HOLIDAYS

The October Revolution was the second revolution that took place in Russia in 1917. In February 1917, revolutionaries in St. Petersburg, overthrew the Tsar resulting in his abdication and the end of the Romanov dynasty and the Russian Empire. Russian was put under the control of a provisional government under Prince Georgy Lvov.

After the February Revolution, ‘Soviets’ were created across Russia. The Soviets were worker’s councils, popular due to disaffection with the ability of the provisional government to improve the conditions of workers.

Many leaders of the Soviets were Bolsheviks, which strengthened the Bolsheviks in Russia to the point, under the leadership of Lenin, they initiated the October Revolution, an armed insurrection in Petrograd on November 7th 1917. This revolution established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, the world’s first self-proclaimed socialist state.

You may have noticed this holiday is called October Revolution Day yet celebrates an event that took place in November. The reason is that in 1917, Russia was still using the Julian calendar which was 12 days behind the Gregorian calendar at that time, so the revolution took place on October 25th.

Belarus is the only country that was part of the Soviet Union that still observes a public holiday to mark the October Revolution.

During the period of the Soviet Union, November 7th was a public holiday across the union and was one of the biggest state celebrations of the year. 

In Russia, the day is a normal working day. The public holiday has been replaced by National Unity Day, celebrated on November 4th.

Spain had occupied Western Sahara since 1884. Morocco had made a claim on the land highlighting a long-standing allegiance between the Moroccan Throne and the local Sahrawi tribes. Mauritania had made similar claims and some of the Sahrawi tribes had declared an interest in independence from everyone else.

In mid-October 1975, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague declared that there were legal ties of allegiance between Moroccan Throne and some of the Sahrawi population, but that the local population should determine their own future.

Following the ICJ verdict, King Hassan II announced the organisation of the Green March, on October 16th 1975, to liberate the Moroccan southern provinces from Spanish colonialism.

“We have to do one thing dear people and that is to undertake a peaceful march from the north, the east, the west to the south. It behoves us to act as one man in order to join the Sahara,” King Hassan II said.

On November 6th 1975, in a significant show of national unity, about 350,000 unarmed Moroccan men and women, accompanied by 20,000 Moroccan troops headed towards the Sahara and met in Tarfaia.

This was the largest peaceful march in the world. The marchers carried Moroccan flags, green banners (representing Islam), Qur’ans, and pictures of King Hassan II throughout the march.

On entering Spanish Sahara, the Spanish forces did not open fire. Partly, this was to avoid killing thousands of innocent marchers, but also it was the last days of the rule of General Franco and after seeing Portugal lose its colonies the year before, the Spanish had no appetite to start a major conflict in its territories, especially over territory they had already agreed to give up.

As a result of the march, on November 14th 1975, Morocco, Spain and Mauritania signed an agreement in Madrid, whereby Morocco regained its southern provinces.

Green March Day is a significant event in Morocco’s history which remains a source of pride to all Moroccans. It is an occasion to remember the struggle of Moroccan people and King Hassan II against French and Spanish occupation and to pay tribute to Moroccans who devoted their lives to liberate the kingdom from colonization.

Pha That Luang (the Golden Stupa) is a gold-covered large Buddhist stupa located in the centre of Vientiane, the capital of Lao. 

The first stupa was established in the third century, and is a sacred site as the tip is believed to house a relic of Buddha. It has been rebuilt several times over the centuries. The current incarnation dates from 1566.

It is the most important religious building in the country and a national symbol that features on the country’s emblem.

Dating back to the 16th century, the That Luang Buddhist festival is held over three-seven days during the full moon of the twelfth lunar month (November).

Before dawn, thousands join in a ceremonial offering and group prayer, followed by a procession. For days afterward, a combined trade fair and carnival offers handicrafts, flowers, games, concerts, and dance shows.

The festival is one of the most popular national holidays in Lao and attracts pilgrims from all over the country and from other countries such as Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is also the date of an international trade fair promoting tourism in the region.

The festival marks a reversal of the flow between the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers. Due to the amount of water deposited during the rainy season, the Tonle Sap river becomes so swollen with water that it reverses the direction of its flow and flows upstream to Tonle Sap lake.

The festival marks the switching of the flow back to its normal direction, signifying the end of the rainy season. Essentially, the festival is a time to give thanks to the rivers as they provide the region with fertile farming land and plenty of fish.

The festival is focused on boat races and concerts. The roots of the boat races can be traced back to the times of the Angkorian kings who would train and evaluate the fighting skills of their water based warriors by holding competitions on the river. These trials in turn honoured the naval victories of the Khmer empire under the leadership of Jayavarman VII in the twelfth century.

On March 13th 2023, the National Parliament approved November 3rd as National Women’s Day. National Women’s Day is one of the commemorative days celebrated on November 3rd to mark the death in 1975 of the Timorese heroine and fighter, Maria Tapo, who fought and sacrificed her life for the self-determination and independence of the country.

Tapo represents all Timorese women who dedicated and sacrificed themselves among many heroes during Timor-Leste’s 24-year resistance. 

The purpose of creating this national day is to strengthen the recognition of the role of women in society. This date celebrates women as a partner with equal rights, at the constitutional level, but also under the cultural perspective, of inclusion and social value of women in Timorese society.

The Day of the Dead dates back to the ancient Aztec custom of celebrating the dead. The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican (a region that covers central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica) culture from 1300 AD that lasted until 1521 AD. Some historians argue that the roots of Day of the Dead stem from celebrating fearsome underworld gods, in particular the goddess Mictecacihuatl.

Other historians argue that Day of the Dead is revivalist, in so far as it’s based on an Aztec belief system, created by President Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (1895 to 1970) to promote Mexican Nationalism in the 20th Century.

Día de Muertos has been observed across all of Mexico since the 1960s when the Mexican government made it a national holiday based on educational policies.

In 2008, the tradition was inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, & Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

20th-century printer and cartoonist José Guadalupe Posada’s La Calavera Catrina, Elegant Skull, was adapted into the holiday as one of the most recognizable icons.  It depicts a female skeleton adorned with makeup and dressed in fancy clothes.

From the start of the sixteenth century, Algeria had been under the partial rule of the Ottoman Empire. In 1830, the country was invaded by France. The conquest of Algeria was a long and bloody affair, and unusually for French foreign territories, Algeria’s status was that it was treated as being part of France rather than as a colony.

Emigration from Europe to Algeria was encouraged by the French, with tribal lands confiscated by the French government and Europeans even becoming the majority of the population in some cities like Algiers.

In the middle of the twentieth century, local resentment to the presence of France by the local Muslim population led to the uprising known as the ‘Red (bloody) All Saints’ Day’ (French: Toussaint Rouge).

On November 1st1954, the Christian festival of All Saints’ Day, 70 individual coordinated attacks were made on police and military targets across Algeria by the National Liberation Front (FLN). These attacks signaled the start of the Algerian War. The events of November 1st 1954 became known as the ‘Red (bloody) All Saints’ Day’ (French: Toussaint Rouge).

While France won the conflict and regained control of the country, the brutality of the suppression of the revolution further alienated the Algerians and resulted in a loss of support for France’s control of Algeria, both in France and abroad. This change in attitude directly led to independence from Algeria on July 5th 1962.

The origin of All Saints’ Day may date back to a Greek Christian tradition from the 4th century when a festival was held to honour saints and martyrs on the Sunday following Pentecost.

The first recorded All Saints’ Day occurred on May 13th 609 AD when Pope Boniface IV accepted the Pantheon in Rome as a gift from Emperor Phocas. The Pope dedicated the day as a holiday to honour the Blessed Virgin and all the martyrs.

In 835 AD, during the reign of Pope Gregory III, the festival was moved to 1st November and was expanded to include the honouring of all saints, including those whose sainthood is only known to God. 

It is likely that 1st November was intentionally chosen to replace the pagan feast of the dead, Samhain. The night before Samhain was a time when evil spirits roamed the land looking for humans. To confuse the spirits, people would dress up as creatures. This tradition carried on after November 1st became a Christian festival, hence the name of Halloween – which is a shortened version of All Hallows’ Eve.

The day survived the Reformation, though the Protestants combined it with All Souls’ Day, which was on November 2nd.

The day was abolished as a church festival in 1770, but may be celebrated by many churches on the first Sunday in November.

In Roman Catholicism, All Saints’ Day is a Holy Day of Obligation. This means Catholics must go to Mass on the date unless there is a good reason not to attend, such as illness. Whenever November 1st falls on a Monday or a Saturday adjacent to the Sunday sabbath, Catholics are encouraged but not required to attend mass.

World Thrift Day is a public holiday in Germany that is held on the last business day before Halloween. For example, in 2017, it was observed on October 30th, but in 2021, it was observed on October 29th.

This holiday is the German version of World Savings Day—a holiday that was first celebrated in 1925 to encourage people to save money towards their retirement. Now, it’s a holiday that encourages people to give money the consideration it deserves, so they can not only be better savers but also keep more of what they earn.

On October 31st, 1924, the first World Savings Day was established during the inaugural International Savings Bank Congress held in Milan, Italy. On the last day of the congress, Italian Professor Filippo Ravizza declared that this day should be celebrated as International Saving Day.

King Norodom Sihanouk had ruled various iterations of Cambodia since 1941. In 2004, he surprised everyone when he announced his abdication due to ill health.

His Son, His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni was made king after being chosen by a nine-member throne council to become the next king.

Even though King Norodom Sihamoni’s father was King, the King of Cambodia is an elected monarch, making Cambodia one of the few elected monarchies of the world.

The King is elected for life and is chosen by the Royal Council of the Throne. The only stipulations are that the candidates must be part of the royal family and at least 30 years old.

He was inaugurated and formally appointed as King on October 29th 2004.

The King’s full title is “His Merciful Excellent Majesty Protector, King Norodom Sihamoni, who united the nation, religion, realm, and people of Khmer state, great king who is supported by Buddha and Indra, protector of independence, unification, and peace, King of Cambodia, the Great King in the Kingdom of Cambodia”.

The anniversary of the king’s coronation is celebrated with fireworks, parades, and a variety of cultural events.

The area of Czechoslovakia had been a part of the Austro Hungarian Empire until the Empire collapsed at the end of the first world war. The Czech speaking areas of Bohemia and Moravia had been under Austrian rule while Slovakia was part of Hungary.

Before the first world war, there had been nationalist movements in both the Czech lands and Slovakia. Despite the Czech area being an industrialised region and Slovakia being a mainly agricultural-based country, the two regions took the opportunity to become a new nation.

‘Czechoslovak’ independence was proclaimed in Prague’s Wenceslas Square on October 28th 1918. The president of the ‘First Republic’ was Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, who was the leader of the nationalist movement outside the Austro Hungarian Empire.

Like the similar holiday in Australia, the origin of this holiday goes back to the eight-hour working day movement that started in the mid nineteenth century.

Unusually, this holiday can actually be traced to a specific person. In the newly founded Wellington colony, a carpenter called Samuel Parnell refused to work for more than eight hours a day.

In 1840, Parnell reportedly told a prospective employer: “There are twenty-four hours per day given us; eight of these should be for work, eight for sleep, and the remaining eight for recreation…” 

He encouraged other tradesmen in the colony to also restrict their work to only eight hours a day and by October 1840, a local workers’ meeting passed a resolution supporting the idea. 

On October 28, 1890, the 50th anniversary of the eight-hour day was marked with a parade. The Government supported parades in the main centres by union members and supporters, giving public servants the day off to attend. Many businesses closed for the event. This led to an annual celebration in late October as either Labour Day or Eight-Hour Demonstration Day.

The New Zealand government legislated that the day be a public holiday from 1900, after Parliament passed the Labour Day Act 1899, but they didn’t specify when it should be celebrated. This led to the holiday being on different days in different provinces. 

This date difference even led to complaints that sailors were having extra holidays by timing their visits to ports in different provinces to coincide with local Labour Day holidays – an ironic but inventive misuse of the idea of Labour day.

The situation was clarified in 1910 when the date was ‘Mondayised’ by the Public Holidays Act of 1910, when it was moved to the fourth Monday in October.

New Zealand was the first country in the world to adopt the eight hour working day, initially restricted to tradespeople and labourers

In 1817, John Williams, of the London Missionary Society, and his wife, Mary Chawner Williams, voyaged to the Society Islands, a group of islands that included Tahiti, accompanied by William Ellis and his wife.

John and Mary established their first missionary post on the island of Raiatea. From there, they visited a number of the Polynesian island chains, sometimes with Mr and Mrs Ellis and other London Missionary Society representatives. Landing on Aitutaki in 1821, they used Tahitian converts to carry their message to the Cook islanders.

“The arrival of Christianity made a massive impact on the Cook Islands and the lifestyles of our people, and Gospel Day is a very significant event,” says Cook Islands Christian Churches (CICC) secretary Mauri Toa.

Today most of the population are Christian.

The various Protestant groups account for 62.8% of the believers, the most followed denomination being the Cook Islands Christian Church with 49.1%. Other Protestant Christian groups include Seventh-day Adventist 7.9%, Assemblies of God 3.7% and Apostolic Church 2.1%. The main non-Protestant group is Roman Catholics with 17% of the population. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints makes up 4.4%

Following the European expansion into the new world, Grenada had become a French colony and before being formally ceded to Britain by the Treaty of Paris in 1763.

Independence for Grenada from the United Kingdom was granted on February 7th 1974. Eric Gairy became the first Prime Minister. Following Gairy’s victory in the elections of 1976, opposition parties refused to accept the result, accusing the government of electoral fraud.

Gairy was deposed in a coup in 1979 by the left-wing People’s Revolutionary Government (PRG). Its leader, Maurice Bishop, declared himself prime minister. In 1983, there was discontent from within the PRG who felt that under his leadership Grenada was not becoming socialist enough and on October 19th 1983, a coup backed by the Grenadian army took over control and put Bishop under house arrest. Large demonstrations took place following his arrest and he was freed from house arrest during one of the demonstrations. He was soon recaptured and was executed by firing squad.

The US and other nations in the region were incensed by the killing of Bishop and also feared the rise of another communist state like Cuba. Therefore on October 25th 1983, a coalition of Caribbean and US forces invaded Grenada in ‘Operation Urgent Fury’ to oust the government.

After taking control and instating an interim administration, the foreign troops left Grenada in December 1983 and elections to restore democratic rule to Grenada took place in December 1984.

Hawke’s Bay Anniversary Day is held on the Friday before Labour Day. 

Hawke’s Bay province was created when it was split from Wellington on 1 November 1958. It became a provincial district in 1876. 

Hawke’s Bay was named by Captain Cook in honour of Edward Hawke, First Lord of the Admiralty. 

This day is also known as ‘Show Day’ as the Friday is the last day of the Royal Agricultural Show.

The Holidays Act 1981 specifies each locality observing a Provincial Anniversary Day to celebrate the founding days or landing days of the first colonists of the various colonial provinces. 

However the exact dates are not legislated for. 

The regions covered are set by provincial district (as they stood when abolished in 1876), plus Southland, the Chatham Islands, South Canterbury and Northland.

Following the end of the Second World War, Hungary had increasingly come under the control of their liberators from Germany, the Soviet Union.

Following democratic changes in Austria, some Hungarians had hoped for similar concessions in their country, but those hopes were quashed with the establishment of the Warsaw Pact in 1955, placing Hungary behind the so-called ‘Iron Curtain’. Demanding democratic changes and the withdrawal of Soviet forces, Hungarian students held a demonstration in Budapest on October 23rd 1956. The demonstration drew popular support and the crowds grew and similar protests broke out across Hungary. This led to the Soviets deploying tanks on the streets of Budapest in an attempt to take back control. Violent rebellion then erupted in all parts of Hungary, with uprisings removing the local government. A new democratic government ousted the ruling communist party.

On October 28th the Soviets called for a cease-fire, withdrew their troops and pledged to re-establish free elections.

However, on November 3rd 1956, the Soviets changed their minds. The new government was arrested and within a week the Soviet military had crushed the rebels and the short-lived revolution was over.

While the revolution may not have been successful, it was still seen as a significant event that hardened international opinion against the more oppressive aspects of the Soviet Union.

Diwali marks the return of Lord Rama, who was the seventh incarnation of Vishnu, from a fourteen-year exile.

The Festival of Lights takes place on the darkest night (the first night of the new moon) in the month of Kartik in the Hindu calendar.

Across India streets and temples are decorated with spectacular light displays and colourful garlands.

In their homes, people light small oil lamps called diyas. It is believed that deceased relatives come back to visit their families on Earth during this festival and the lights are a way to guide the spirits home. The sound of firecrackers exploding is common as the noise is said to drive away evil spirits.

Over 70% of all firecrackers used during Diwali come from the town of Sivaski in Tamil Nadu.

Families, friends and business associates exchange gifts and sweets, settle old business deals and are encouraged to rid themselves of hate, anger and jealousy.

The festival is a time for rejoicing and renewal.

Diwali holds significance not only in Hinduism but also in Sikhism who celebrate the release of their sixth Guru (literal translation: teacher) Hargobind. To Sikhs, it is known as Bandi Chhor Divas. The Jains celebrate it as the day when Lord Mahaveer, the last Tirthankara, attained Nirvana or Moksha.

Serbia Remembrance Day is a working public holiday in Serbia observed on October 21st each year.

This holiday is a day of remembrance for the Serbian victims of the second world war. Observed as a memorial to the Kragujevac massacre which took place on October 21st 1941, when 2,700 Serb men and boys were killed in Kragujevac by Nazi German troops.

The massacre was a retaliation to resistance attacks on the Germans. The number of those killed was calculated as a ratio of 100 hostages executed for every German soldier killed and 50 hostages executed for every German soldier wounded. This was a formula devised by Adolf Hitler with the intent of suppressing anti-Nazi resistance in Eastern Europe.

The cruel ratio proved ineffective in stopping Serb resistance and it was abolished in 1943.

In 1929 the economic ravages of the Great Depression were being felt worldwide, including Central America. It caused high levels of unemployment and unrest in Guatemala.

To stop the country descending into chaos, the Guatemalan authorities needed someone to take control and give strong leadership. They looked to Jorge Ubico, who had earned a hardman reputation as a provincial governor. Ubico won the 1931 elections, which wasn’t a great shock to the pollsters given he was the only candidate.

Ubico set about his task of improving the country’s economic fortunes and imposed an over-zealous and punitive set of labour laws.

He effectively militarised the country, by making each provincial governor a general and putting military officers in charge of many government posts.

During the second world war, he gave support to the Americans (mainly to annoy Mexico) but that didn’t stop him openly admiring the achievements of European fascists such as Franco in Spain and Mussolini in Italy.

It’s not known what posters if any, the teenage Ubico had on his bedroom wall, but Napoleon would have been a safe bet as he was like a dog with a Bonaparte when it came to Napoleon. Ubico considered himself to be “another Napoleon”. He surrounded himself with statues and paintings of Napoleon, regularly commenting on the similarities between their appearances. Though he wasn’t particularly short – but then neither was Napoleon, despite what British propaganda might have us believe.

Bishop, along with several civilians, was killed following a palace coup orchestrated by his deputy, Bernard Coard, at Fort Rupert which was renamed Fort George.

The execution of Bishop, and the ensuing turmoil were used as justification by the US and Caribbean countries to militarily intervene in an operation called Urgent Fury.

Speaking at a flag-raising and wreath-laying ceremony where the killings took place, Grenada Culture Minister Ron Redhead, noted that the country will only be able to move on if the events of 1983 are addressed.

The Minister, whose father was a member of the militia, also noted that Grenada will be making an official request to the United States and the United Kingdom to provide factual information surrounding the bodies of Bishop and others.

Maurice Bishop took power in 1979 following the ousting of Prime Minister Eric Giary and held office until his death in 1983.

Maurice Bishop was shot dead by the armed forces at the military headquarters in the capital St George’s.