What a Busy Week for Polonia!

This week is packed with opportunities for us to continue the conversation with our families about our heritage.



Today is May 1st.  This is significant in a couple of different ways. 

May 1st was Labour Day, or Swięnto Pracy, under the Communist regime of the USSR.  This meant no work and forced participation in parades throughout the USSR.  You were expected to dress nicely and stand with your family outside for 3-4 hours during the parade and cheer, irregardless of how you really felt.  Spies were in the crowds watching and everyone knew this.  Not participating, not cheering, snide comments under your breath to your loved ones, all could carry terrible repercussions on yourself and your family. 

May 1st was also only a few days after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.  Parades were expected to still continue under Moscow's instructions.  Children were all given Płyn Lugola to drink on that day.  We were in the USA for a few years by this time and I know we count ourselves as lucky in regards to this.

May 1st is called International Workers' Day throughout the world. 

The Catholic Church has designated May 1st as Saint Joseph the Worker Day.  He is considered the patron saint of workers, carpenters and those who oppose Communism.  He is also the patron saint of immigrants, which is part of the reason why there are many churches in areas where immigrants have historically moved to.  His day was designated in 1995, after the USSR May 1st parades began in some countries.

Today, May Day, is going to be flooded with marches as well.  Protesters throughout the world are demanding fair wages in China and Occupy Movement marches in every major city, including throughout Poland.


May 2nd is another important date for Polonia.  It is the date ratified by the Senate of Poland as Polonia Day.  It is also Polish Flag Day.




May 3rd is Polish Constitution Day, and because it falls on a Thursday, will be celebrated by the US Polonia community on Saturday, May 5th.



My family and I will be spending this week flying our Polish flags, wearing red, our Polish eagle pins, looking through children's books about Poland, calling our family in Poland, and learning and sharing our heritage.  We might even take the long drive into Chicago for the Polish Constitution Day Parade this Saturday and perhaps even visiting a Polish restaurant, depending on the weather and a few other factors.

What will your family be doing to celebrate?


Check out some great articles with poems about these dates:

Polish Art Center

Transparent (from the same people who make the free Polish Word of the Day widget in my side bar)

Have you ordered your Polish flag and paraphernalia yet from Dom itp?

Na razie...

Polish Constitution Day is Coming!

May 3rd is Poland's Constitution Day! 

May 3rd is a big deal in the Polish community.  And this isn't just any holiday, it's in celebration of the 1791 Constitution of Poland, which at the time was considered revolutionary.

Poland's official promotional website of the Republic of Poland, poland.gov.pl, has a great article explaining the May 3rd holiday.

So, what to do in celebration? 

This is a great week to replace or buy new Polish flags, mugs and other items to share your Polish pride.  Check out Dom itp, a Chicago family-owned business which carries your May 3rd weekend needs.  Dom itp was started by Polish immigrant Jan Krynski in 1990 and has been serving the Polish and European community of Chicago and the rest of the USA for 22 years.  Fellow Polish blogger, Pauline of Classy Chaos, is a part of the business as well. 

I hope you go check out their site and find something unique to help celebrate this important Polish holiday.

Some other ideas of how to celebrate around Chicago and other areas.

This year, the Polish Constitution Day Parade in Chicago will be on Saturday, May 5th in Grant Park starting at 11:30 am.  For a map of the parade and other information, check out the parade's website.  Cleveland and other cities will be having celebrations as well.

Whether or not you attend the parade, you can decorate your house with a Polish flag and celebrate your Polish ancestry this weekend with a Polish American cookout.  Make Polish potato salad, grilled kielbasa, and stuffed eggshells.

Of course, you should start the day with a cup of coffee or tea from a Polish mug and visit the Polish Museum of America.

You can also visit a local Polish deli to pick up some culinary treats, such as rose hip jam, rye bread, and pickles.  While there, see if they offer any Polish movies or CD's, which most of them do, along with Polish newspapers, magazines and cookbooks.

Visit a local Polish restaurant, if you are lucky enough to have one nearby.

This holiday is yet another great reminder to share our heritage with the next generation.  Share photos of family members, go online and look up the towns where your ancestors came from, share family stories and traditions, teach them the Polish National Anthem and tell them how strong our families are, what was sacrificed and what was gained by leaving Poland and coming to America.

And contact your families in Poland, if you can, and tell them you love them.  Being Polish American means celebrating both sides, the new and the old.




Check out last year's Polish Constitution Day Parade in Chicago.

Spring is Here!

It's time to start our gardens!  Dom itp has a deal right now for seeds: Buy $30 of seeds and get free shipping.  They carry Polish wild strawberries, leeks, several different flowers, parsley roots (which are irreplaceably delicious in certain Polish recipes), and many other varieties.  Their prices are comparable to going to your local chain or gardening store and they offer seeds which any Pole would be excited to grow and harvest during the warm weather.  It's like having a piece of Poland in your backyard.



Wiwat Polska and God Bless America...

Na razie...




Disclaimers: The links and banner for Dom itp are part of an affiliate program. While the company does not pay for me to post their links and banner, I do receive a portion of all sales made using the links and banner in compensation. If you do purchase something from them this way, I sincerely thank you.

Any other links in this post today are posted by me to help provide more information on May 3rd celebrations to the reader. I am not compensated in any way for sharing them, nor was I asked to by the associated sites.