Casimir Pulaski Day is a local holiday officially observed in Illinois, on the first Monday of March in memory of Casimir Pulaski, a Polish-born soldier who made a significant contribution to the American Revolutionary War. The holiday was first celebrated in 1978, and the city of Chicago celebrated its first official Pulaski Day in 1986. The holiday is separate from the federal observance, General Pulaski Memorial Day, which commemorates Pulaskis death from wounds suffered at the Siege of Savannah on October 11, 1779.
Some schools and government offices are closed in honor of Pulaski, but Chicago Public Schools remain open. The Chicago Public Library closes in observance of Pulaski Day. Pulaski Day stopped being a holiday for Chicago Public Schools in 2012 as a way to increase the number of days in the school year, although some Illinois schools still observe the holiday depending on snow days.
Pulaski Days is also a celebration of Polish culture in Grand Rapids, Michigan, founded in 1973 by Ed Czyzyk and Walter Ulanch.
