The largest parade marched through the midwestern US city of Chicago. The annual Constitution Day parade was held for the 132nd time.
Chicago’s annual celebrations of Poland’s Constitution of May 3, 1791 were initiated by the Polish National Alliance in the late 19th century to commemorate the centennial of the enactment of the landmark document.
On May 2, 1891, that first Polish Constitution Day parade was held in Chicago and since then the Polish American community in Chicago has come together on the first Saturday of May every year to celebrate patriotism, culture, history and heritage, as a reminder that Poland enacted a democratic constitution that was second only to the Constitution of the United States and first of its kind in Europe.
Over the years, parade organizers have hosted special guests including federal, state and local government officials, as well as special invitees from Poland. This year the parade was attended by Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak and the deputy Speaker of the Polish lower house of parliament, Małgorzata Gosiewska.
Meanwhile, the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on Saturday saw a huge parade of the Polish community celebrating the Day of Poles Abroad, a tradition observed annually in early May.
Jan Dziedziczak, the Polish government’s commissioner for relations with Poles abroad, said that such events are "a fantastic opportunity to exchange experiences and enhance community building."
The Polish embassy in Belgium helped organise a family picnic in Brussels to mark Polish Days. The celebration was held in Belgium on Sunday as part of the annual Polish Heritage Days event held by Polish embassies and institutes around the world.
Held at the Parc du Cinquantenaire in Brussels, the family picnic attracted a crowd of Poles living in Belgium. Attractions included a performance by the Cracovia Danza Ballet inspired by the 550th anniversary of the birth of the great Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus and a host of Polish culinary specialties.
The proceeds from the sales went to hospitals in Ukraine.
Poland's ambassador to Belgium, Rafal Siemianowski, said that "it is important to showcase Polish tradition and culture not only to Poles living in Belgium, but to the Belgians."
Polish cuisine also attracted much attention in Tokyo where a festival held as part of Polish Heritage Days drew thousands of guests, who came to listen to Polish folk songs and jazz and sample traditional Polish specialties. Despite pouring rain in Tokyo, a huge queue formed in front of the stalls offering Polish pierogi, pączki as well as the traditional bigos stew and split pea soup.
(ab/gs)
Click on the audio player above to listen to a report by Radio Poland's Agnieszka Bielawska.