Public holidays in Poland
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
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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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 (Święto Wojska Polskiego), celebrating the battle of Warsaw in 1920 |
| November 1 | All Saints' Day | Wszystkich Świętych (Dzień Zmarłych) | |
| 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 |
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. The May holidays (1st, 2nd and 3rd of May) are called "Majówka" in Polish, a pun made from the May month name (it can be translated as May-day picnic[1]).
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 the Polish Air Force, set on the anniversary of pilot Franciszek Żwirko and mechanic Stanisław Wigura victory in the Challenge 1932. Formerly, from 1918 to 1932 the anniversary of first Polish Air Force flight, 5 November, and during communist times, 23 August - first engagement by Polish airforce in the East
- August 31 - Day of Solidarity and Freedom, set 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 - Pope John Paul II Day
Former holidays
- July 22 - National Day of the Rebirth of Poland, set on the anniversary of the PKWN Manifesto's signing.
Other observances
- Grandmother's Day on January 21,
- Grandfather's Day on January 22,
- Tłusty Czwartek on the last Thursday before Lent,
- Women's Day on March 8,
- Śmigus Dyngus 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,
- Majówka is a spring festival celebrated throughout Europe.
- Mother's Day on May 26,
- Father's Day on June 23,
- Children's Day on June 1.
- Ivan Kupala Day (Noc Kupały) on the night from June 21 to 22
- Saint John's Eve "Noc Świętojańska" on the night from June 22 to 23.
- Boy's Day (Dzień Chłopaka) on September 30 - on this day girls are giving presents to boys.
- September 1 the day Germany invaded Poland in 1939, triggering World War II.
- September 17 the day Russia invaded Poland in 1939.
- Teacher's Day on October 14.
- 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 the wax shape means,
- Mikołajki on December 6 - on this day Santa Claus is giving sweets to children,
- Christmas Eve (Wigilia Bożego Narodzenia) on December 24,
