By the twentieth century, Lao had become a French protectorate. Following the end of World War II, resistance to French control grew and the Pathet Lao resistance organisation was formed by the Indochinese Communist Party. The armed struggle against occupation was known as the First Indochina War, and it resulted in Lao gaining independence as a constitutional monarchy under King Sisavang Phoulivong in October 1953.
Lao is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia.
The opposing views of the Pathet La and the royalist forces led to a long civil war in Lao. In 1975, with the support of North Vietnam and the Soviet Union, the Pathet Lao gained the upper hand in the conflict, and on December 2nd 1975, they overthrew the royalist Lao government and forced King Savang Vatthana to abdicate.
On the same day, the Pathet Lao government under Kaysone Phomvihane renamed the country as the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
The largest events to mark the day take place in the capital, Vientiane; at the Pha That Luang Temple, the Presidential Palace, and Patuxay Monument Park. Smaller gatherings occur in other urban centers, such as Luang Prabang, Pakse, Phonsavan, and Savannakhet.