HOLIDAYS

British involvement in the region began in the middle of the nineteenth century with Aden seen as a key strategic location, becoming the Aden Protectorate in 1874.

After the second world war, the cry for Arab nationalism rang out across the region, with anti-British resistance growing in Aden, becoming both more organised and violent.

On December 10th 1963, a state of emergency was declared in Aden. Guerrilla attacks by the National Liberation Front (NLF) over a sustained period during the next four years forced the British into an early withdrawal from the region on November 30th 1963, with the NLF declaring the independent state of the People’s Republic of South Yemen, comprising Aden and the former Protectorate of South Arabia.

The Republic of Yemen is the second-largest country in the Arabian Peninsula.

During the latter part of the 17th century, Yemen was the only coffee producer in the world. The coffee plant is a native of the Yemeni desert. Local Sufi mystics were the first to brew into a drink to keep them awake while praying.

Vanuatu is an island nation of 83 small volcanic islands in the South Pacific Ocean, with a population of about 270,000. Despite these relatively small numbers, the people speak an impressive 113 indigenous languages – it is the country with the highest density of languages per capita in the world.

And although the majority of the population have the same ethnic background, the tribes that developed on the different islands also have their own unique customs and traditions as well as languages.

Since the start of the 20th century, the islands had been jointly administered by France and the United Kingdom and known as the New Hebrides. In the 1970s the movement for independence gained momentum with the establishment of the first political party, the New Hebrides National Party (renamed as the Vanua’aku Party in 1974). The  Vanua’aku Party proclaimed the creation of a provisional government in 1977. When the leaders of the party tried to raise a flag over the headquarters in Port Vila, the action was resisted by the police leading to violence and the loss of life.

The awakening of this political spirit and the ensuing strife led to Unity Day being established as a public holiday. Its aim is to engender a spirit of national unity among Vanuatu’s very diverse population and remind the country’s diverse population of its shared struggles and interests.

To celebrate this day, representatives from all of Vanuatu’s tribal groups come to the capital city of Port Vila.

High chiefs from the different islands attend the festivities, which include performances by native dancers in their traditional dress and a parade. The holiday’s festivities typically include picnics, music concerts and sporting events.

In 2004 President Kalkot Mataskelekele asked that church leaders spend time during the day in special prayer for national unity.

The name of Vanuatu comes from two local words meaning “home” and “stand” was adopted on independence in 1980.

Though home to indigenous tribes, Panama came under Spanish control with the arrival of settlers in the 16th century. From 1538 until 1821 Panama was governed as part of the Viceroyalty of Peru.

The strategic position of Panama made the area one of the wealthiest and prestigious in the region. This helped to forge a sense of pride in a national identity quite early on amongst the new generations of settlers.

With the independence movements that was sweeping across this part of the Americas at that time, the hand of the Panamanian independence movement was forced when a small town called Villa de Los Santos, who made the first cry of independence on November 10th 1821. This key event in Panama’s history is also marked with a public holiday in Panama.

On 28 November, at an open town meeting, Panama was declared a sovereign entity and become independent from Spain. Fearing reprisals from Spain, the region sought protection and became a department within the Republic of Greater Colombia.

The American tradition of Thanksgiving dates back to 1621 when the pilgrims gave thanks for their first bountiful harvest in Plymouth Rock. The settlers had arrived in November 1620, founding the first permanent English settlement in the New England region.

After barely surviving their first winter, the pilgrims encountered Squanto, who taught them to grow corn, identify poisonous plants, and catch fish.

November of 1621 was the pilgrims’ first successful harvest, and Governor William Bradford invited nearby Native American allies for a feast. This first Thanksgiving was celebrated for three days, with the settlers feasting with the natives on dried fruits, boiled pumpkin, turkey, venison and much more.

The celebration, however, was not repeated until many years later, when in 1789 George Washington proclaimed Thanksgiving to be a national holiday on Thursday November 26th that year – setting the precedent of the last Thursday in November. Despite this, the holiday was celebrated on different days from state to state and Thomas Jefferson later did away with the holiday.

New York was the first state to officially adopt an annual Thanksgiving holiday, in 1817.

Thanksgiving didn’t become a nationwide holiday until President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November a national day of Thanksgiving in 1863. Every year following, the President proclaimed a day of Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving was switched from the final Thursday in November to the next-to-last Thursday in November by President Roosevelt in 1939 as he wanted to create a longer Christmas shopping period to simulate the economy which was still recovering after the Great Depression.

This decision was heavily opposed, and was termed “Franksgiving”. It caused widespread confusion with many states ignoring the change until Congress sanctioned the fourth Thursday in November as a legal holiday in 1941.

Sarah Josepha Hale, writer of ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’, led a 17 year campaign to get Thanksgiving declared a national holiday. Many letters she sent in that time were ignored, but a letter to Abraham Lincoln finally convinced him to declare Thanksgiving as a holiday in 1863.

The Plymouth settlers did not refer to themselves as ‘Pilgrims’. The majority of the settlers were dissidents who had broken away from the Church of England. They would have called themselves ‘separatists’ or ‘puritans’. It was not until about 100 years later that the term ‘Pilgrims’ started to be commonly used to refer to the settlers.

The tradition of a fast as repentance or penance is said to have come from the Book of Jonah in the Bible when the city of Nineveh fasted to appease god at the behest of the Prophet Jonah. Certainly, it was a popular custom that took hold in mediaeval Europe with a seemingly never-ending supply of wars, famines and plagues offering plenty of opportunities to seek divine help.

Switzerland still observes a public holiday for these fasts, showing their usual penchant for organising things by rounding them up into the single all-denomination Federal Fast.

The first official day of prayer in Germany, scheduled by Emperor Charles V, was observed in 1532 by Protestants in the Holy Roman Empire in Strasbourg to address the Ottoman invasion taking place at the eastern border of the Empire.

Repentance Day was a public holiday all across Germany from 1934 to 1995, when it was cancelled in all states across the country (except Saxony) in order to finance nursing care insurance. Saxony decided to keep the holiday and instead raise labour revenues to fund the insurance.

During the second world war, it was celebrated on the Sunday after its usual date to reduce the number of non-working days and its effect on the war effort.

It is a school holiday in Bavaria. In Berlin, Protestant students can decide for themselves whether or not to attend school on the day of prayer.

If you were planning to go watch Bayern Munich play football, then head on a club to dance the night away, think again – as dancing from 2am until midnight and sporting events are banned on the Day of Repentance in Bavaria.

When the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was occupied during the second world war, control was divided between Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Bulgaria.

The Partisan resistance to the occupiers was led by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia who galvanized support from all parts of the nation. In November 1942, the Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia was convened by Josip Broz Tito.

The first-ever session of the State Anti-fascist Council for the National Liberation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the highest political representative body of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was held in Mrkonjić Grad on November 25th and 26th 1943. They elected their representatives to participate in the second Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia in the Bosnian town of Jajce. 

At this council meeting, on November 29th a decision was made on how Yugoslavia would operate after the war. There was to be a federal Yugoslavia based on the right of self-determination of the people – Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Montenegrins, and Macedonians – who would live in six constituent republics with equal rights. The council declared Bosnia and Herzegovina to be an equal community of Muslims (Bosniaks), Serbs, and Croats.

The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s  Ministry of Labor and Social Policy informs the public that the Law on the Proclamation of November 25 as the Statehood Day of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina stipulates that the Statehood Day of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a national holiday, and on that day state bodies, enterprises and other legal entities will not work.

Accordingly, November 25 – Statehood Day of Bosnia and Herzegovina is celebrated as a national holiday only one day on the day of the national holiday, and will be a non-working day.

The holiday commemorates the Battle of Vuelta de Obligado which took place on November 20th 1845 when the Argentine Confederation fought against an Anglo-French navy in the Battle of Vuelta de Obligado, during the Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata.

The Argentine Confederation lost the battle, but there is a saying ‘lose the battle but win the war’ and this was true in this case. Despite the victory, the British and French suffered such heavy losses that the battle brought them to negotiate a treaty with Juan Manuel de Rosas, the Governor of Buenos Aires.

The battle was seen as a key event as it had been triggered by Argentine efforts to protect regional industries from colonial powers in the region by raising trading tariffs and efforts by de Rosas to get Uruguay and Paraguay to join the confederation antagonised the French and British and led to the battle.

November 20th has been nationally observed as the Day of National Sovereignty since 1974, but the fourth Monday only became a national holiday in 2010.

The Khasi people are the indigenous people of Meghalaya and are the largest ethnic group in the state.

Seng Kut Snem is the day before Khasi New Year, which traditionally takes place on November 24th.

The Khasi calendar is based on the change of the four seasons, known indigenously as ‘Saw Samoi’ – winter, spring, summer and autumn as defined by the crops sown and harvested and influenced by climatic changes, rain and phases of the moon.

While the Khasi people were under the control of the British Empire in 1899, 16 nationalist Khasi youths formed the Seng Khasi to protect their indigenous religion, rich culture and unique language. This was just one in a series of acts of defiance against British rule by the Khasi.

Since then, the movement has gained momentum helping the Khasi people take pride in their unique and rich heritage.

Today Seng Kut Snem serves a dual purpose of marking the end of the year with a tradition thanksgiving festival and also a day when the Seng Khasi celebrate the culture, faith and history of the Khasi.

The festival is marked by speeches and also includes traditional games, folk dances, cultural festivals, and displays of handmade products.

In November 2023, Prime Minister Edi Rama, in his speech at the Diaspora Summit in Tirana, said that November 22nd, Alphabet Day, will be a national holiday in Albania, as it is for Albanians in North Macedonia.

Rama advised the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Omani, to suggest the same to her Prime Minister in Kosovo.

“It is the strength of one man, Arbën Xhaferri, who had the vision for Alphabet Day, November 22, to be a day known as a national holiday for Albanians in North Macedonia, and I think now is the day that Alphabet Day, which unites us all, to be a national holiday in Albania as well. And I definitely believe that the president of Kosovo will give this suggestion to his prime minister. I listen to the president for myself”, said Rama.

An official holiday for the administration has been added. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ilgi Hasani, in a media conference after the government meeting, announced that the Council of Ministers will propose to the Parliament that November 22 be declared as Alphabet Day.

Minister Hasani stated that November 22nd has special symbolism and specifies the greatest unifying moment of Albanians.

“An amendment to the law on national holidays and memorial days will be approved. The Council of Ministers is proposing to the Parliament the addition of the alphabet day as one of our national holidays. It is a day with special symbolism.

November 22nd specifies the greatest unifying moment of the Albanians, who are scattered in all the countries of the Balkans, and unites their language,” said Foreign Minister Igli Hasani.

Albanian Alphabet Day commemorates the anniversary of the Congress of Manastir, held in the city of Manastir from November 14 to 22, 1908. The goal of this congress was standardizing the Albanian alphabet and eliminating the representation of the language by a combination of six different alphabets and a number of their sub-variants.

The Congress adopted the current Albanian alphabet, consisting of 29 consonants and 7 vowels. 9 letters of the alphabet are digraphs and 2 more are represented with diacritics. The letter W is used only in the borrowed words.

This public holiday was established by President Petro Poroshenko in November 2014.

It is intended to mark two key events in recent Ukrainian history, the 2004 ‘Orange Revolution’ and the 2013 ”Revolution of Dignity’.

The Orange Revolution was a series of protests in response to the outcome of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election which was seen to have be compromised by electoral fraud. The protests led to an annulment of the original run-off result and a second vote took place in December 2004, resulting in a victory for Victor Yushchenko.

The Revolution of Dignity or Euromaidan demonstrations began on November 21st 2013 in the Ukrainian capital Kiev following the Ukrainian government’s decision to suspend preparations for signing the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement with the European Union, instead seeking closer economic relations with Russia.

The protests lasted until February 2014 and turned violent with the unarmed protesters and several policemen losing their lives. An agreement was reached after the violence with the government making concessions to the protestors. Despite these concessions, at the end of February 2014, President Viktor Yanukovych and his government fled the country with Oleksandr Turchynov becoming the Acting President.

In signing the decree for the Day of Dignity and Freedom in 2016, President said “Ukraine is the territory of dignity and freedom originated from two revolutions – our Maidan of 2004, which was the Holiday of Freedom, and the Revolution of 2013, the Revolution of Dignity. It was an extremely difficult challenge for Ukraine, when Ukrainians demonstrated their Europeanness, dignity and desire for freedom. As President of Ukraine, I must documentarily attest it and sign the Decree on the Day of Dignity and Freedom that will be celebrated by Ukrainians on November 21st from here to eternity”.

November 20th was chosen by a group of activists from Grupo Palmares, which held an event in 1971 at Clube Nutico Marclio Dias, in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, to honour ‘Zumbi’, a legendary black hero and freedom fighter.

Zumbi was born inside the Quilombo of Palmares, the largest colony of escaped slaves in Brazil in 1655.

The colony not only consisted of escaped African slaves but also of native Brazilian Indians and other mixed races.

The colony had a government system that organised similarly to an African Kingdom with a King and Assembly. The King was chosen from the best warriors. “Zumbi” was chosen this way and under his leadership, the colony fought bravely for 65 years against colonisers from Portugal and Holland and was finally destroyed in 1694.

Zumbi managed to escape from the colony and many believed that he was immortal. He was finally captured on November 20th 1695. He was immediately beheaded and his head was put on public display to convince the locals he was not immortal.

Nowadays “Zumbi” is regarded as a national hero and a symbol of the struggle for freedom, though there are some dissenting voices who think Zumbi is not the right figurehead for this day as he is said to have kept slaves himself.

Soon after Vasco da Gama’s voyage around the Cape of Good Hope to India, the Portuguese arrived in Oman, occupying the region from 1507. The Portuguese fortified Muscat as used the town as a port from which to protect their trade routes to India.

Unhappy with how they felt the Portuguese were exploiting their presence in Oman, the powerful Al-Ya’ribi clan agreed to a treaty with the British East India Company to allow the British to have rights in their ports. This weakened Portuguese control in Oman, and on November 18th 1650, Imam Sultan Bin Saif led a rebellion that expelled the Portuguese from Oman and its ports.

The independence from Portugal in 1650 means that Oman is the oldest independent state in the Arab world.

To mark the day, students sing the national anthem of Oman, known as-Salâm as-Solṭâni.

National Day events include parades, fireworks, camel races, an equestrian show, a marine festival and once every five years, a military show. The two-day holiday means that many Omanis will take the opportunity to return to their home villages which means that traffic levels on these days may be much heavier than usual.

Latvian Independence Day commemorates the declaration of independence of the Republic of Latvia from German and Russian occupation on November 18th 1918 after the end of the first world war.

The People’s Council of Latvia proclaimed independence in the building that today houses the National Theatre in Riga.

The country remained an independent state until the Second World War, when forces from the Soviet Union occupied the country in June 1940.

Like the other Baltic republics, full independence from Soviet Russia occurred on August 21st 1991. The restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia was proclaimed on 4 May 1990.

This second independence declaration is commemorated in the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia holiday on 4th May each year.

Many festive events take place through the country on Latvia’s National Day, including a nationally televised address to the people by the President of the Republic of Latvia. In recent years this speech is given before large crowds in the square by the Freedom Monument in Riga.

A military parade takes place that goes past the Freedom Monument, where people lay flowers to honour those who lost their lives in the fight for independence. In the evening, free outdoor concerts by children’s choirs and musicians take place. Tens of thousands of people also take part in a torchlight procession, and enjoy a stroll through the decorated streets of Riga.

To mark the day, people enjoy dishes like pīrāgi (bacon pies), rupjmaize (rye bread) and the national dish pelēkie zirņi ar speķi (a stew made of grey peas and bacon).

The Twentieth century was a tumultuous time for both these countries. Indeed, until 1993 they were both part of the same country – Czechoslovakia.

During that time, they had to endure occupation by the Nazis during World War II and following that, the country was under communist rule until 1989.

During both regimes, it was students who led nationwide protests and this day essentially celebrates the political role of students. November 17th is sometimes referred to as World Students Day.

The date of November 17th commemorates the 1939 Nazi storming of the University of Prague following demonstrations against the occupation of Czechoslovakia. It led to the execution of nine student leaders and over 1200 students were sent to concentration camps.

In 1989 there was a memorial march to mark the 50th anniversary of the student revolt. The authorities tried to suppress the march, which only led to an avalanche of popular protests in Czech and Slovak cities. Over the following days, the protests grew into non-violent strikes at first involving students and later all citizens of Czechoslovakia. 

This became known as the Velvet Revolution and marked the beginning of the end of the communist regime that had ruled the country for more than four decades. Vaclav Havel was elected president and Alexander Dubcek became federal Czechoslovak Speaker.

Since 1901 presidential elections are declared holidays, as mandated by successive versions of the General Elections law.

Since the late 20th century, parliamentary and municipal elections have also been declared public holidays.

General elections in Chile are held on the third Sunday in November every four years, including presidential, parliamentary and regional elections.

The election is held on the third Sunday of November of the year immediately before the end of the administration of the president then holding office.

Should there be more than two candidates in the presidential election, none of them obtaining more than half of the votes validly cast, a new election shall be held. The second election (“balloting”), in the manner determined by law, shall be held the fourth Sunday after the first election, limited to the two candidates with the highest relative majorities.

The president is constitutionally barred from serving consecutive terms.

Ivory Coast gained its independence from France in August 1960, with Félix Houphouët-Boigny becoming Ivory Coast’s first president. President Houphouët-Boigny stayed in power for 33 years until his death in 1993.  Houphouët-Boigny’s death signalled the start of a long period of political instability that would plague the country in the decades that followed, with two civil wars being fought, between Christians who are dominant in the south of the country and Muslims who are more prevalent in the north.

Although Ivory Coast has marked the National Day of Peace on November 15th since 1996, the events of the recent past have highlighted the need to continue to observe this day as an inspiration for a peaceful future.

Each year, the celebrations take place in a different part of the country. The day is celebrated with speeches from authority figures and government and civil society organizations carry out activities to promote peace and engender a sense of national unity.

Note that the International Day of Peace is celebrated on September 21st. Due to the involvement of the UN in bringing the first civil war to an end, this day is also marked in Ivory Coast, though it is not a public holiday.

Guinea-Bissau gained independence from Portugal in September 1974, with Luis Cabral becoming the country’s first president.

Like many other countries who have gained their independence from colonial powers, Guinea-Bissau’s freedom came at a cost of an initial period of political instability and economic stress. As the seventies drew to a close, the new country was struggling to cope economically without the support of Portugal and dissatisfaction with Cabral’s rule grew.

On November 14th 1980, the government was overthrown in a relatively bloodless coup led by Prime Minister and former armed forces commander João Bernardo Vieira.

Cabral was charged with abuse of power and sentenced to death, though after negotiations, the sentence was commuted and Cabral went into exile. 

On gaining independence, Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde had forged deep ties as the two presidents of these fledgling nations were members of the same political party that had campaigned for independence for the two nations. The coup broke the political and military ties between the countries and plans to unite Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde were dropped. 

Vieira ruled through a revolutionary council and then, from 1984, through a council of state-supported by an assembly of 150 appointed members, with only one legitimate political party allowed. In 1990, parliament revoked the one-party situation, though, in Guinea-Bissau’s first free election in 1994, Vieira narrowly won the vote as president. He ruled until 1999 when he removed from power in a military coup and exiled.

Vieira returned from exile in 2005, becoming president again, hanging on to power until March 2009, when he was assassinated by renegade soldiers.

While a person is celebrating National Indian Pudding Day and getting ready to make this dessert, they may be tempted to think that it’s a Native American dessert. Unfortunately, they would be wrong. That’s because this isn’t a Native American dessert, despite its name.

As many culinary scientists have pointed out before us, Native Americans didn’t have molasses or milk to cook with, so they couldn’t have made Indian pudding. No, this pudding was the invention of settlers to the New World.

They just used newly discovered cornmeal to make an Old World treat. The British had been making a dessert named hasty pudding since the 16th century, if not earlier. This pudding is made of wheat flour that’s cooked in boiling milk until it’s made into a thick batter.

In a 17th-century cookbook, there were three types of hasty pudding one could make. The first recipe was made with butter, flour, currants, and raisins. The second type was made like a boiled pudding, and the final one was made using grated bread, sugar, and eggs.

When settlers from Britain came to the New World, they simply swapped out the wheat in hasty pudding with cornmeal and used molasses for sugar. This created the iconic dessert that’s well-known in New England but isn’t all that popular throughout the rest of the U.S.

• This dish got its name because its main ingredient, cornmeal, used to be called Indian meal.
• During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Indian pudding was popular but fell out of favor during the 1920s.
• The rise of packaged puddings was one of the reasons why Indian pudding isn’t well known today.

After declaring independence from Portugal in 1975, the new-found sovereignty was short-lived when Indonesia annexed the nation. This led to the start of the war of independence that would last until 1999.

On November 12th 1991, thousands of young people attended the funeral of Sebastião Gomes, a supporter of the independence of East Timor who had been killed by the Indonesian army. After attending Mass at the Church in Motael, Dili they marched to the Santa Cruz cemetery. Their peaceful march gave rise to singing and the waving of banners expressing their deep yearning for justice and freedom.

“Chega!”, the report of the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor, records what happened next as Indonesian soldiers opened fire on the students as they arrived at the cemetery. “Soldiers opened fire with automatic weapons into the unarmed and peaceful crowd, many of whom fled into the grounds of the cemetery”, said the report. Independent estimates put the number killed as high as 271, with 250 listed as missing.

The Santa Cruz massacre was a turning point in Timor-Leste’s struggle for self-determination as footage of the event was smuggled out of the country by two American journalists and a British television presenter. It was later broadcast on British television and it caused the wave of outrage around the world.

Events for the day include a Mass at the Motael Church, a procession between the church and the cemetery, and a Commemoration Service in the cemetery. People light candles after the sunset to commemorate those, who died in the massacre. Other cultural and sporting events take place over a number of days.

Polish Independence Day commemorates the re-establishment of the state of Poland at the end of the first world war in 1918.

For 123 years prior to 1918, Poland had been partitioned under the rule of Prussia, Austria, and Russia.

On November 11th 1918, the day that the first world war ended, this partition was removed and Poland was granted its independence.

On this date, the Polish Military Organisation’s secret departments demobilized soldiers and legionnaires disarmed the Germans in Warsaw and other Polish towns. The Regency Government appointed Józef Piłsudski as commander in chief over the Polish forces and three days later he was given complete civil control. He formed a new centralized government, which on November 21st issued key measures including a manifesto of agricultural reforms. Piłsudski also brought in more favourable conditions for the workers and called parliamentary elections.

November 11th was announced a national holiday in 1937. In 1945, when Poland became a communist regime as a result of the Yalta conference, at the request of Stalin following the end of the second world war, the holiday was abolished.

In 1989, following the collapse of the Communist government fell, Independence Day was reinstated as a national holiday.