Independence day - Definition


Independence day - Definition

For other uses, see Independence Day (disambiguation).

An Independence Day is an annual celebration commemorating the anniversary of a nation's assumption of independent statehood, usually after ceasing to be a colony of another state. Most countries honor their respective independence day as a national holiday.

List of Independence Days

The following is a partial list of independence days around the world:

Albania - Dita e Pavar�sis�, November 28, proclaimed by Ismail Qemali and signalled the end of five centuries of Ottoman rule
Angola - (11 November 1975) Portugal grants independence to its former colony.
Argentina - July 9 1816, marking independence from Spain.
Australia - January 1 1901, marking independence from the United Kingdom.
Botswana - September 30, 1966, independence from the United Kingdom.
Burkina Faso - August 5, 1960, independence from France.
Brazil - Sete de Setembro - September 7, 1822, independence from Portugal.
Burundi - July 1 1962, independence from Belgium
Central America - September 15, celebrated in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, the former states of the United States of Central America, who achieved independence from Spain or Mexico on this date.
Canada - Canada Day, July 1, marking partial independence from the British Empire in 1867.
Colombia - July 20, marks independence from Spain in 1810.
Croatia - October 8, marking independence from Yugoslavia.
Czech Republic - October 28, as Czechoslovakia, marking restored independence from Austria-Hungary in 1918.
East Timor - May 20, marks independence from Indonesia in 2002.
Estonia - February 24, marks independence from Imperial Russia in 1918.
Finland - December 6, marks independence from Russia in 1917.
Iceland - June 17, marks independence from Denmark in 1944.
India - August 15, marks independence from the UK in 1947.
Indonesia - Hari Proklamasi Kemerdekaan R.I., August 17, marks independence from Netherlands in 1945.
Israel - Yom Ha'atzma'ut, Hebrew date of 5 Iyar (unless that falls on Shabbat, in which case it is the 3rd) which occurs usually at the end of spring (May). The Gregorian date for the day in which Israeli independence was proclaimed is May 14th. See also Jewish holidays.
Italy - April 25, marks independence from fascism in 1945.
Kazakhstan - December 16, marks independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Kenya - Uhuru, December 12, marks independence from the UK in 1963.
Korea - Liberation Day, August 15, marking independence from Japan in 1945.
Kyrgyzstan - August 31, marks independence from USSR in 1991.
Latvia - Neatkaribas diena, November 18, marks independence from Imperial Russia in 1918.
Lithuania - February 16, marks independence from Imperial Russia in 1918.
Malaysia - Hari Merdeka, August 31, marks independence from the United Kingdom
Mali - September 22, from France in 1960
Mexico - Diecis�is de septiembre, September 16.
Mongolia - November 26
Morocco - March 2, 1956 from France
Norway - May 17, 1814 from Denmark
Pakistan - Yaum e Azadi, August 14, marks Pakistan's independence from the United Kingdom.
Panama - November 3, independence from Colombia in 1903.
Papua New Guinea - September 16, independence from Australia of the former Territories of New Guinea, and Papua, in 1975.
Paraguay - D�a de Independencia, May 15, marks independence from Spain in 1811.
Peru - July 28, marks independence from Spain in 1821.
Philippines - Araw ng Kalayaan, June 12, marks independence from Spain in 1898.
Poland - Święto Niepodległości, November 11, marks restoration of Poland's independence in 1918.
Romania - May 9, marks independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1877.
Russia - Russia Day, June 12.
Rwanda - July 1 1962, marks independence from Belgium.
Serbia - February 15 1804, marks the day of the begining of the First Uprising against Ottoman occupation.
Serbia and Montenegro - February 4 2003, the day when Constitutional Charter was pronounced.
Singapore - National Day, August 9, marks expulsion / separation from Malaysia in 1965.
Slovakia - July 17, anniversary of the Declaration of Independence (only a remembrance day), but the independence came only on January 1 (public holiday).
Slovenia - Dan neodvisnosti, December 26, marking date of the official results of the independence plebiscite in 1990.
Sri Lanka - February 4, from the United Kingdom
Switzerland - August 1, marks alliance against the Holy Roman Empire in 1291.
Swaziland - September 6, 1968, from the United Kingdom
Tajikistan - September 9, from the Soviet Union in 1991
Trinidad and Tobago - August 31, 1962 from the United Kingdom
Tonga - June 4, 1970 from the United Kingdom
Turkey - August 30, 1922 marks the victory that ended Greek occupation in Anatolia.
Ukraine - August 24, from the Soviet Union in 1991
United States - Independence Day, July 4, often called the Fourth of July, which marks the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 when the thirteen British colonies formed the United States of America. A Liberty Medal and $100,000 is given each July 4 in Philadelphia to some prominent world leader in honor of Independence Day.

List of Independence Days

See also