Past events

Name Day Party for Tadeusz Kosciuszko

Wednesday, October 12, 2016, at 6:00pm

The event is free for Women wearing white. 

$15 Members/Students/Seniors, $20 General Admission

Space is limited. Registration required.

Location: The Kosciuszko Foundation, Inc.
15 East 65th Street, New York, NY 10065

Imieniny traditionally have been given a greater importance than birthday celebrations in Poland. On Oct 28, 1792, the name's day for Tadeusz, Prince Czartoryski held a party at his palace for Kosciuszko. At this party, the women wore white dresses with black and blue sashes and tied their hair in ponytails with the medal ribbons.

After Poland passed the May 3 Constitution in 1791, it was attacked by Russia, Prussia and Austria who wanted to stop these democratic reforms.  King Stanislaw Augustus created the Virtuti Militari medal to honor the Polish soldiers, such as Tadeusz Kosciuszko, who had fought to defend the first democratic constitution in Europe.  But the Poles lost the war, and the Russians demanded that these medals be thrown away.

While the officers who received this honor took the medals off their chests, they sent the blue ribbons from these orders to their wives and girlfriends, who used them to tie their hair in ponytails.

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