Feast of the Assumption?

Last Monday was a holiday here in Poland.  My mother, the devout Catholic, was thrilled that as a Catholic country, Poland honors the Feast of the Assumption.  We were told that many stores would be closed, banks and mail would not be in service, and that there would be a huge parade with tanks and soldiers with a speech from the President.  Seems like it makes sense that we celebrate this way because as Mary lay taking her last breaths, I'm sure she was flanked on either side by tanks and other artillery.  Right.

Upon further investigation (a little googling) I learned that Monday, August 15th was Armed Forces Day here in Poland.  I'm not sure if it falls on the same day as the Feast of the Assumption each year, but I'll tell you that I did not come across many who seemed to be in mourning for the death of Mary.  There were several people toting around Polish flags and homes businesses and random buildings had flags flowing proudly as well.  As it turns out, on August 15th in 1920, the Poles beat the Russians at the Battle of Warsaw in the Russian-Polish war.  They are very proud of this achievement and rightfully so.  They showed their pride through pomp and circumstance involving an air show of sorts, a huge parade and every.single.Pole in the city in attendance.

Note the small flags on either side near the lights

Sarah and I decided to meet to check out the parade and see what all the fuss was about.  It turns out we were definitely behind in getting there as we were probably 8-10 people back from the actual path of the parade.  Turns out, when you're only 5'4, you can't see much from that far back.  In fact, here is what my view looked like: 

As much as I like parades, it was difficult to see from where I was :( 

The preface to the parade was an impressive show of force via air equipment.  Several sets of 4-8 helicopters and various planes flew by in formation and it was pretty cool.  The first planes had trail smoke of red and white.  It was neat! 

After the planes and aircraft, the parade on the ground started.  While I could only see limited amounts, what I saw was pretty cool.  The history of the Polish army through costumes and weaponry.  

Note the Go-Pro mounted on the top/front of the tank above the gun

My favorite part of the whole parade though, were the two adorable old men who were watching the parade from just behind us.  I love old people so much, and these two were so proud to be wearing their uniforms representing their time in service.  It was awesome.  

Adorable.

It was a nice way to spend an afternoon, and I'm glad we were able to see the Poles celebrate their history.