May 3 - Polish Constitution Day

May 3 is Polish Constitution Day, which commemorates the ratification on May 3, 1791, of the first democratic constitution in Europe and the second, after the United States, in the world, by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

The Constitution created political (if not class) equality between townspeople and nobility (the szlachta), and the peasants became protected by the law lessening the abuses of serfdom.

The Constitution was overthrown a year later by the Russians and a faction of Poles because it was felt by Empress Catherine of Russia that it lessened Russia's influence over Poland.

Celebrations of Polish Constitution Day were banned during the partitions, but its memory and ideals were passed down from generation to generation and helped keep alive the dreams and hopes for an independent and just society, which happened in 1918 when Poland regained its independence. The day was again declared an official holiday in 1919, only to be banned again by Nazi and Soviet occupiers. May 3 was restored as an official Polish holiday in April 1990, after the fall of communism. And in 2007, May 3 was also declared a national holiday by the Lithuanian government

In modern Poland, May 3 is considered Poland's most important civil holiday. And, in the United States, Chicago, a city that boasts the largest Polish population outside of Warsaw, holds the largest Polish Constitution Day parade outside of Poland!

Coordinated by the Alliance of Polish Clubs, it's a colorful affair and a darn good reason to party. Costumed dancers, marching bands, polkas, accordions and all things Polish contribute to the display of ethnic pride.

If you can't make this parade or any other, get in the spirit of things with these recipes: pierogi, kielbasa, paczki.