The 'National Day' is a designated date on which celebrations mark the
nationhood of a
country. Often the National Day will be a
national holiday.
The National Day is often taken as the date on which a state or territory achieved
independence. Other dates such as the country's
patron saint day, or a significant historic date are sometimes used. Most countries have a single National Day per year, though a few, for example,
India and
Pakistan, have more than one. Besides that, each of the two
special administrative regions of the
People's Republic of China, namely
Hong Kong and
Macao, celebrate the day of the establishment of the special administrative region, as well as the
National Day of the People's Republic of China.
The importance attached to the National Day, and the degree to which it is celebrated, vary enormously from country to country. In
France, for example, National Day is
14 July and is known 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 fireworks and barbecues. In the
Republic of Ireland,
St. Patrick's Day,
March 17, 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 (Scotland) Act 2007.
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
★
Afghanistan 19 August
★
Albania 28 November
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Alderney 9 May
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Algeria 1 November
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American Samoa (
US)
17 April
★
Andorra 8 September
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Angola 11 November
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Anguilla 30 May
★
Antigua and Barbuda 1 November
★
Aragon 23 April
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Argentina 25 May
★
Armenia 28 May
★
Aruba (
Netherlands)
18 March
★
Assyria 1 April
★
Australia 26 January (
Australia Day)
★
Austria 26 October
★
Azerbaijan 28 May
★
Bahrain 16 December
★
Bahamas 10 July
★
Bangladesh 26 March
★
Barbados 30 November
★
Belarus 3 July
★
Belgium 21 July
★
Belize 10 September and
21 September
★
Benin 1 August
★
Bermuda 24 May
★
Bhutan 17 December
★
Bolivia 6 August
★
Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 March (''Dan nezavisnosti''; Independence from
Yugoslavia in
1992),
November 25 (''Dan državnosti''; Statehood re-established in 1943 from the
Independent State of Croatia, a Nazi-puppet state during
World War II)
★
Botswana 30 September
★
Brazil 7 September
★
British Virgin Islands 1 July
★
Brunei 23 February
★
Bulgaria 3 March
★
Burkina Faso 4 August
★
Burma (Myanmar)
4 January
★
Burundi 1 July
★
Cambodia 9 November
★
Cameroon 20 May
★
Canada 1 July
★
Cape Verde September 12
★
Cayman Islands 1st Monday in July
★
Central African Republic 1 December
★
Chad 11 August
★
China 1 October
★
Chile 18 September
★
People's Republic of China 1 October
★
Colombia 20 July
★
Comoros 6 July
★
Cook Islands 4 August
★
Costa Rica 15 September
★
Côte d'Ivoire 7 August
★
Croatia 25 June (
Statehood Day)
★
Cuba 1 January
★
Cyprus 1 October
★
Czech Republic 28 October
★
Democratic Republic of Congo 30 June
★
Denmark 5 June
★
Djibouti 27 June
★
Dominica 3 November
★
Dominican Republic 27 February 16 August
★
East Timor 20 May
★
Ecuador 10 August
★
Egypt 23 July
★
El Salvador 15 September
★
England 23 April
★
Equatorial Guinea 12 October
★
Eritrea 24 May
★
Estonia 24 February
★
Ethiopia 28 May
★
Falkland Islands 14 June
★
Faroe Islands (
Denmark)
29 July
★
Fiji 10 October
★
Finland 6 December
★
Flanders 11 July
★
France 14 July
★
French Guyana (
France)
14 July
★
French Polynesia (
France)
14 July
★
Gabon 17 August
★
Gambia 18 February
★
Georgia 26 May
★
Germany 3 October
★
Ghana 6 March
★
Gibraltar 10 September
★
Greece 25 March
★
Greenland (
Denmark)
21 June (
Longest Day of the Year)
★
Grenada 7 February
★
Guadeloupe (
France)
14 July
★
Guam (
US)
21 July
★
Guatemala 15 September
★
Guernsey and Dependencies 9 May
★
Guinea 3 April
★
Guinea-Bissau 24 September
★
Guyana 23 February
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Haiti 1 January
★
Herm 9 May
★
Honduras 15 September
★
Hungary 15 March 20 August 23 October
★
Iceland 17 June
★
India 26 January 15 August 2 October
★
Indonesia 17 August
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Iran 1 April
★
Iraq 17 July
★
Ireland (in both
Republic of Ireland, and
Northern Ireland)
17 March
★
Isle of Man 5 July
★
Israel 14 May
★
Italy 2 June
★
Jamaica 1st Monday in August
★
Japan 23 December (
The Emperor's Birthday)
★
Jersey 9 May
★
Jordan 25 May
★
Kazakhstan 25 October
★
Kenya 12 December
★
Kiribati 12 July
★
Kuwait 26 January
★
Kyrgyzstan 31 August
★
Laos 2 December
★
Latvia 18 November
★
Lebanon 22 November
★
Lesotho 4 October
★
Liberia 26 July
★
Libya 1 September
★
Liechtenstein 15 August
★
Lithuania 16 February
★
Luxembourg 23 June
★
Macedonia 8 September
★
Madagascar 26 June
★
Malawi 6 July
★
Malaysia 31 August
★
Maldives 26 July
★
Mali 22 September
★
Malta 21 September
★
Marshall Islands 1 May
★
Martinique (
France)
14 July
★
Mauritania 28 November
★
Mauritius 12 March
★
Mayotte (
France)
14 July
★
Mexico 16 September
★
Micronesia 10 May
★
Moldova 27 August
★
Monaco 19 November
★
Mongolia 11 July
★
Montenegro 13 July
★
Montserrat 2nd Saturday in June
★
Morocco 2 March
★
Mozambique 25 June
★
Namibia 21 March
★
Nauru 31 January
★
Nepal 18 February 28 December
★
Netherlands Antilles (
Netherlands)
30 April
★
Netherlands 30 April
★
New Caledonia (
France)
14 July
★
New Zealand 6 February (
Waitangi Day)
★
Nicaragua 15 September
★
Niger 18 December
★
Nigeria 1 October
★
Niue 6 February
★
Norfolk Island (
Australia)
8 June
★
North Korea 8 September
★
Northern Mariana Islands 8 January
★
Norway 17 May
★
Oman 18 November
★
Pakistan 23 March (
Republic Day),
14 August (
Independence Day)
★
Palau 9 July
★
Panama 3 November
★
Papua New Guinea 16 September
★
Paraguay 14 May
★
Peru 28 July
★
Philippines 12 June
★
Pitcairn Islands 2nd Saturday in June
★
Poland 3 May, Constitution Day, and
November 11,
Independence Day
★
Portugal 10 June
★
Puerto Rico (
US)
25 July (
Constitution Day)
★
Qatar 3 September
★
Québec 24 June
★
Republic of the Congo 15 August
★
Republic of Yemen 22 May
★
Réunion (
France)
14 July
★
Romania 1 December
★
Russia 12 June
★
Rwanda 1 July
★
Sami (
Sweden,
Finland,
Norway,
Russia)
6 February
★
Samoa 1 June
★
San Marino 3 September
★
São Tomé and PrÃncipe 12 July
★
Sark 9 May
★
Saudi Arabia 23 September
★
Scotland 30 November
★
Senegal 4 April
★
Serbia 15 February
★
Seychelles 18 June
★
Sierra Leone 27 April
★
Singapore 9 August
★
Slovakia 29 August 1 September
★
Slovenia 25 June
★
Solomon Islands 7 July
★
Somalia 21 October
★
South Africa 27 April
★
South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands 14 June
★
South Korea 15 August
★
Spain 12 October
★
Sri Lanka 4 February
★
St Helena 2nd Saturday in June
★
St Kitts and Nevis 19 September
★
St Lucia 22 February
★
St Pierre and Miquelon (
France)
14 July
★
St Vincent and the Grenadines 27 October
★
Sudan 1 January
★
Suriname 25 November
★
Swaziland 6 September
★
Sweden 6 June
★
Switzerland 1 August (
Swiss National Day)
★
Syria 17 April
★
Taiwan (
Republic of China, the regime administering Taiwan and
other islands)
10 October (
Double Ten Day)
★
Tajikistan 9 September
★
Tanzania 26 April
★
Tartarstan 30 August
★
Thailand 5 December
★
Togo 27 April
★
Tonga 4 June
★
Transnistria 2 September
★
Trinidad and Tobago 31 August
★
Tunisia 20 March
★
Turkey 29 October
★
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus 15 November
★
Turkmenistan 27 October
★
Turks and Caicos Islands 30 August
★
Tuvalu 1 October
★
Uganda 9 October
★
Ukraine 24 August
★
United Arab Emirates 2 December
★
United States 4 July (
Independence Day)
★
United States Virgin Islands (
US)
31 March
★
Uruguay 25 August
★
Uzbekistan 1 September
★
Vanuatu 30 July
★
Vatican City 22 October
★
Venezuela 5 July
★
Vietnam 2 September
★
Wales 1 March
★
Yemen 22 May
★
Yugoslavia 29 November
★
Zambia 24 October
★
Zimbabwe 18 April
See also
★
National holiday
★
Independence Day
★
Liberation day
★
Republic Day
★
Civil religion
★
Public Holidays in the Republic of Ireland
العربية
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