National day
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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A 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 a 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. Many countries have more than one national day.
Most countries have a fixed-date national day, but some have movable dates. An example is Jamaica, which up to 1997 celebrated its national day on the first Monday in August. This commemorated independence from the United Kingdom which was attained on Monday, 6 August 1962, the first Monday in August of that year. Israel's Independence Day is not fixed relative to the civil Gregorian calendar, being formally linked to 5 Iyar on the Jewish calendar, but may also be moved to any day between 3 and 6 Iyar in order to avoid preparing for or celebrating either Independence Day or Memorial Day (which immediately precedes Independence Day) on Shabbat; the practical effect of this is that Independence Day may be celebrated any day between 15 April and 15 May. Another example is Thailand which celebrates the birthday of the king on 28 July. This date will change on the accession of the heir to the throne.
Most national days can be categorized in two large blocks:Template:Cn
- Newer countries that celebrate their national day as the day of their independence.
- Older countries that use some other event of special significance as their national day.
Denmark and the United Kingdom are among the few countries that do not have designated national days.
See also
- Public holiday
- Flag Day
- Independence Day
- Liberation day
- Civil religion
- National Holiday
- Fête nationale
- Republic Day
- Victory Day
