The processions featured worshippers of all ages, singing carols and wearing paper crowns, as well as richly dressed actors portraying the three Magi from the Bible—Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.
Actors portraying the Three Wise Men during an Epiphany parade in the northwestern Polish city of Szczecin on Friday, January 6, 2023. Photo: PAP/Marcin Bielecki
Epiphany celebrations in Łódź, central Poland. Photo: PAP/Marian Zubrzycki
In the largest such event, a crowd of some 80,000 gathered in the capital Warsaw to take part in an annual march from the city’s landmark Castle Square to the central Piłsudski Square, state news agency PAP reported.
A crowd of some 80,000 took part in the annual procession in Warsaw, taking the traditional route from the city’s landmark Castle Square to the central Piłsudski Square, according to organizers. Photo: PAP/Marcin Obara
Crowds gathered for an annual Epiphany procession in downtown Warsaw. Photo: PAP/Marcin Obara
The Feast of the Epiphany, also known as Three Kings' Day, is one of the oldest and most important holidays in the Roman Catholic Church, and a public holiday in Poland. Photo: PAP/Marcin Obara
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda and First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda released a special message to thank those taking part for keeping the tradition alive.
Duda said in the message that "the colourful parades and wonderful costumes worn by carol singers make the streets of Polish cities look serene and warm despite the January cold."
The first lady said that the annual event was a gathering of people who "form a great community that is open to anyone who wants to join it."
She added: "We would especially like to thank you for a concert in Warsaw in which people sang Christmas carols together in Polish and Ukrainian."
The president said: "This was an important gesture of solidarity with our Ukrainian friends, both those who are in Poland and those who have stayed in their war-torn homeland. We hope that a just peace will be achieved there soon."
The Feast of the Epiphany, also known as Three Kings' Day, is one of the oldest and most important holidays in the Roman Catholic Church, and a public holiday in Poland.
Celebrated every year on January 6, it commemorates the arrival of the Magi in Bethlehem to pay tribute to the baby Jesus 12 days after his birth.
The day has been a public holiday in Poland since 2011 when it was reinstated after a hiatus of more than five decades.
This year’s Epiphany feast saw processions taking to the streets of 753 cities and towns around the country and attracting a total of 1.5 million participants nationwide, the PAP news agency reported.
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Source: IAR, PAP, TVP Info, prezydent.pl