The
National Day is a designated date on which
celebrations mark the
nationhood of a
nation or non-sovereign
country. This nationhood can be symbolized by the
date of
independence, of becoming
republic or a significant date for a patron saint or a ruler
(birthday,
accession, removal etc). Often
the day is not called ”National Day” but serves and can be
considered as one. The National Day will often be a
national holiday.
Some countries have more than one National Day. For example,
Pakistan has three National Days, none of which is named the
”National Day”. This signals the use of a ”class” of National Days,
that are equally important in the foundation of the nation, and a
”class” of less important official public holidays.
Importance attached to the National Day as well as the degree to
which it is celebrated vary enormously from country to country. For
example, Spain's National Day is held on October 12, the day
celebrated in other countries as
Columbus
Day and
Día de la Raza, and
commemorates the anniversary of
Christopher Columbus's arrival in the
Americas.
A military parade is held in Madrid
celebrating
the occasion. In France National Day is 14 July and is known
as the Fête nationale (known outside of France as
Bastille Day).
It is widely celebrated and the French Tricolour is much in evidence, while
the President of the Republic
attends a military parade on the Champs-Élysées
of Paris. In the United States, the
Fourth of July celebrations are widely
celebrated with parades, fireworks, picnics and barbecues.
In the
Republic of
Ireland
, St. Patrick's
Day, 17 March, has been the National Day and a Public Holiday
for many years, and in recent years it has been observed as a full
Public Holiday in Northern Ireland
too. However, in the rest of the United
Kingdom the
constituent
countries'
patron saints' days are
low-key affairs.
In recent times campaigns have commenced to
promote the National Days of England, Scotland and Wales, with
St Andrew's Day being designated as
an official bank holiday when the
Scottish
Parliament
passed the St Andrew's Day
Bank Holiday Act 2007. A
National
day for the United Kingdom has also been proposed in recent
years.
Most countries have a fixed date National Day, but some have
movable dates.
An example here is Jamaica
, which
celebrates its National Day on the first Monday in August.
This commemorates independence from the United Kingdom which was
attained on Monday, 6 August 1962 - the first Monday in August of
that year.
Another example is Thailand
which
celebrates the birthday of the King
on 5 December. This date will change on the accession of the
heir to the throne.
List of National Days
A
- Afghanistan
19 August (Independence from United Kingdom
control over Afghan foreign affairs in 1919)
- Albania
28 November ("Dita e Pavarësisë", declaration of
independence from Ottoman rule in
1912)
- Alderney
9 May (Liberation Day, the end
of the German Occupation of the Channel
Islands during World War II
1945)
- Algeria
1 November (start of the
War of Independence in
1954)
- American Samoa
(US
) 17 April (Flag
Day)
- Andalusia
28 February (Dia de
Andalucia)
- Andorra
8 September (Our Lady of Meritxell Day, patron saint of Andorra)
- Angola
11 November (Independence from Portugal in
1975)
- Anguilla
30 May (Anguilla Day; the
beginning of the Anguillian Revolution in 1967)
- Antigua and Barbuda
1 November (Independence
from the United Kingdom in 1981)
- Aragon
23 April (St George's
Day, patron saint)
- Argentina
25 May (May Revolution, the first junta (after the
King's abdication), including the Viceroy, is dissolved and the
"First Junta" is created) and 9 July
(Declaration of
Independence, from Spain in 1816)
- Armenia
28 May (Republic Day,
independence from the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative
Republic
1918)
- Aruba
(Netherlands) 18 March (Flag Day: autonomy within the Netherlands
in 1948)
- Australia 26
January (Australia Day,
proclamation of British sovereignty over Australia (the penal
colony New South Wales) 1788)
- Austria
26 October (The
Neutrality Constitution of 1955)
- Azerbaijan
28 May (Republic Day,
independence from the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative
Republic
1918)
B
C
D
E
F
G
- Gabon
17 August (Independence from France
1960)
- Gambia
18 February (Independence Day, from the United
Kingdom 1965)
- Georgia
26 May (Day of First
Republic, declaration of independence from Russia 1918)
- Germany
3 October (German Unity Day, unification of West Germany
and East Germany
1990)
- Ghana
6 March (Independence Day, from the United Kingdom
1957)
- Gibraltar
10 September (Gibraltar
National Day
, people of Gibraltar vote to reject Spanish
sovereignty or association 1967)
- Greece
25 March (Declaration of
independence from Ottoman Empire
1821), 28 October (Ohi
Day, rejection of the Italian ultimatum 1941)
- Greenland
(Denmark
) 21 June (Longest Day of the Year)
- Grenada
7 February (Independence
from United Kingdom 1974)
- Guadeloupe
(France) 14 July (Bastille Day)), 27 May Abolition of
slavery day (regional only)
- Guam
(US
) 21 July (Liberation Day,
Americans landing on Guam 1944, the beginning of the Battle of Guam )
- Guatemala
15 September
(Independence from Spain 1821)
- Guernsey and Dependencies
9 May (Liberation Day, the end
of the German Occupation of the Channel
Islands during World War II
1945)
- Guinea
3 April (Independence from
France 1958 on 2 October)
- Guinea-Bissau
24 September
(Declaration of independence from Portugal 1973)
- Guyana
23 February (Republic
Day, also known as Mashramani, republic
1970)
H
I
- Iceland
17 June (National Day, declaration of
independence, from Kingdom of Denmark
, and republic 1944)
- Republic of India
26 January (Republic Day, becoming the first republic in
the British Commonwealth of Nations 1950), 15
August (Independence Day, from
the British Empire 1947), 2 October (Birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, Father of the
Nation)
- Indonesia
17 August (Proclamation of
Independence day, (Hari Proklamasi Kemerdekaan R.I.),
from Japan
1945)
- Iran
1 April (Islamic Republic Day, Iran voted an
Islamic Republic 1979)
- Iraq
3 October (Independence from United Kingdom
1932)
- Ireland
17 March (St. Patrick's Day, patron saint of Ireland)
- Isle of Man
(usually) 5 July (Tynwald Day, Tynwald
(parliament) annual meeting)
- Israel
around 14 May, according to
Jewish calendar around 5 Iyar (Yom Ha'atzmaut, proclamation of independence
from the British Mandate of
Palestine 1948)
- Italy
25 April (Liberation of
Milan from German troops in 1945), 2 June
(Festa della Repubblica, Italy
is voted a republic 1946 (Giuseppe
Garibaldi dies 1882))
J
K
- Kazakhstan
25 October (Republic Day,
declared sovereign republic within the USSR 1990)
- Kenya
12 December
(Independence Day, from the United Kingdom 1963; Republic Day,
(Jamhuri Day), 1964)
- Kiribati
12 July (Independence
from the United Kingdom in 1979)
- North Korea
8 September
(declaration of a democratic people's republic 1948)
- South Korea
15 August (both the
liberation from Japanese rule 1945 (Gwangbokjeol) and the declaration of
the South Korean state 1948) and 3 October
(Gaecheonjeol, the ancient Korea founded in 2333
BCE)
- Kurdistan
21 March (Nawroz,
Kurdish New Year celebrated on the spring equinox)
- Kuwait
25 February
(National Day) (26 February is
Liberation Day, from Iraq
1991)
- Kyrgyzstan
31 August
(Independence Day, declaration of independence from the USSR in
1991)
- Kosovo
17 February
(Declared independence in 2008, not fully recognized by the UN, see
2008 Kosovo
declaration of independence)
L
M
- Macau
20 December (Transfer of sovereignty to the
PRC 1999) 1 October (National Day of
the People's Republic of China)
- Macedonia
8 September (Den na nezavisnosta or Ден на
независноста, declaration of independence from Yugoslavia
1991)
- Madagascar
26 June (Independence from
France 1960)
- Malawi
6 July (Independence Day,
from the United Kingdom 1964; and Republic Day 1966)
- Malaysia
31 August (Hari Merdeka, independence (within the Commonwealth) from the United
Kingdom 1957)
- Maldives
1st of Rabi'
al-awwal, the third month in the Islamic calendar
- Mali
22 September (Independence from the Mali Federation 1960)
- Malta 21 September (Independence Day, independence from
the United Kingdom 1964), 31 March
(Freedom Day, withdrawal of
British troops from Malta 1979), 13
December (Republic Day, republican constitution of 1974),
7 June (Sette
Giugno, bread riot of 1919), 8
September (Victory Day)
- Marshall Islands
1 May (Constitution Day, 1979)
- Martinique
(France) 14 July (Bastille Day)), 22 May Abolition of
slavery day (regional only)
- Mauritania
28 November
(Independence Day, from France 1960)
- Mauritius
12 March (National Day,
independence from the United Kingdom 1968, republic
1992)
- Mayotte
(France) 14 July (Bastille Day)), 27 April Abolition
of slavery day (regional only)
- Mexico
16 September (Grito de Dolores, declaration of
independence from Spain 1810)
- Micronesia
3 November (Independence
Day, from the US-administered UN Trusteeship
1979)
- Moldova
27 August (Independence
Day, declaration of independence from the Soviet Union
1991)
- Monaco
19 November (the levée
of Prince Albert II
2005)
- Mongolia
11 July (Naadam Holiday, declaration of independence
from China
1921)
- Montenegro
13 July (recognised as
independent at the Congress of
Berlin 1878)
- Montserrat
2nd Saturday in June
- Morocco
2 March (Independence from
France 1956)
- Mozambique
25 June (Independence from
Portugal 1975)
- Myanmar
11 November
N
- Namibia
21 March (Independence Day,
from South African mandate
1990)
- Nauru 31 January
(Independence from the Australia, NZ, and UK-administered UN
trusteeship 1968)
- Nepal
18 February (Martyr's
Day), 28 December (Nepal a federal
republic 2008, earlier the king's birthday)
- Netherlands Antilles
(part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
30 April (Queensday, Queen Juliana's
birthday)
- Netherlands
(country) 30 April
(Queensday, Queen Juliana's birthday),
5 May (Liberation
Day, from Nazi-Germany in
1945)
- Netherlands (kingdom)
15 December (Kingdom day, signing of the Charter for the
Kingdom of the Netherlands 1954)
- New Caledonia
(France) 14 July (Bastille Day))
- New Zealand
6 February (Waitangi Day, signing of the Treaty of Waitangi 1840)
- Nicaragua
15 September
(Independence from Spain 1821)
- Niger
18 December (Republic Day, autonomous state within
the French Community
1958)
- Nigeria
1 October (Independence
Day, from United Kingdom 1960 (and republic 1963)), 29 May (Democracy
Day, return of democracy 1999)
- Niue
6 February
- Norfolk Island
(Australia) 8 June
((second) settlement established (everybody from the Pitcairn
Islands
))
- Northern Ireland
17 March (St. Patrick's Day), 12
July (Battle of the Boyne
Day)
- Northern Mariana Islands
8 January (Commonwealth Day,
the constitutional government takes office 1978)
- Norway
17 May (Constitution Day, the signing of
the first Norwegian
Constitution in Eidsvoll 1814)
O
P
- Pakistan
28 January (Pakistan day,
the name Pakistan is coined by Choudhary Rehmat Ali Khan in 1933),
23 March (Republic Day, islamic
republic in 1956), 14 August (Independence Day, independence from the
British Indian Empire in 1947)
- Palau
9 July (Constitution Day, the world's first
nuclear-free constitution 1981 ("nuclear-free" dropped in 1994 in
order to become an associated state
to the United
States
(Compact of
Free Association)))
- Panama
3 November
(Separation Day, declaration of independence from Colombia
1903)
- Papua New Guinea
16 September
(Independence from Australia in 1975)
- Paraguay
14 May (Independence Day
(Día de Independencia), declaration of independence from Spain in
1811)
- Peru
28 July (Declaration of independence from Spain in
1821)
- Philippines
12 June (Araw ng
Kalayaan, Philippine Declaration of
Independence, from Spain in 1898)
- Pitcairn Islands
2nd Saturday in June
- Poland
3 May (Święto Konstytucji
3 Maja, Constitution
Day, 1791), November 11, (Święto
Niepodległości, Independence
Day, restoration of independence from Austro-Hungary, Prussia, and Russia in 1918)
- Portugal
10 June (Portugal Day, "Day of Camões, Portugal, and the
Portuguese Communities", National Poet Luis de Camões dies in 1580)
- Puerto Rico
(US
) 25 July (Constitution
Day, establishment of Commonwealth of Puerto Rico 1952.
Formerly Occupation Day (1898))
Q
R
S
- Saba
(Netherlands) 3 December
- St. Eustatius
(Netherlands) 16 November (the "flag incident" of 1776: the
United Provinces (informally)
recognize the independence of the United States
)
- St Helena 2nd Saturday in June
- St Kitts and Nevis
19 September
(Independence from the United Kingdom 1983)
- St Lucia
13 December
(National Day, independence from United Kingdom 1979; the saint's
day)
- St. Maarten
(Netherlands) 11 November
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon
(France) 14 July (Bastille Day))
- Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines
27 October
(Independence Day, from United Kingdom 1979)
- Sami (Sweden
, Finland
, Norway
, Russia) 6 February
(first Sami congress was held 1917 in Trondheim,
Norway)
- Samoa
1 January (Independence Day, from New Zealand
1962)
- San Marino
3 September
(Independence from the Roman Empire in
year 301 (traditional date))
- São Tomé
and Príncipe
12 July (Independence
from Portugal 1975)
- Sark
9 May (Liberation Day, the end of the German Occupation of the Channel
Islands during World War II
1945)
- Saudi Arabia
23 September
(unification of the kingdoms Nejd and Hejaz 1932)
- Scotland
30 November
(St. Andrew's Day, patron saint of
Scotland, now a bank
holiday)
- Senegal
4 April (Independence
from France 1960)
- Serbia
15 February (The
beginning of the Serbian
revolution against Ottoman rule
1804, first constitution 1835)
- Seychelles
18 June (National
Day)
- Sierra Leone
27 April (Republic Day,
independence from the United Kingdom 1961)
- Singapore
9 August ((National Day Parade), separation from
Malaysia
1965)
- Slovakia
29 August (Slovak National Uprising Day, start
of a Slovak uprising against Nazi
Germany 1944), 1 September
(Constitution Day, independence from Czechoslovakia
1993)
- Slovenia
25 June ((Statehood
Day), declaration of independence from Yugoslavia 1991)
- Solomon Islands
7 July (Independence Day,
from United Kingdom 1978)
- Somalia
21 October (coup
d'état brings Siad Barre to power - not very
likely)
- South Africa 27
April (first democratic general election
1994)
- South
Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
2nd Saturday in June
- Spain
12 October (Fiesta Nacional de España,
Columbus discovery of America 1492)
- Sri
Lanka
4 February
(Independence Day, from the United Kingdom 1948, still under name
of Ceylon
)
- Sudan
1 January
(Independence Day, from the United Kingdom and the Egyptian Republic
1956)
- Suriname
25 November
(Independence Day, from The Netherlands
1975)
- Swaziland
6 September
(Independence Day, from the United Kingdom 1968)
- Sweden
6 June (Gustav Vasa is elected King of Sweden
1523, the constitutions of 1809 and
1974)
- Switzerland
1 August (National Day, alliance against the
Holy Roman Empire 1291, between
Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden)
- Syria
17 April (Independence
Day, from France 1946)
T
- Tajikistan
9 September
(Independence Day, declaration of independence from the Soviet
Union
1991)
- Republic of China
(commonly known as "Taiwan") 10 October (Double Ten
Day, outbreak of the Wuchang Insurgence that led to founding of
the Republic of China (1911)
- Tanzania 26
April (Union Day, union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar 1964)
- Tartarstan 30
August (Declaration of independence from the RSFSR
1990)
- Thailand
5 December (birthday of
King Bhumibol
Adulyadej)
- Tibet 10 March
(Tibetan National Uprising Day)
- Togo
27 April (Independence from the French
-administered UN trusteeship
1960)
- Tonga
4 June (Emancipation Day abolition of serfdom
1862, independence from the United Kingdom 1970)
- Transnistria
2 September
(Independence Day, declaration of independence from the Moldova
1990)
- Trinidad and Tobago
31 August
(Independence Day, from the United Kingdom 1962)
- Tunisia
20 March (Declaration
of independence from France 1956)
- Turkey
29 October (Republic
Day (Cumhuriyet Bayramı), republican constitution 1923)
- Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus
15 November
(Declaration of independence from the Cyprus
1983)
- Turkmenistan
27 October
(Independence Day, declaration of independence from the Soviet
Union
1991)
- Turks and Caicos
Islands 30 August (Constitution Day,
1976)
- Tuvalu
1 October
(Independence Day, independence from the Gilbert Islands (Kiribati
) 1975 and the United Kingdom 1978)
U
V
W
Y
Z
- Zambia
24 October
(Independence Day, declaration of independence from the United
Kingdom 1964)
- Zimbabwe
18 April (Independence
Day, declaration of independence from the United Kingdom 1980 (it
had been unilaterally declared independent as Rhodesia already in 1965)
References
See also