Independence Day, July 10.
Anniversary of the proclamation of sovereignty in 1973.

Fox Hill Day, second Tuesday in August.
Celebrates the abolition of slavery, and takes place in the area of Fox Hill, about five miles from Nassau, New Providence.

Labour Day, first Friday in June.

Public holidays.
New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Whit Monday, Labour Day, Independence Day, Emancipation Day, Columbus Day, Christmas.

National Day of Bahrain, December 16. Independence Day.

Public holidays.
New Year's Day, Leilat al-Meiraj, first day of Ramadan, Id al-Fitr, Id al-Adha, first day of Muharram, Ashoura, Mouloud, National Day.

National Mourning Day, February 21.
A memorial day and national holiday. When Bangladesh was part of Pakistan the West Pakistani regime tried to force Urdu as the national language in place of Bengali. On this day a procession of Bengalis was shot at by police and four people were killed. Also known as Shaheed Dibsoh or Martyrs Day.

Independence Day, March 26.
Then, in 1970, East Pakistan's leading political party, the Awami League, was victorious in the elections. Their leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, should have become the next Prime Minister, but the
President of Pakistan refused to accept this. After negotiations broke down, Mujib declared independence for the People's Republic of Bangladesh on March 26, 1971. A nine month civil war ensued.

Victory Day, December 16, 1971.
After Sheikh Mujib's declaration of independece, President Yahya Khan outlawed the Awami League and arrested its leaders, including Mujib. Resistance fighters continued to battle the Pakistan army, resulting in nearly ten million refugees fleeing to India. India declared war on Pakistan on December 4, and Pakistan surrendered soon afterwards, on December 16, 1971. Mujib returned to become the first Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Today is also known as Bijoy Dibosh
.
Revolution Day, November 7.
Beginning in 1974, Political instability and internal terrorism led to a state of emergency and suspension of constitutional rights. The parlaiment was disolved, and Sheikh Mujib assumed absolute power as President. This further led to a series of coup d'états. First, Mujib and his family were assassinated by Islamic army majors. Then a counter-coup installed a new government which ruled for four days before a third coup on November 7, 1975, installed Chief Justice Abusadet Mohammed Sayem as the new President.

Bengali New Year, April 14. [same as Vaisakhi?]

Public holidays.
Martyrs Day, Independence Day, Bengali New Year, May Day, Victory Day, Shab-e-Barat, Jamaat-ul-Bida, Shab-e-Qudr, Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Azha, Yom Ashura, Janmastami, Durga Puja,
Buddha Purnima, and Christmas.

Independence Day, November 30, 1966.

Errol Barrow Day, January 21.
Errol Barrow was the first Prime Minister of Barbados, and was previously the Premier (Barbados had full internal self-government since 1961).

United Nations Day, October 7.

Public holidays.
New Year's Day, Errol Barrow Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Labour Day, Whit Monday, Kadooment Day, United Nations Day, Independence Day, Christmas.

Independence Day, July 21.
Commemorates the anniversary of separation from the Netherlands in 1831, and the formal
establishment of the kingdom with the crowning of Leopold I of Saxe-Coburg, who agreed to support
the constitution drawn up by the National Congress.

Dynasty Day (Fête de la Dynastie), November 15.
Honors the king's patron saint's day.

Public holidays.
The national holdays are New Year's Day, Easter Monday, Labor Day (May 1), Ascension Day, Whit
Monday, Independence Day (Jul 21-22), Assumption, All Saints' Day, All Souls' Day, Armistice Day
(Nov 11), King's Birthday (Nov 15), and Christmas (Dec. 25-26).
 

Festivals

Cat Festival (Ypres), second Sunday in May. According to legend, in 962 A.D. Baudoin III, the Count of Flanders, ordered the people of Ypres to throw two or three live cats from the tower of his castle. This was an act of renouncing pagan superstitions in which the cat featured largely, often as a symbol of fertility. This centuries old festival was banned in the eighteenth century by Joseph II, and again after the French occupation, but in 1817 it was again observed by having a single citizen, wearing a red jacket, white cap, and ribbons, throw down a live cat from the castle, which often survived the drop. During World War I it was observed by a concert of bells, and in 1938 the festival was reinstated at the current date, with live cats replaced with toy stuffed ones. A Cat Parade was added in 1955, and includes floats and costumes based on feline mythology
through the ages.

Independence Day, September 21.
Belize was known as British Honduras prior to their independence from the United Kingdom on September 21, 1981.

St. George's Cay Day, September 10.
The area was originally settled by the Spanish, and in the seventeenth century British settlers arrived
who were interested in the mahogany. After many conflicts between the Spanish and the British, war
broke out in 1796, and a Spanish expidition was sent to drive out the British. The Battle of St. George's
Cay in 1798 was won by a handful of locals over a superior Spanish force.

Garifuna Day on November 19.
The first Carib settlement in Belize was in 1823, when Black Caribs came from St. Vincent [and
Rotan]. The Garifuna ethnic group makes up 7.6% of the population.

National Day, September 10.
Commemorates the Battle of Saint George's Cay in 1798 in which a few locals defeated the superior
Spanish forces.

Baron Bliss Day, March 9.
Honors the Englishman Sir Henry Edward Ernest Victor Bliss, who left his entire fortune to the city of
Belize for no known reason.

Public holidays.
New Year's Day, Baron Bliss Day, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Monday, Labor Day (May 1),
Commonwealth Day (May 24), St. George's Cay Day, Indepen-dence Day, Pan American Day (Oct.
2 -- Columbus Day), Garifuna Day, Christmas, and Boxing Day.

National Day, November 30.
Commemorates the establishment of a Marxist-Leninist state on the anniversary of the day in
1975 when the official name of this country was changed from Dahomey to Benin.

Martyrs' Day, January 16.
Anniversary of the mercenary attack on Cotonou.

Public holidays.
New Year's Day, Martyrs' Day, Id al-Fitr, Youth Day (Apr 1), Good Friday, Easter Monday, Workers' Day (May 1), Ascension Day, Whit Monday, Id al-Adha, Assumption, Armed Forces Day (Oct 26), All Saints' Day, National Day, Christmas, Harvest Day (Dec 31).

Peppercorn Day, April 23rd.
The day of the Peppercorn ceremony, when officials collect one peppercorn as rent of the Old State
House in Saint George.

Bermuda Day, May 24.

Somers Day, Bermuda, July 28.
Commemorates Admiral Sir George Somers' settlement of 1609.

National holidays.
New Year's Day, Good Friday, Bermuda Day, Queen's Official Birthday, Cup Match, Somers' Day,
Labor Day (Sep), Remembrance Day (Nov 11), Christmas.

National Day of Bhutan, December 17.
The first hereditary King of Bhutan was installed on this day in 1907.

King's Birthday, November 11.
The birthday of Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who became king in 1972 at age sixteen.

Public holidays.
Buddhist holidays, King's Birthday, Dussehra, National Day of Bhutan.

Independence Day, August 6, 1825.
Anniversary of the day it gained its independence from Spain.

La Paz Day, observed in La Paz, Bolivia on July 16.
La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, was founded on this day in 1548.

Martyrs' Day, July 21.

Memorial Day, March 23.

National Day, April 9.
Anniversary of the reestablishment of the National Revolutionary Movement in 1952.

Alacitas, occurs in January.
Indian festival for the god of abundance.

Public holidays.
New Year's Day, Carnival (Shrove Mon. and Shrove Tue.), Good Friday, Labor Day (May 1), Corpus Christi, Independence Day, All Souls' Day, and Christmas. There are also regional public holidays.

Public holidays.
New Year's Day, Labor Days (May 1-2), July 27, November 25.

Botswana Day, September 30.
Celebrates the country's independence from the United Kingdom in 1966.

President's Day, May 24.

Public holidays.
The national holidays are New Year's Day, Easter, Ascension Day, President's Day, Botswana Day,
Christmas. Multiple days are given for most of these holidays.

Tiradentes Day, April 21.
Commemorates the execution of national hero Jose da Silva Xavier, a conspirator in the 1789 revolt
against the Portuguese. Xavier, a dentist by trade, was nicknamed Tiradentes, or tooth-puller.

Independence Day, September 7, 1822.
Anniversary of declaration of independence from Portugal by Dom Pedro II.

Republic Day, November 15.
Anniversary of the proclamation of 1889 which removed Dom Pedro from power.

Brasilia Day, April 21.
Anniversay of the naming of Brasilia as the capital of Brazil in 1960. Celebration is concentrated in the
capital city itself.

Discovery Day, April 22.
Anniversary of the discovery of Brazil by Pedro Alvarez Cabral in 1500.

Sao Paulo Anniversary, Sao Paulo, Brazil, January 25.
A public holiday in Sao Paulo.

Public holidays.
The national holidays are New Year's Day, St. Sebastian's feast day, Carnival, Good Friday,
Tiradentes Day, Labor Day (May 1), Corpus Christi, Independence Day, All Souls' Day, Proclamation
of the Republic Day (Nov. 15), and Christmas. Sao Paulo has the additional regional public holiday
Sao Paulo Day.

Prince of Wales's Birthday, November 14.
Celebrates the birthday of Prince Charles (b.1948).
Sovereign's Birthday Observance, occurs in June.

Public holidays.
New Year's Day, Commonwealth Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Whit Monday, Queen's Official
Birthday, Territory Day (Jul 1), August Holiday (Mon, Tue, and Wed), Saint Ursula's Day, Prince of
Wales' Birthday, Christmas.

National Day, February 23.

Royal Brunei Armed Forces Day, June 1.

Sultan's Birthday, July 15.

Public holidays.
New Year's Day, Isra Mera (Leilat al-Meiraj), Chinese New Year, National Day, Beginning of Ramadan, Memperingati Nuzul Al-Quran (Revelation of the Koran), Hari Raya Puasa (end of Ramadan), Royal Brunei Armed Forces Day, Hari Raya Haji (Feast of the Sacrifice), Hizrah (Islamic New Year), Sultan's Birthday, Hari Mouloud, Christmas.

Botev Day, May 20.
Memorializes the death of poet Khristo Botev (d.1876), who was a hero in the revolutionary movement against the Turks. Observed with poetry festivals and concerts.

Babin Den, January 20.
Also known as Grandmother's Day.

Education Day, May 24. A day to promote the nation's culture, education, and communications. Also known as Day of Slavonic Letters.

National Holiday, September 9-10.
Commemorates the period in 1944 when Bulgaria switched sides from the Axis to the Allied side.

Liberation Day, March 3.
Anniversary of Bulgaria's liberation from the Ottoman empire in 1878, acheived through the Treaty of San Stefano.

Viticulturists' Day, February 14.
A festival observing customs from the cult of Dionysus, god of wine and merriment.

Public holidays.
The national holidays are New Year's Day, National Day (Mar 3), Labor Day (May 1), Education Day, Christmas.

Republic Day, December 11, 1958.
The territory voted to become an autonomous state. No longer observed since the country becam
Burkina Faso.

Youth Day, November 30.

National Day, August 4.
On this day in 1984 the Republic of Upper Volta was renamed Burkina Faso.

Public holidays.
New Year's Day, Anniversary of 1966 Coup (Jan 3), Id al-Fitr, Easter Monday, Labour Day (May 1),
Ascension Day, Whit Monday, Id al-Adha, National Day, Assumption, Mouloud, All Saints' Day, Christmas.

Independence Day, July 1.
Anniversary of sovereignty in 1962.

Victory of Uprona Day, September 18, 1961.
UPRONA is the Union pour le progrès national, which was formed in 1958 by Prince Louis Rwagasore.

Murder of the Hero Day on October 13.
Prime minister Prince Louis Rwagasore's assassination is remembered.

Public holidays.
New Year's Day, Easter Monday, Labor Day (May 1), Ascension Day, Independence Day,
Assumption, Victory of Uprona Day, Murder of the Hero Day, All Saints' Day, Anniversary of the
Revolution (Nov. 30), Christmas, and Umugamuro.