Independence Day

Poland's Independence Day is celebrated on the eleventh of November, celebrating the restoration of a Polish state in 1918, after 123 years of partition by the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia and the Hapsburg Empire.

The 11th of November is of course Armistice Day, and this day is both a day to celebrate independence and to acknowledge the sacrifices that were made to achieve that independence. Thus the military parade that crossed the River San to a public square was a sombre event, with the soldiers stopping midway across the bridge for a minute's silence.