November 11, 1918 – Polish Independence Day

Poland celebrates its Independence Day on November 11, in commemoration of the Armistice ending hostilities in World War I, which led to the rebirth of the Polish nation.  In the United States, November 11 is celebrated as Veterans Day. In Britain and Commonwealth countries, November 11 is known as Remembrance Day or Poppy Day, due to the tradition of wearing a red poppy in memory of those killed in World War I.

Many people don’t realize that Poland literally disappeared from the map of Europe for 123 years, from the last of the Partitions in 1795—when the country was divided up by its rapacious neighbors Prussia (which became Germany after unification in the mid-19th century), Austria-Hungary, and Russia—until the end of World War I in 1918.

Despite being split among different countries and cultures, ethnic Poles never gave up the fight to regain their country. They saw World War I, when their oppressors were busy fighting each other, as a great opportunity for Poland to reemerge as an independent nation.

Thanks in large part to the influence of international superstar pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski, a great Polish patriot, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson included creation of an independent Polish state with access to the sea, as one of the Fourteen Points he identified as conditions for ending World War I.

As a result, November 11 is considered the date of birth of the modern Polish state, and celebrated as the country’s Independence Day.

The website https://folkways.today/polish-holidays/ elaborates on how Poles celebrate Independence Day:

On this day, parades are held across Poland, and many houses and buildings as well as public transportation are decorated with Polish flags. There is also an annual Independence Run—a marathon hosted in several cities with a number of participants who often dress in the colors of the Polish flag.

Independence Day also coincides with the feast of St. Martin, when Poles traditionally eat St. Martin’s croissants—a desert that originated in the city of Poznań and is at least 150 years old. The recipe, however, hasn’t changed much since then—the famous croissants are still made of rough puff pastry, filled with poppy seeds, glazed, and decorated with nuts.