The processions were expected to feature people of all ages, wearing paper crowns, as well as richly dressed actors portraying the Three Wise Men from the Bible—Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.
The Feast of the Epiphany, also known as Three Kings' Day, is one of the oldest and most important holidays in the Roman Catholic Church, and a public holiday in Poland.
Celebrated every year on January 6, it commemorates the arrival of the Magi in Bethlehem to pay tribute to the baby Jesus 12 days after his birth.
The day has been a public holiday in Poland since 2011 when it was reinstated after a hiatus of more than five decades.
This year’s Epiphany feast was expected to see processions taking to the streets of 872 cities and towns around the country
More than 20 such events were also scheduled to be held by Polish communities abroad, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency has reported.
Polish President Andrzej Duda and First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda were expected to join an annual parade in the capital Warsaw. The event was due to begin at the city’s landmark Castle Square at midday.
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Source: IAR