Poland celebrates Independence Day

The 98th anniversary of regaining independence was celebrated in Poland on Friday.

Major celebrations were held in the country's capital city of Warsaw, including commemorative events with the presence of the country's president and prime minister.

Polish President Andrzej Duda gave a speech and laid flowers at the monument to Marshal Jozef Pilsudski. He also attended the ceremonious guard briefing by the Tomb of the Unknown soldier.

"Today someone can say that Poland is independent again... We all know well independence is not given once and for good. One needs to fight for it every day in a certain sense. The independence needs to be built everyday," the president said.

He said the Poles were a nation that never gave up.

"We are fighting for independence today by everyday work, each of us by trying to be together, to build something called a social fabric, and also to serve others," Duda said.

In a formal speech given on occasion of the Independence Day and broadcast nationwide on Thursday, Duda noted Europe is currently experiencing "difficult times," connected with mass migration, war in the Middle East and in the south, terrorism, changes affecting the integrity of the European Union.

"This makes us realize how much we need integrity, unity despite different opinions. When Poland is broken, it is a weak Poland. When it is united, it is a strong Poland. United around an undisputed value, which is independence," he said in the speech.

The major celebrations were followed by large-scale marches through the city of Warsaw.

The whole country observed 63 gatherings of a total number of about 120,000 people.

Polish National Independence Day is a national day celebrated on Nov. 11 to commemorate the anniversary of the restoration of Poland's sovereignty in 1918, after 123 years of partition. Endit