinois on the first Monday of every March in memory of Casimir Pulaski (March 4, 1745[1] – October 11, 1779), a Revolutionary War cavalry officer born in Poland as Kazimierz Pułaski. He is known for his contributions to the U.S. military in the American Revolution by training its soldiers and cavalry.
The day is celebrated mainly in areas that have large Polish populations, such as Chicago. The focus of official commemorations of Casimir Pulaski Day in Chicago are at the Polish Museum of America where various city and state officials congregate to pay tribute to Chicago's Polish Community.
This is a separate holiday from the federal holiday, General Pulaski Memorial Day, which commemorates Pulaski's death from wounds suffered at the Siege of Savannah on October 9, 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 State Senator Leroy W. Lemke, a Democrat from Chicago. Chicago Public Schools, Cook County government offices, and the Chicago Public Library close on this holiday.
Outside of Illinois
The holiday is also observed in Wisconsin public schools:
Section 118.02, Wisconsin Statutes, identifies certain days for "special observance" in its public schools. Among these is "Casimir Pulaski Day", to be commemorated annually on March 4 (s. 118.02(5), Wis Stats).
Section 118.02, Wis Stats, provides for these "Special Observance Days" that, "...when school is held or, if the day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, on a school day immediately preceding or following the respective day, the day shall be appropriately observed...." The use of "shall" denotes this as a mandatory requirement. Each public school in Wisconsin must observe Casimir Pulaski Day on March 4. How the day is observed -- "appropriately" -- allows for some discretion among the schools.
In 2010, Wisconsin Public Schools are to observe in some appropriate fashion Casimir Pulaski Day on Thursday, March 4. In 2011, this would be observed on Friday, March 4. In 2012, as March 4 falls on a Sunday, Casimir Pulaski Day would be observed on Monday, March 5, coinciding with the holiday in Illinois.
In popular culture
Michigan-born songwriter Sufjan Stevens titled a song "Casimir Pulaski Day" on his album Illinois. 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..."
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References
- ^ Father Stanislaw Makarewicz (1998), "The Four Birth Records of Kazimierz Pulaski", Archiwa, Biblioteki i Muzea Koscielne, vol. 70, The Catholic University of Lublin (KUL), retrieved 2009-03-04
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