Holidays in Poland 2023: dates of public and unofficial holidays

What will be public holidays in Poland in 2023? What are the unofficial holidays in the Republic? You will find answers to these questions from this publication on All-Holidays.Info. at the end of the article you will find a calendar with official and unofficial Polish holidays.

January

January 1 (Sunday) – New Year;
January 6 (Friday) – Epiphany, Three Holy Kings;
January 21 (Saturday) – Grandmother’s Day;
January 22 (Sunday) – Grandfathers Day.

February

February 2 (Thursday) – Presentation of the Lord (Meeting of the Lord);
February 14 (Tuesday) – Valentine’s Day;
February 16 (Thursday) – Fat Thursday;
February 21 (Tuesday) – Maslenitsa;
February 22 (Wednesday) – Ash Wednesday.

Ash Wednesday (Popelets)

The first day of Lent according to the Catholic rite. On Ash Wednesday, Catholics aged 14-17 refuse meat, and fast from 18 to 60 years old. On Ash Wednesday, believers are not required to attend Holy Mass.

March

March 1 (Wednesday) – National Day of Remembrance of the “damned soldiers”;
March 8 (Wednesday) – International Women’s Day;
March 10 (Friday) – Men’s Day;
March 20 (Monday) – Beginning of astronomical spring (vernal equinox);
March 26 (Sunday) – Change from winter to summer time.

National Day of Remembrance for the “Cursed Soldiers”

This day is sometimes referred to as the National Day of Remembrance for “Outcast Soldiers”. The holiday is dedicated to the memory of the fighters of the anti-communist and liberation underground. National Day of Remembrance of the “Cursed Soldiers” is a public holiday, but not a public holiday.

Men’s Day

The holiday celebrates the achievements of all men throughout history. There is an opinion that it is dedicated to the day of memory of the 40 holy martyrs of Sebaste. There is no strong tradition in Poland to celebrate Men’s Day.

April

April 1 (Saturday) – April 1;
April 2 (Sunday) – Palm Sunday;
April 6 (Thursday) – Maundy Thursday;
April 7 (Friday) – Good Friday;
April 8 (Saturday) – Holy Saturday;
April 9 (Sunday) – Easter;
April 10 (Monday) – Easter Monday;
April 16 (Sunday) – Feast of the Divine Mercy;
April 22 (Saturday) – International Earth Day.

May

May 1 (Monday) – International Labor Day;
May 2 (Tuesday) – Flag Day of the Republic of Poland;
May 3 (Wednesday) – Constitution Day on May 3;
May 8 (Monday) – National Victory Day;
May 21 (Sunday) – Ascension;
May 26 (Friday) – Mother’s Day;
May 28 (Sunday) – Pentecost (Pentecost).

Constitution Day May 3

This day is dedicated to the adoption of the constitution of the Commonwealth in 1791. On this day, the political system was changed from a parliamentary to a constitutional monarchy. The Constitution of the Commonwealth of May 3, 1791 is considered the first modern constitution in Europe and the second in the world.

June

June 1 (Thursday) – International Children’s Day;
June 8 (Thursday) – Corpus Christi;
June 21 (Wednesday) – The first day of summer – the longest day of the year;
June 23 (Friday) – Father’s Day.

August

August 1 (Tuesday) – National Day of Remembrance of the Warsaw Uprising;
August 15 (Tuesday) – Day of the Polish Army, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary;
August 31 (Thursday) – Day of Solidarity and Freedom.

National Day of Commemoration of the Warsaw Uprising

Memorial Day of the largest military operation of the Home Army. As a result of the uprising, which went from August 1 to October 3, 1944, the Nazis destroyed about 16 thousand soldiers of the Home Army. Between 150,000 and 220,000 civilians died due to massacres, air raids, shelling and harsh living conditions.

Modern neo-Nazis and adherents of the “Russian world” deliberately distort the events of those years. In their opinion, the Home Army was involved in the genocide of Ukrainians and Jews. The testimonies of a certain “Oleg”, a mythical intelligence officer who operated in the occupied territories, are taken as the basis. As practice has shown, except for the Russians and the Nazis, no one resorted to the means of genocide of the local population either in the Second World War or in subsequent ones.

Day of the Polish Army

National holiday commemorating Poland’s victory in the Battle of Warsaw 1920 as part of the Polish-Bolshevik War. The battle, also called the “Miracle on the Vistula” lasted from August 13 to 25, 1920. As a result, the Polish side lost about 4.5 thousand people killed. The Soviet Red Army suffered losses of about 25,000 Bolsheviks killed.

September

September 23 (Saturday) – Beginning of astronomical autumn (autumn equinox);
September 30 (Saturday) – Boy’s Day.

Boy’s day

This holiday is a new tradition, the origin of which is unknown. On Boy’s Day, girls in schools give gifts and good wishes to boys. This unofficial holiday is gradually gaining popularity.

October

October 14 (Saturday) – Teacher’s Day (National Education Day);
October 29 (Sunday) – Changeover from summer to winter time;
October 31 (Tuesday) – Halloween.

November

November 1 (Wednesday) – All Saints Day;
November 2 (Thursday) – All Souls’ Day;
November 3 (Friday) – Hubertus;
November 11 (Saturday) – National Independence Day;
November 29 (Wednesday) – St. Andrew’s Day.

Hubertus

The traditional holiday of hunters, foresters and riders. It is held around November 3, the feast day of St. Hubert, the patron saint of hunters and horsemen. Celebrated in Poland, Great Britain, Germany. For the first time Hubertus was celebrated in 1444. There is a belief that those who celebrated Hubertus will be lucky in hunting all season.

December

December 3 (Sunday) – Advent;
December 4 (Monday) – Barborka (Day of Miner, Oilman and Gasman);
December 6 (Wednesday) – St. Nicholas Day;
December 22 (Friday) – Beginning of astronomical winter – the shortest day of the year;
December 24 (Sunday) – Christmas Eve;
December 25 (Monday) – Christmas (first day);
December 26 (Tuesday) – Christmas (second day);
December 27 (Wednesday) – National Day of the victorious Wielkopolska uprising;
December 31 (Sunday) – New Year’s Eve.