A lot of countries have independence days, formation days, unification days, etc. Does your country have a day to celebrate such thing? If so, how do you celebrate it? Are there some special events organised on this day? Is it a national holiday on this day?

6 comments

  1. We have, it’s fairly new so for most people it’s just a day off. There are things that are organised on the 6th of June here and there. But I wouldn’t say there is any general tradition yet on what to do on the National Day which is kinda based on the day we elected our “founding father” Gustav Vasa as king back in 1523, so next year it’ll be a 500 year anniversary.

    Heck the Navy is having its 500 year anniversary this year. Lots of things were founded and decided on around 1521-1523 that’ll be having their 500 year anniversary now.

  2. We have two, in fact. It’s complicated.

    The 26th of October is the easier one to explain. It’s celebrated as the equivalent of independence day, despite the independence contract after post-WW2 occupation actually being signed on the 22nd of October. On the 26th the contract for our neutrality was signed.
    There usually are demonstrations of military units, a TV speech by the president and whatnot. The usual like most countries do.

    May 1st is the more difficult one. During austrofascism in the 30s, the fascist government really hated the workers movement and wanted to replace workers day, so they intentionally made their new constitution come into effect on may 1st, so they can call it day of celebrating the constitution and the state. For some reason it stuck around and these days we call it Staatsfeiertag.
    This one isn’t celebrated at all. Many people use it for other traditions (celebrating workers day, or the Maibaum traditions).

  3. We don’t, because there’s nothing like that.

    The foundation of Poland is commonly associated with the Baptism of Poland, which is traditionally said to have happened sometime in 966. According to the English Wikipedia it took place on 14th Apr 966, and I have no idea who wrote this, because on the Polish Wikipedia it’s stated that it’s not easy to tell what was the exact date an place because different sources give different info. As far as I know, there was a huge celebration of the 1000th anniversary in 1966. But other than that it’s not celebrated.

  4. Not really. There is Constitution Day, June 5th, but it is not a national holiday or anything. It is just the anniversary of the signing of the first liberal constitution of Denmark, signed June 5th, 1849.

    Usually liberal and conservative politicians and political parties have some events with speeches and such, kinda like a right-wing May 1st. Traditionally left-wing parties _used to_ reject participation in the celebrations, as they oppose(d) the liberal status-quo represented by the constitution. But from the 1930’es and onwards, starting with the social democrats, leftist groups has started to have some form of event on the date as well. Leftist groups instead celebrate the International Day of Worker’s Struggle on May 1st. It isn’t a national holiday either.

    Our reunification day is June 15th, also known as _Valdemarsdag_. It is the day of unification between Denmark and Northern Schleswig, following the plebescite of 1920, as decided in Versailles. It is also the traditional day of the battle of Lyndanisse, 1219, where, according to tradition, God awarded Danish crusaders led by King Valdemar, with a banner and a victory over the pagans; the banner that is used as our national flag. It isn’t a national holiday either, and celebrations are practically only big in Southern Jutland—not to be confused with South Jutland—where, naturally, reunification is a pretty big deal.

    There is also Liberation Day, May 5th, the anniversary of when the German forces in Denmark unconditionally surrendered in 1945. It is marked by lighting candles in the windows, and by various memorial services and such, but it isn’t a national holiday either.

    Now you might wonder: ‘Does Denmark have any national holidays at all?’ And yes! We do. 11 in total! They are: New Year’s Day, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, General Prayer Day, Ascension Day, Whit Sunday, Whit Monday and the 1st and 2nd Days Of Christmas. All of them are related to Christianity.

  5. The independence day. 6th of december. It’s quite a big deal here. The president holds the biggest and fanciest party in Finland that evening with guests from all walks of life. The day is quite serious and patriotic, not a light hearted festival due to our history. Unlike almost any other holiday in Finland, binge drinking and cheerful partying is not a part of it.

  6. Well, we don’t have a unification day, but we *do* have a **re**-unification day, or the “Day of German Unity”. It comemorates the reunifcation of East and West Germany. Sadly, because its such a new holiday, its mostly just celebrated by hanging a German flag outside your window and thats it, if that. You do get a day off work, so theres that

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