Most countries of the world have national days that celebrate their identity. That usually usually means the day that independence was proclaimed, as in the US, or negotiated, as was the case in many countries that had been colonized like much of Africa. But there can be lots of variations.
Hungary, for example, celebrates St. Stephen's Day. The United Kingdom doesn't exactly have a national day, though sometimes the Queen's Official Birthday the second weekend in June is treated as such. (Her birthday is actually April 21st, but the weather is better for speeches and parades in June.)
However, the UK is composed of four separate countries and they all have celebrations on the day of their patron saints: St. George for England, St. Andrew for Scotland, St. David for Wales, and St. Patrick for Northern Ireland.
A lot of countries have a Constitution Day since creating and affirming a constitution creates a nation in a real sense. (There are Americans who believe crafting and confirming the US Constitution was more vital than declaring independence, and they have a good case for that.)
There are other interesting national days. Albania celebrates Albanian Day on November 28th, for example, and it's a celebration of its independence. Alderney, one of Britain's Channel Isles, celebrates Homecoming Day on December 15, which was the day in 1945 when the German occupation ended and islanders who had fled were able to return home.
Our neighbor Canada has a neighboring national day as well: July 1st is Canada Day, which commemorates the 1867 joining of several British colonies into one, the Dominion of Canada. Happy 151st birthday, Canada! Here's a picture of the giant rubber ducky that visited for last year's sesquicentennial celebration. (I love that duck. <G>)
France's national day is Bastille Day, July 14th, and it commemorates the storming of the Bastille in 1789, which is considered the beginning of the French Revolution. France and the US have a lot of history in common
Australia Day is January 26th and commemorates the 1788 landing of the First Fleet of British ships when they arrived in New South Wales and raised the British flag in Sydney Cove, which became the site of the great city of Sydney.
Celebrations are similar around the world. Parades are always popular. In my Maryland county there are three Independence Day parades in different areas of the county, and the timing is staggered so that local politicians can attend all three, riding in convertibles and waving at their constituents, which is about as close as we usually get to them. Fireworks are definitely popular world wide because--noisy and pretty, something for everyone. <G>
There are floats and bands and social clubs marching together, but my very favorite local parade entry was the tattooed and bearded biker slowly cruising along on his hog, with his two very well behaved basset hounds draped over the big fenders. Great fun!
The Fourth of July is also a time for family gatherings and barbecues with hot dogs, hamburgers, and watermelon. From what I've heard from friends in other countries, this kind of celebration is global, though the food and drink might vary.
But mostly, national days are for honoring our countries and the best that is in them. What are your national days, and what do you do on them? Because all nations are special, and we are part of our nations.
Wherever you live, what are your special days and how do you celebrate them? With pride and gusto, I hope!
Mary Jo
Interesting post, Mary Jo. It could be a good challenge for a younger traveller to set up a bucket list of countries' national days to visit. The closest I've come is the Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I planned an entire 6+ week trip around it, and boy, was it worth it. The sunset sky filled with drifting lanterns ... the one with firecrackers attached that spectacularly fell back to earth about 10 feet in front of us ... sometimes the quirky punctuation lives in memory as much as the grandeur of the main event. Yes, I wish I were that young traveller, for sure.
Posted by: Mary M. | Wednesday, July 04, 2018 at 12:36 AM
May Each Of You Who Live In The US ------Have a Glorious 4th!
Posted by: Annette N | Wednesday, July 04, 2018 at 07:42 AM
What a great idea to arrange trips abroad to catch the holidays! Your Lantern Festival sounds wonderful.
Posted by: Mary Jo Putney | Wednesday, July 04, 2018 at 08:53 AM
Many thanks, Annette!
Posted by: Mary Jo Putney | Wednesday, July 04, 2018 at 08:54 AM
There's heavy campaigning in Australia to change the date of the holiday because of issues with colonialism (many Aborigines take offence, for obvious reasons). The problem is, nobody can agree when to change it to! Federation, when the colonies joined to become a single nation (the most obvious date to move it to), happened on 1/1/1901 - which is already the New Year holiday.
There really isn't another date that makes sense, and the current Australia Day date very conveniently takes place in the summer holidays.
Posted by: Sonya Heaney | Wednesday, July 04, 2018 at 11:30 AM
Our First Nations in Canada have many of the same complaints. But we have the same problem of not really having a great alternative. I suspect that the First Nations people’s would be happiest if we’d just forego the national celebrations altogether, after all it isn’t much to celebrate from their perspective.
Posted by: Jana | Wednesday, July 04, 2018 at 11:54 AM
I had the good fortune to be in the center of Amsterdam in 2014 when they had their first ever Koningsdag (King's Day) celebration; prior to that there had been Queen's and Princess' Days. It was a memorable occasion.
Happy fourth of July to those who are celebrating! We'll be celebrating with hamburgers later today.
Posted by: Kareni | Wednesday, July 04, 2018 at 01:32 PM
Sonya, these things get complicated really fast! Federation Day would make sense, but as you say, Aborigines aren't keen. Likewise Native Americans and the First Nations of Canada have no reason to welcome colonization. But celebrating as a diverse but united nation is fun when it can be made to happen.
Posted by: Mary Jo Putney | Wednesday, July 04, 2018 at 01:54 PM
Oh, what fun, Kareni! Just being in Amsterdam is great, and a royal celebration would be even better.
Posted by: Mary Jo Putney | Wednesday, July 04, 2018 at 01:55 PM
Norway's National Day is the 17th May. School children representatives of their school, gather and walk up the main street in Oslo to be greeted by the Royal family on the Palace balcony. National dress is worn.
Posted by: Maggie | Wednesday, July 04, 2018 at 02:23 PM
Every country should have a Large Floating Rubber Ducky Day.
Posted by: Janice | Wednesday, July 04, 2018 at 02:59 PM
I agree that having a national day is great. (We celebrate my family’s country’s national day, too. Gaining freedom from the Soviet Union is significant, and something everyone can agree on!).
I really think that Australia would have been fine with “Federation Day”, if only they’d formed our country a week or two later, so it didn’t clash with New Year!
As it is, there’s currently a big cloud over Australia Day every year (and, it seems, Canada’s day, too). Unlike the US, we never had a revolution and declared total independence from Britain. I mean… we still have the Queen on our money and as our Head of State, and the Union Jack on our flag!
Posted by: Sonya Heaney | Wednesday, July 04, 2018 at 08:19 PM
On December 1st, Romania will celebrate 100 years since its unification, that is our National Day.
Posted by: Oana-Maria Uliu | Wednesday, July 04, 2018 at 11:11 PM
Switzerlands National Day is conveniently celebrated in summer, too (August 1st). There usually will be bonfires in most villages with some speech by a local or regional politician (or otherwise important person), for those who want to go. Otherwise you celebrate with families or friends, usually with a barbecue or some red and white food (the national colours). And there will be fireworks, if it's not too dry (which it has been rather more frequently in the last years). Oh and one interestig fact: The Swiss actually voted, whether their National Day should be a public holiday or not. And actually 16 % voted against a public holiday.
The date 1st of August is supposedly the day, when the first cantons decided to form a united Switzerland in 1293. But historians are quite sure, that neither the date nor the year are correct. Still since the 1890s, that's the Swiss national day.
The German National Day ob the other hand has been shifted at least 5 times in the 20th century: First we had the Kaiser's birthday, then the founding of the Weimar Republic, then it was 1st of May under the nazis, then it was June 17th in western Germany, which was called the Day of German Unity, but was actually the day when workers in eastern Germany rebelled against their government. Since 1990 it's October 3rd, still called Day of German Unity and usually celebrated with a big central party in a different city each year (or actually not at all by most people).
It's a day off for most and that is about it. Since there is no tradition and October is not the best time of the year, people don't really care all that much. In my part of Germany, people used that say to go for a shopping trip to France or Switzerland, because there all the shops would be open and it's not too far.
Posted by: Katja | Thursday, July 05, 2018 at 12:18 AM
Born in Missouri, and have lived there most of my life, so you have already covered my national holiday and others have sent congratulations.
My comment is based on the move to honor the Constitution instead of the date for independence.
Two of my favorite reads are John Adams and the American Revolution and Miracle in Philadelphia. The first book gives a much clearer picture as to what happened in 1776. The second is the only "biography" of the Constitutional Convention that have every read.
You can't dramatize either of her books in the manner of the musical 1776, but they make very good reads.
My quarrel with picking the second date is that it denies an important part of our history. The Articles of Confederation were bulky, extremely awkward, and obviously couldn't work! — EXCEPT that they did work in a creaky, awkward way. We won our war of Independence under those articles. They set the pattern that became formalized in the Constitution. We did indeed need the Miracle that happened in the same building as the Declaration of Independence. But we wouldn't have the second if we hadn't had the first!
Posted by: Sue McCormick | Thursday, July 05, 2018 at 01:12 PM
I edited the above twice before posting and still managed to omit the name of the author of both books: Catherine Drinker Bowen.
Posted by: Sue McCormick | Thursday, July 05, 2018 at 01:14 PM
I agree!
Posted by: Kareni | Thursday, July 05, 2018 at 04:59 PM
Sonya, how a country was founded makes a lot of difference. The US and modern France were founded in Revolution, a lot of the nations of the Commonwealth became independent at the negotiating table, which is a much less bloodthirsty business! A pity about Federation Day falling on New Year's. Combine them and have one humongous party? *G*
Posted by: Mary Jo Putney | Thursday, July 05, 2018 at 06:57 PM
Maggie, how very nice that is! We were in Oslo last September and loved it.
Posted by: Mary Jo Putney | Thursday, July 05, 2018 at 06:58 PM
Janice, I could not agree more!
Posted by: Mary Jo Putney | Thursday, July 05, 2018 at 06:59 PM
Congratulations to you and your nation, Oana-Maria Uliu! That's a really significant marker in your country's history.
Posted by: Mary Jo Putney | Thursday, July 05, 2018 at 06:59 PM
Oh, my Katja! Poor Deutschland with all those complications. But just about everyone welcomes a day off for whatever reason.
Posted by: Mary Jo Putney | Thursday, July 05, 2018 at 07:02 PM
Sue, there's a reason why July 4th is our major national day. But other countries celebrate Constitution Day because it does give the legal structure for the nation. It's a defensible point, though I like our Independence day!
I just looked up Catherine Drinker Bowen. What a distinguished writing career she had! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Drinker_Bowen
Posted by: Mary Jo Putney | Thursday, July 05, 2018 at 07:11 PM