May 3 National Holiday (also May 3rd Constitution Day; Polish: Święto Konstytucji 3 Maja) is a Polish national and public holiday that takes place on May 3. The holiday celebrates the declaration of the Constitution of May 3, 1791. Festivities date back to the Duchy of Warsaw early in the 19th century, but it became an official holiday only in 1919 in the Second Polish Republic. Delisted during the times of the People's Republic of Poland, it was reestablished after the fall of communism in modern Poland.

1. THE CONSTITUTION OF
3 MAY, 1791
POLAND

2. On May 3, 1791, the Constitution of the Polish-Lithuanian
Commonwealth was adopted.
It was modern Europe's first codified national constitution and the
second in the world, following the American one.
Rejtan, by Matejko1776

3. The Constitution of 3 May, 1791
The document was adopted by the Great Sejm (parliament) of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, a dual monarchy comprising Poland and
Lithuania.
Drafted over 32 months beginning on 6 October 1788, and formally adopted
as the Government Act, the manuscript was designed to redress the
Commonwealth's political defects.
The system of Golden Freedoms, also known as the "Nobles' Democracy",
had conferred disproportionate rights on the nobility (szlachta) and over time
had corrupted politics.
The adoption of the Constitution was preceded by a period of agitation for—
and gradual introduction of—reforms beginning with the Convocation Sejm of
1764 and the election of Stanisław August Poniatowski as the
Commonwealth's last king.

4. The Constitution of May 3, is an 1891 Romantic oil painting on canvas by the
Polish artist Jan Matejko. It memorializes the Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791,
a milestone in the history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the high
point of the Polish Enlightenment.

5. Like many Matejko’s works, the picture presents a grand scene populated
with numerous historic figures, including Poland's last King, Stanisław
August Poniatowski; Marshals of the Great Sejm Stanisław Małachowski
and Kazimierz Nestor Sapieha; co-authors of the Constitution such as
Hugo Kołłątaj and Ignacy Potocki; and other major contemporary figures
such as Tadeusz Kościuszko. Some twenty individuals have been
identified by modern historians; another ten or so who had been reported
in older sources as being present, await definitive identification.
King Stanislaw August
Poniatowski

6. The Constitution of May 3, 1791 was adopted as a "Government Act" on
that date by the Sejm (parliament) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
It has been called "the first constitution of its type in Europe" and the world's
second democratic constitution.
The Constitution sought to supplant the existing anarchy fostered by some of
the country's magnates with a more democratic constitutional monarchy.
It introduced political equality between townspeople and nobility (szlachta)
and placed the peasants under the protection of the government, thus
mitigating the worst abuses of serfdom.The Constitution abolished pernicious
parliamentary institutions such as the liberum veto, which at one time had put
the Sejm at the mercy of any deputy who might choose, or be bribed by an
interest or foreign power, to undo the legislation adopted by that Sejm.
Tadeusz Kościuszko

7. The Constitution is a symbol of the Polish people and of their struggle for
liberty, justice, and honor.
The Polish Constitution was written by the aristocracy. With the most noble of
intentions, its authors saw government as an instrument of service for the
common good.
They recognized that government must serve not the interests of the few, but
the welfare of the entire nation. With this thought, they were prepared to
sacrifice their wealth and good fortunes for the cause of a free and
independent nation.
Indeed, the Constitution of 1791 epitomized a recognition that duty and
responsibility were the true foundations of liberty. This unparalleled sense of
generosity was most profound, so much so that it earned admiration from all
ends of the political spectrum.
The Prussian statesman Ewald von Hertzberg would express the fears of
European conservatives. The Poles, he wrote, "have given the coup de grace
to the Prussian monarchy by voting a constitution . . . . How can we defend
our state . . . against a numerous and well-governed nation."

8. The Constitution of May 3, 1791, stands for the proposition that free people
everywhere must step forward despite all odds, to undertake the burdens of
serving as champions of liberty. Truly, this is the belief which we honor today.
Year after year, The Polish community, whether at home or abroad, gathers
together to commemorate the 3rd of May Constitution and to honor all the
great minds who took part in the creation of this revolutionary document.
Stanisław Staszic Hugo Kołłątaj Ignacy Potocki

9. Only two days after the Constitution had been passed by the Grand Sejm (1788-
1792), the 3rd of May was established as a national holiday.
It was subsequently suspended for a long time due to the country’s partitioning and
was only reinstituted after Poland regained its freedom in 1918.
After World War II, in 1946, the communist regime forbade its public celebration,
and attempts of manifestations were suppressed by the authorities. In 1951 the
holiday was officially cancelled.
Since 1990 the 3rd of May Holiday has again been celebrated as an official
statutory holiday in Poland, and a red-letter day.

10. • Piotr Machnikowski (December 1, 2010). Contract Law in Poland. Kluwer Law International.
p. 20. ISBN 978-90-411-3396-0. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
• Albert P. Blaustein (1993). Constitutions of the world. Wm. S. Hein Publishing. p. 15. ISBN
978-0-8377-0362-6.
• Bill Moyers (May 5, 2009). Moyers on Democracy. Random House Digital, Inc. p. 68. ISBN
978-0-307-38773-8. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
• Sandra Lapointe; Jan Wolenski; Mathieu Marion (2009). The Golden Age of Polish
Philosophy: Kazimierz Twardowski's Philosophical Legacy. Springer. p. 4. ISBN 978-90-481-
2400-8. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
• Norman Davies (1996). Europe: A History. Oxford University Press. p. 699. ISBN 0-19-
820171-0.
• Brzezinski, Mark F. (1991). "Constitutional Heritage and Renewal: The Case of Poland".
Virginia Law Review 77 (1): 49–112. JSTOR 1073115.
• Norman Davies (March 30, 2005). God's Playground: The origins to 1795. Columbia
University Press. p. 273. ISBN 978-0-231-12817-9. Retrieved August 13, 2011.
References
Halina Ostankowicz- Bazan May 2015