Marked by France, Japan, the United States, and the Maldives, national days are linked to independence, victory, and unification, and serve to strengthen the sense of belonging.
Ahwal Al-Ma'rifa – Special
All countries of the world celebrate their national days by choosing an important occasion in their history that occurred on a specific day and designating it as the “National Day.” This occasion may mark unification, independence from colonialism, victory in a battle, or a popular day associated with cultural, social, ceremonial, or folkloric festivals.
There is no documented historical consensus on determining the “first country in the world” to have invented the concept of celebrating a national day in its modern form, as these celebrations evolved over time.
Some historical accounts indicate that the Maldives celebrates the anniversary of Sultan Muhammad Al-Azam’s victory over the Portuguese in 1573, while Japan celebrates the anniversary of the accession of its first legendary emperor, Jimmu, in 660 BC. These are ancient occasions, but they were not “national days” according to the modern standards of independence or unification.
Bastille Day:
Among the earliest official national holidays associated with national and popular history in the modern era is Bastille Day in France, which falls on July 14 each year. It began in 1790 as a commemoration of the French Revolution and the storming of the Bastille in 1789. Although it emerged during the early years following the Revolution, it was not officially established as a public holiday with government celebrations until decades later, during the final quarter of the nineteenth century. The same applies to the national day of the United States of America, known as Independence Day (1776).
While these two countries pioneered the concept of the national day as an official holiday accompanied by celebrations, festivals, fireworks, and military parades, by the beginning of the twentieth century most developed countries had their own national days to celebrate. By the middle of the twentieth century, as colonized countries gained independence, most countries around the world had established national days. However, a few countries do not have a national day in the commonly understood sense, such as Denmark, Britain, Switzerland, and some Commonwealth countries!
Thus, the official recognition of a national day as a fixed annual date and a paid public holiday gradually began to take shape from the second half of the nineteenth century, although the concept had appeared earlier as a general practice. Therefore, it is difficult to determine who was the first to implement a national day. The idea gradually emerged from one country to another and was then officially established in France and America. National days were not known by this name in many countries and are still referred to by different names, such as Independence Day, Flag Day, Unification Day, Founding Day, Evacuation Day, Victory Day, or even the birthday of a particular leader. Nevertheless, they are implicitly considered national days.
Saudi National Day:
The celebrations of Saudi National Day are considered among the most prominent in the world in terms of the diversity of activities and the scale of public and official participation. The events include air and sea shows, major fireworks displays across different regions of the Kingdom, and a vast calendar of artistic concerts, carnivals, heritage activities, and traditional dances organized by the General Entertainment Authority, in addition to numerous cultural events.
King Faisal bin Abdulaziz, may Allah have mercy on him, issued a Royal Decree in 1385 AH (1965) stipulating that September 23 of every year would be the National Day of the Kingdom, commemorating its unification at the hands of its founder, King Abdulaziz Al Saud. This was based on the Royal Decree issued by the founding King Abdulaziz Al Saud in 1351 AH (1932), which announced the unification of the country and the change of its name to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi National Day was officially recognized as a public holiday for the first time by an order issued by King Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in 1425 AH (2004), making it an official holiday beginning in 1426 AH (2005). The Founding Day, which falls on February 22 each year, is also considered a second national occasion for the Kingdom, by a Royal Decree issued by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, may Allah protect him. Celebrations of Founding Day began in 2022 and commemorate the establishment of the First Saudi State in 1727. The celebration of Saudi National Day and Founding Day serves to remember the epic of the unification of the Saudi state and the achievements of fathers and ancestors, renew loyalty, strengthen the spirit of national unity and belonging to the homeland, and celebrate continuous progress and development across various fields, including quality of life and future projects.
National Days Around the World:
There are approximately 195 independent countries in the world, and each has one or more national days of its own. However, there are well-known countries that do not have a national day, such as Britain and Denmark. Some countries celebrate more than one national day, such as Hong Kong, which observes two national days each year. Some countries celebrate three national days, such as Egypt and Pakistan. The national day of some countries may also change with a change of monarch, as in Thailand and Luxembourg.
Countries differ in the importance they attach to their national days and in the scale of their official celebrations. In some countries, military parades are held, national flags are raised in public squares, and cities come alive with large carnivals and festivals, as happens in Spain and many South American countries. In others, the occasion may simply be a public holiday from work and study.
Interestingly, Spain’s National Day, October 12, is also celebrated in several Latin American and South American countries as Columbus Day, commemorating Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the Americas in 1492. Some people viewed these public celebrations as honoring European conquerors rather than the Indigenous populations. Consequently, in 1996, the first National Indigenous Peoples Day was celebrated in Canada, and it became an official national day observed on June 21.
Australia’s National Day appears painful and unusual, as it commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet of settlers in 1788 and the declaration of British sovereignty. However, this commemoration was accompanied by the declaration of a day of “mourning” for Indigenous Australians in 1938. In 1988, Indigenous Australians staged protests, viewing the occasion as a celebration of the loss of their original culture.
Germany celebrates Unity Day, established in 1991, while Hong Kong commemorates the return of sovereignty to China in 1997. Meanwhile, new national days continue to emerge, such as Timor-Leste’s Independence Day in 2002, Kosovo’s in 2008, and South Sudan’s in 2011.
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