For Poles, the day of 11 November is one of the most important days of the year. On this day in 1918, after 123 years of captivity, Poland regained its independence and returned to the maps of the world. During the anniversary celebrations in Ostrów Wielkopolski, the Minister of Family and Social Policy, Marlena Maląg laid wreaths before the former Archbishop’s Seminary, the Catholic House and the seat of the District People’s Council – in the times of the Ostrów Republic and the Wielkopolska Uprising.

The anniversary of regaining freedom, celebrated on 11 November, is an occasion for the solemn celebrations before national monuments. For recalling the most important pages of our history. For a moment of reflection on the heroism of the soldiers who fought for a free Homeland, but also for recalling the determination and prudence of politicians or the achievements of those who rebuilt our country after years of captivity. It is the day when, all over Poland, Polish flags are waving in the wind, and the participants in the celebrations are pinning white and red cotillions to their chests.

Our national colors symbolise the great common work of our ancestors. The first legal regulation concerning the flag was adopted on 7 February 1831 in a resolution of the Sejm of the Kingdom of Poland. The colours of the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were chosen, i.e. white and red. On 1 August 1919, after regaining independence, the Legislative Sejm assumed that on the flag there would be two longitudinal parallel stripes – white at the top and red at the bottom. White and red colours accompanied Poles both in difficult periods of our history and in moments of glory, in the battlefields, on the insurgent barricades, during independence spurts. Soldiers and insurgents fought under them, artists and poets praised them. Today, for all of us, for the whole nation, they are a great symbol of unity.