2023-04-28 10:50:00
– The Day of the Polish Diaspora and Poles Abroad is a special holiday for us. We celebrate them always. It is true that this year, as in the previous year, the celebrations will be more modest and sad, but they will be there. On this day, local Poles and all Polish organizations will traditionally lay flowers with banners at the monument to Adam Mickiewicz. Then the gathered will go to the cathedral for a solemn Holy Mass. Unfortunately, due to the war, this year, just like last year, there will be no events outside Lviv. It doesn’t even fit. This year, certainly not as many people will come to lay wreaths as before the war. I think that about a thousand people will gather in front of the monument, and even more will come to pray. This is our tradition and we will not let it be destroyed – says Emil Legowicz, president of the Society of Polish Culture of the Lviv Region, in an interview with “Kurier Wileński”.
Read more: Pole from Lviv: “War will never be normal”
War kills the desire to celebrate
Legowicz recalls that before the war in Lviv, the holiday of the Polish community abroad was celebrated very grandly and solemnly. As he sadly admits, war kills not only people, but also the will to live, the desire to celebrate.
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“Now that the country is at war, everything has changed. Even before the war, we celebrated the Day of the Polish Diaspora and Poles Abroad very solemnly. Traditionally, we laid wreaths at the Adam Mickiewicz monument. Crowds of people were gathering. Then we went to the cathedral for prayer, and then buses took us to the Catholic Seminary for the rest of the ceremony. There is a beautiful square where we organized a picnic, there was a stage where artistic groups performed, we all had fun. There was singing and laughter. Children were playing around. It was very solemn. Unfortunately, it’s a thing of the past – emphasizes the president of the Society of Polish Culture of the Lviv Region.
May Day is national pride
Emil Legowicz emphasizes that the May holiday for Poles living in Ukraine “is tradition, it’s history, it’s national pride.” They are proud to be Polish. May 2 for them, Poles living in Ukraine, is primarily the Day of the State Flag of the Republic of Poland and the Day of the Polish Diaspora and Poles Abroad. It’s a very important holiday and no matter if it’s a war outside the window or peace, it’s a holiday that they will never forget.
– We are Poles from grandfather, great-grandfather, but our homeland is Ukraine. The war continues. Fortunately, it is calmer in Lviv, although the sirens are howling. For now, we are not touched, for how long – no one knows. They’re murdering in the east…’ says Emil Legowicz with a trembling voice.
| photo. slowopolskie.org, Alexej Mazur
Activity limited, but celebrations will be
Jerzy Wójcicki, journalist, activist of the Polish minority in Ukraine, local government official from Winnica, in an interview with “Kurier Wileński” said that due to the war, the celebrations will certainly be, but modest.
— Due to the war, we limit our activities to laying flowers at the Marshal’s plaque and visiting the local radio with the answer to the question, why is this holiday? Because millions are scattered all over the world, and here are those who from their grandfather’s great-grandfather’s life did not go to the United States in search of thick bread, emphasizes Jerzy Wójcicki.
Read more: Appeal of the Government Plenipotentiary for the Polish Diaspora and Poles Abroad to the Polish Diaspora in the World for Solidarity with Fighting Ukraine on the 1st Anniversary of Russian Aggression
Sad news from emptying Borysław
On the other hand, Halina Klancko, president of the Society of Polish Culture of the Lviv Region, branch in Borysław, in an interview with “Kurier Wileński”, she said that it was very sad, but there are almost no Poles in Borysław.
May 2 is always a holiday for us. We always waited to celebrate them solemnly. We went to Lviv for the ceremony. There were always crowds there and it was always very solemn. There were few Poles in Borysław, and now you can count them on the fingers of one hand. Unfortunately, we won’t be going this year. Of course, we will not forget that it is a holiday, but it will be rather a memory and a prayer, admits Halina Klancko.
There will also be no celebrations in Kharkiv
Paweł Gonczaruk, bishop of the Kharkiv-Zaporizhia diocese in Ukraine, said in an interview with “Kurier Wileński” that there will be no celebrations in Kharkiv either.
— There will be no celebrations this year, because representatives of Poles have left Kharkov. Before the war, on the occasion of May 2, the Holy Mass was always celebrated. Lots of people were coming. After mass, they gathered in groups, went for coffee, spent time together. It was a very important holiday for every Pole in Kharkiv – says the bishop.
Alone with prayer
Marija from Kiev said in an interview with “Kurier Wileński” that May 2 is an important holiday for her, but this year she will celebrate it alone.
— Before the war, on the occasion of the Day of the Polish Diaspora and Poles Abroad, there was a great celebration in Kiev. This year I don’t even know how it will be celebrated. I personally will pray alone on this day. I am Polish, it is a joyful holiday during which you have to be happy and proud to be Polish. It is true that today it is very difficult to be happy … My husband and son died in the war. The daughter-in-law went to Poland with her grandchildren. I was left alone. I don’t want to go anywhere, says Marija.
Polish Diaspora and Poles Abroad Day
The Day of the Polish Diaspora and Poles Abroad is celebrated on May 2. It is a celebration of about 20 million people living outside Poland and admitting to Polish roots.
The Day of the Polish Diaspora and Poles Abroad was established in 2002 by a resolution of the Senate of the Republic of Poland in recognition of the Polish diaspora and Poles for their centuries-old achievements and contribution to regaining independence by Poland. Its aim is to strengthen the sense of unity of all compatriots and help in preserving national awareness.
The largest group of emigrants and people of Polish descent live in the United States – 10 million. Other large concentrations are in Brazil, Canada, Great Britain, France and Germany. Poles also live in Belarus, Ukraine and Lithuania, where they are the largest national minority.
Read more: We are united by language, culture and the Polish flag – Flag Day of the Republic of Poland and the Polish Diaspora and Poles Abroad
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