WHAT’S ON in Warsaw: major monthly events

April Fools’ Day (Prima Aprilis)
A day of pranks and jokes. Don’t trust anyone;)

Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival
Internationally renowned artists performing in different Warsaw venues, eg. The Warsaw Philharmonic, The Royal Castle (www.beethoven.org.pl/en/)

Harry Potter in Concert
Live symphony orchestra performing, to picture, every note from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (film projected in HD on the big screen, while a full symphony orchestra performs music). Location: Torwar (http://harrypotterinconcert.com)

Palm Sunday (Niedziela Palmowa)
It starts the Easter celebrations. There are processions around the church to commemorate the day Jesus entered Jerusalem. People bring „palms” made of paper flowers, dried flowers, and twigs

Easter break in public schools 

Good Friday (Wielki Piątek)
Good Friday commemorates passion and crucifixion of Jesus. In Warsaw and other cities, there are processions on the streets – people carrying the huge cross and contemplating passion of Jesus. In Poland, for many people, it’s a day of fasting – no meat, no parties, no alcohol

Holy Saturday (Wielka Sobota)
People bring baskets (święconka) filled with food to churches to get a special blessing. Baskets usually include eggs as a symbol of rebirth (pisanki – boiled eggs painted in various colors and patterns), bread, salt, sausage, sometimes other food – chocolate, cake, horseradish etc. Food from święconka basket is shared the next morning during festive Easter breakfast

Easter Day (Wielkanoc)
Bank holiday (always on Sunday anyway). Easter Sunday commemorates the resurrection of Jesus. Many people start the day with 6 am morning mass (Rezurekcja). Key event of a day – a family breakfast that starts with eating święconka, then żurek soup (also known as white barszcz), bigos, sausage with horseradish, mazurek cake

Easter Monday (Poniedziałek Wielkanocny)
Bank holiday. Śmigus dyngus – an old tradition in which people use buckets (kids usually play with water guns) to soak each other with water. It’s safe to stay home and avoid water fights;) Another Easter Monday tradition is to beat legs with willow branch or Palms (the ones used for Palm Sunday)

Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (1943)
The major celebrations of the anniversary of the uprising in the Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Warsaw are held at the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes and POLIN museum. You may notice in Warsaw daffodils (żonkile) symbolizing the Uprising (Marek Edelman, the last leader of the Uprising, before his death in 2009, used to receive daffodils from an anonymous person every anniversary)

ORLEN Warsaw Marathon
Many streets will be closed for a car traffic. Start and finish: Stadion Narodowy / National Stadium, also Ursynów, Wilanów (https://www.orlenmarathon.pl/en)

Friday – many people will leave Warsaw for a so-called long May weekend 
You can expect big traffic jams;)