HOLIDAYS

At 1:12am on October 6th 1948 an earthquake struck Turkmenistan. The earthquake was recorded as having a magnitude of 7.3 and the epicentre was just south of the capital, Ashgabat.

Within a matter of minutes, Ashgabat and about 40 surrounding villages were reduced to rubble, with almost all brick buildings collapsing and concrete structures heavily damaged.

Details of the damage were censored by the Turkmen government, so estimates of casualties vary. At the time, deaths were estimated at 10,000. After independence from Soviet rule, it was revealed that the number was closer to 110,00, which was 10% of the population of the country at the time.

That’s not to say that the Soviets didn’t try to respond. A thousand doctors and medical employees immediately arrived in Ashgabat from all parts of the former Soviet Union to assist the survivors and the surrounding Soviet states offered help in whatever way they could.

On Earthquake Memorial Day in 2009, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said about 176,000 people suffered due to the Earthquake.

“One of the most powerful earthquakes in the world occurred in Ashgabat and its surroundings on October 6th 1948, at 1:12… [the] Natural disaster was a severe test for Turkmen people and razed to the ground the city with 198,000 people for 15-20 seconds,” Berdymukhamedov said.

In 2002, the government of Turkmenistan commemorated the devastating event by issuing special coins featuring images of President Suparmurat Niyazov and his family members.  The earthquake killed Niyazov’s mother and the rest of his family, leaving him an orphan.

From the late 19th century, Britain and French had been wrestling for control of the New Hebrides, a group of about 80 islands in the South Pacific Ocean.

In 1906, they agreed to share control through a unique Anglo-French Condominium.

With the movement for independence gaining momentum in the 1960s, Father Walter Lini established the New Hebrides National Party (now the Vanua’aku Pati) in 1974.

The date for full independence of Vanuatu was agreed in 1979 when the drafting of a constitution got underway. The Constitutional Committee consisted of representatives of different political parties, religious leaders and local tribal chiefs.

The Constitution was signed on October 5th 1979. It came into force on July 30th 1980, when the New Hebrides gained independence as the Republic of Vanuatu

The feast day was a public holiday in Italy until 1977, when it was removed as part of a law reducing the number of holidays for economic reasons.

In advance of the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis in 2026, two combined bills (Noi Moderati and Fratelli d’Italia) were proposed in 2025 to reinstate the October 4th holiday.

On October 1st 2025, the Italian senate gave final approval to the bill after it had passed in the lower house the previous week week with 247 votes in favour and just two against.

The bill, backed by the ruling right-wing parties, calls for cultural initiatives dedicated to Italy’s patron saint and the values he embodied: peace, fraternity, inclusion and environmental protection.

Since 1990, the ‘Tag der Deutschen Einheit’ has been a national holiday in Germany. It is the only official national holiday. All other holidays are managed at a federal level.

On November 9th 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, paving the way towards the reunification of Germany which had been split at the end of the second world war.

The reunification of Germany took place on October 3rd 1990 when the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) was incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG).

Following the GDR’s first free elections on March 18th 1990, negotiations between the GDR and FRG culminated in a Unification Treaty.

Further negotiations between the GDR and FRG and the four occupying powers produced the so-called “Two Plus Four Treaty” granting full sovereignty to a unified German state, whose two halves had previously been bound by a number of limitations as a result of its post-WWII-status as an occupied nation. The treaty was signed on September 20th 1990.

Originally November 9th was proposed to be the national German Unity Day reflecting the huge step taken toward Germany’s unification on that day.

However, the unification treaty declared October 3rd as the official national holiday, ending the division between east and west of Germany.

The day commemorates the date when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the Americas.

Columbus’ voyages across the Atlantic Ocean initiated the European exploration and colonization of the Americas.

While the first voyage in 1492 was immensely significant, Columbus did not actually reach the American mainland until his 3rd voyage in 1498. Instead, while trying to find a sea route to India, he made landfall on an island in the Bahamas that he named San Salvador. 

He was also not the earliest European explorer to reach the Americas.

There is an old saying that ‘two heads are better than one’. In San Marino that saying is literally taken as a form of government.

In a tradition that dates back to 1243 and based on a custom of the Roman Republic, this tiny republic has not one, but two heads of state.

Known as the Captains Regent, two people are elected every six months by the Grand and General Council, the country’s legislative body.

The two Captain Regent are usually selected from different political parties to give a unique balanced government. Once they have served the six months, they cannot become regents again for another three years.

This may sound a bit bonkers to those of us from countries whose leaders are elected for periods of four or five years, but the roles are mainly symbolic and more like that of a king or queen rather than a president.

Women were prevented from taking public positions in San Marino until 1972. The first female Captains Regent was elected in April 1981.

If you are visiting San Marino on April 1st or October 1st, you can watch the investiture of the new Captains Regent which takes place at the Piazza della Liberta, outside the Government Palace.

Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault says the objective is to create a chance for Canadians to learn about and reflect on a dark chapter in their country’s history and to commemorate the survivors, their families, and their communities, as called for by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Indigenous leaders.

Over the course of more than 100 years, some 150,000 Indigenous children were ripped from their families and forced to attend church-run residential schools, where many suffered physical and sexual abuse, malnutrition, and neglect. More than 4,000 are believed to have died.

The Gran Chaco or Chaco Boreal is a large lowland plain that today is part of Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina.

From the late nineteenth century, there had been simmering tensions between Paraguay and Bolivia over their control of the area, as the land was of key strategic interest to both countries. It’s not unrelated that Paraguay and Bolivia are the only two landlocked countries in South America.

The situation wasn’t helped when speculation arose that the region could hold significant deposits of oil. This led to major oil companies taking sides, with Royal Dutch Shell backing Paraguay and Standard Oil supporting Bolivia.

This is the same Good King Wenceslas, who is mentioned in a popular Christmas Carol written in 1853 about St. Stephen’s Day.

Wenceslas was born near Prague in 907 and was the son of the Duke of Bohemia. His father died in 921 and Wenceslas ruled from 922 when he was 15 years old. Raised as a Christian, primarily by his grandmother, Ludmila who had been baptised by the Greek missionaries Cyril and Methodius who brought Christianity to the region.

The reign of Wenceslas is marked by his support of the church, his aim to unify Bohemia and making peace with Germany.

These policies created enemies within his court and even his family. His brother Boleslav was one of those who plotted against him. Boleslav invited Wenceslas to a church consecration. On the morning of September 28th 935 (or 929, according to some historians), on his way to the mass, Wenceslas was attacked by Boleslav and was killed by supporters of his brother.

Having suffered a martyr’s death, Wenceslas was immediately considered a saint. This lead to a cult of veneration with several biographies being written and miracles attributed to him. He was even posthumously made a king by the Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I which is why the carol refers to him as a king when in life he was a duke.

Turkmenistan is the southernmost state in Central Asia and the second largest.

Throughout its history, the region has been conquered by such notable figures as Cyrus the Great, Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan. The Turkmen people first arrived in the area in about the 10th century, though there is some debate as to where they came from.

Turkmens first came under the gaze of the Russian Empire in the late 18th century, but resistance wasn’t finally broken until the Battle of Gök-Tepe (now Gökdepe) in 1881, after which the area of present-day Turkmenistan incorporated into Russian Turkestan.

After the Russian Revolution, Turkmenistan formed part of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) in 1921, becoming a constituent republic of the USSR in 1925. 

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the Turkmen Communist Party supported the failed coup against Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, but declared independence on October 27th 1991.

On October 27th 1991, the Supreme Soviet of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic adopted the Constitutional Law “On Independence and Principles of State Structure of Turkmenistan.” This act formally declared the nation’s sovereignty as the Soviet Union dissolved.

Since antiquity, the region of modern-day Yemen has been an important strategic and commercial location, effectively forming a long land bridge between North Africa and Asia.

When the Ottoman Empire collapsed in 1918, Imam Yahya Muhammad declared northern Yemen an independent sovereign state and proclaimed the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen in 1926. A King and an Imam, Yaha ruled Yemen until his death in 1948, when he was succeeded by Ahmad bin Yahya

On September 19th 1962 Ahmad died in his sleep. His son, Muhammad al-Badr was proclaimed Imam and King.

From its inception, the kingdom had proved unstable with various revolts and assassinations taking place and Al-Badr’s reign would prove very short-lived. 

Only a week after he ascended to the throne, army officers with the support of Egypt, staged a coup overthrowing the monarchy and deposing al-Badr on September 26th 1962. Abdullah as-Sallal, the commander of the royal guard, declared himself president of the Yemen Arab Republic. This event marked the start of the North Yemen Civil War which would last for the next six years.

The AFL Grand Final is an annual Australian rules football match. It is traditionally held on the final Saturday in September to determine the Australian Football League champions for that year.

The final takes place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne, Australia. The holiday gives a chance for opposing fans to gather in a holiday atmosphere before the big game.

The day also provides a chance for fans to get up and close to the players as the teams involved in the final take part in the AFL Grand Final Parade in Melbourne. The parade, which has been a pre-game tradition since 1977, starts from the Old Treasury Building and ends at the AFL Grand Final Live Site near the MCG in Yarra Park.

Australian rules football is the most popular sport in Australia. It was invented in Melbourne in 1858 and is a combination of soccer and rugby resulting in a contact sport similar to Gaelic football.

As far as we know, Victoria is the only region in the world that celebrates not one, but two sporting events as public holidays. In addition to AFL Grand Final Eve, Victoria also observes a holiday for the Melbourne Cup horse race, which takes place in early November.

Public transport services will operate to a Saturday timetable, but some services may be altered or will not run.

According to legend, Chuseok originated as a result of a weaving competition held between two princesses in the Silla dynasty. The goal was to see which of their teams could weave the most cloth. The fierce competition lasted for a month, ending on the 15th day of the 8th month on the lunar calendar during the full moon. As punishment, the losing team had to prepare a bountiful feast for the victors. It is believed that archery and martial arts competitions were held as part of the festivities.

During the Harvest Moon Festival, there is an offering ceremony to the family ancestors and visiting of family graves. The Harvest Moon Festival is a reminder that families are connected and bonded in the same fortune.

Since pre-Islamic times, the Arabian peninsula had been occupied by nomadic tribes.

The Islamic prophet, Muhammad united these tribes to create a single Islamic religious state. In the years following his death in 632, the territory under Muslim rule rapidly expanded across the middle east, from Spain in the west to parts of the Indian subcontinent in the east.

In the 16th century, the region first came under the control of the Ottoman Empire and although various sultanates would be formed from time to time, it wasn’t until the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World war I that modern Saudi Arabia emerged.

Ibn Saud (the son of Abdul Rahman bin Faisal who had been the last ruler of the ‘Second Saudi State’), became the Sultan of Najd, the central region of Arabia in 1921.

After conquering the Hejaz (western Arabia ) in 1925, Ibn Saud was declared King of the Hejaz on January 10th 1926. In 1927, he changed his title to King of Nejd.

Despite being King of both regions, he ruled the two parts of his kingdom separately for the next five years. It wasn’t until 1932, after a two-year campaign to suppress and defeat former allies, that the kingdoms of the Hejaz and Nejd were renamed and unified as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia National Day only became a public holiday in 2007. In 2005, Saudi Arabia’s late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz announced that from the 75th National Day, the occasion will become an annual national holiday.

Mali is a landlocked country in Western Africa. From the 11th century, the Malian Empire ruled in the upper Niger basin, extending its realm right to the Atlantic coast. Mali’s imperial influence declined in the seventeenth century as other powers in the region gained prominence.

When the Malian emperor, Mansa Musa, made his famous pilgrimage to Mecca in the fourteenth century, he traveled with over 70,000 people and up to 50 pounds of gold. He built a mosque every Friday on his entire trip. Mansa Musa left so much gold to the people along his way, he inadvertently caused inflation in the regions he passed.

In the nineteenth century, France was taking an increasingly interest while Islamic religious wars had led to creation of theocratic states in the region.

In 1898, during the so-called ‘Scramble for Africa’, France conquered Mali, making it a part of French Sudan. 

In April 1959 the French Sudan merged with Senegal to form the Mali Federation. A transfer of power agreement was signed with France on 4 April 1960, which led to formal independence on 20 June 1960.

The Mali Federation proved to be very short-lived and broke up on 20 August 1960, when Senegal proclaimed its independence. 

A month later, on 22 September 1960 French Sudan declared its independence from the Mali Federation as the Republic of Mali.

In 1874, Britain took control over parts of Ghana, naming them the British Gold Coast.

Britain was weakened by the efforts of World War II and following a rising desire for independence, Ghana was the first sub-Saharan African country to achieve independence, on March 6th 1957.

Dr. Nkrumah was the driving force behind the independence of Ghana from British rule and founded the Convention People’s Party (CPP).

Nkrumah will always be remembered for the powerful speech he delivered on the day Ghana gained independence, March 6th 1957, proclaiming “Ghana will be free forever”, from British rule, to millions of Ghanaian gathered at the Independence Square now Black Stars Square. The speech was significant as it relinquished the British control over the Gold coast.

In 1960, Prime Minister Osagyefo Dr. Kwame was sworn into office as the first President of the country and the republic was proclaimed on July 1st 1960.

In February 1966, while Nkrumah on a state visit to Vietnam and China, his government was overthrown in a military coup. Nkrumah never returned to Ghana and died in April 1972.

In September 2009, President John Atta Mills declared September 21st (the centenary of Kwame Nkrumah’s birth in 1909) to be Founder’s Day, a statutory holiday in Ghana.

Nkrumah designed the national flag of Ghana. Its design was inspired by Ethiopia’s green-yellow-red Lion of Judah flag with the lion replaced by a black star. Red symbolizes bloodshed and struggle; green stands for beauty and agriculture; yellow represents mineral wealth; and the Black Star represents African freedom.

On September 20th each year, Rio Grande do Sul, the most southerly state in Brazil bordering Uruguay and Argentina, celebrates the Farroupilha (Ragamuffin) Revolution, a civil uprising that began in 1835 when the state fought for independence from the rest of the nation. 

The rebels were led by generals Bento Gonçalves da Silva and Antônio de Sousa Neto. Despite the support of Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi, the gaucho-led revolt ended in 1845 with surrender, and Rio Grande do Sul remaining part of Brazil.

Even though the uprising resulted in defeat, the conflict is a source of regional pride, with partying across the whole of the state, although it’s in the capital Porto Alegre where the action really happens. For most of September, thousands of people camp out in the city’s Harmonia Park, recreating traditional gaucho lifestyles at the Farroupilha Camp.

While the country was under Spanish rule, a military parade was held whenever a new governor-general took office in Santiago. The First Government Junta’s formal inauguration took place in the city on September 19th 1810, as the first military parade of the new nation.

The National Army of Chile was created on December 2nd 1810, by order of the First National Government Junta.

The Day of the Glories of the Chilean Army was established in 1915. On September 28th 1819, a parade with all the nation’s army units was held to celebrate the victory in the Chilean War of Independence. 

President Joaquin Prieto ordered a military exercise on La Pampilla fields in 1831, and President Manuel Bulnes obtained lands in the Pampilla area for annual military parades in 1842, leading to its transformation into a military installation in 1845. This land became O’Higgins Park in 1873 following the efforts of Luis Cousiño, who was inspired by European parks and decided to infuse a similar design with Chilean features. He commissioned Manuel Arana to design it, and Arana included the Field of Mars that has been used in the annual military parades since.

The purpose of this holiday is to remember all those who have fought in Chilean battles, in which the country has been victorious or defeated; the courage and courage of those who protected the country and its inhabitants are remembered.

The Chilean Army is one of the most technologically advanced and professional armies in the Americas.

Note that the Chilean Navy has its own public holiday. The Day of the Glories of the Chilean Navy is observed on May 21st and marks the date of the battle of Iquique on that day in 1879.

In the Orthodox and Armenian Churches, it is believed that the Holy Cross used to crucify Jesus had been found at the beginning of the 4th century by St. Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine I. The Holy Cross was kept in Jerusalem and venerated by Christians.

In 610 the Persian King Khosrov II attacked the Byzantine Empire, and in 614, the Persian army entered Jerusalem. The Persians took the Holy Cross from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Supported by the Armenian army, the Byzantines went after the Holy Cross, retrieving it after defeating Khosorov in battle. The Holy Cross was returned to Jerusalem. On the way to Jerusalem, the Holy Cross was carried aloft to celebrate its recapture. On its journey, it traveled through Karin in Armenia.

In the Armenian Apostolic Church, this day is known as a ‘Merelots’ a Remembrance Day of the Dead that is observed. ‘Merelots are observed on the day after five religious holidays in Armenia. The five Remembrance Days of the Dead are on the days after Christmas, Easter, Feast of the Transfiguration, Assumption of the Holy Virgin Mary and the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

The first church in the world was built in Armenia and Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as a state religion.

Accordingly, employees will have time off on May 8th from 2026. On this day in 2025, white smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and Leo XIV took office as the 267th pope in the history of the Church.

Leo, whose real name is Robert Francis Prevost, celebrates his name day on September 17th. This is the feast day of St Robert Bellarmine.

A member of the Society of Jesus, St. Robert Bellarmine (1542–1621) was a brilliant intellectual, professor, and preacher, engaged in the theological struggle against Protestants in the service of the papacy.

St. Robert Bellarmine is remembered for his intellectual rigour, commitment to the Church, and dedication to serving the poor. His writings continue to be studied for their theological depth and clarity, making him one of the leading figures in Catholic thought during and after the Counter-Reformation. His approach to debates, characterised by charity and respect, solidifies his reputation as a saint and teacher in the Church.

He was responsible for a revision of the Vulgate translation of the Bible and numerous works, including a catechism that enjoyed great success.

He could have been elected pope in 1605 were it not for Spain’s veto. He also took part in the judicial proceedings against Galileo and the Giordano Bruno.

Papua New Guinea occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.

The region was first visited by Portuguese and Spanish explorers in the first half of the sixteenth century. They didn’t establish any notable colonies, but gave the island its name and ports on the island became important staging posts for fishing expeditions.

The Spanish named the island ‘ New Guinea’ as the inhabitants reminded them of the people of Guinea in West Africa.

In 1884, Britain established the protectorate of British New Guinea over the south-eastern part of New Guinea, while Germany annexed the north-eastern part of the island.

In 1906 control of British New Guinea was transferred to the newly independent Commonwealth of Australia and renamed Territory of Papua.

The Hooded Pitohui only lives in Papua New Guinea and is the world’s only poisonous bird.

At the onset of the First World war, Australian troops occupied German New Guinea. Following Germany’s defeat, the League of Nations granted Australia a mandate to run German New Guinea, albeit separately from the Territory of Papua.

The two territories only joined together as the Territory of Papua and New Guinea in July 1949 after the whole of New Guinea had been occupied by the Japanese during the Second World War. 

Papua New Guinea is a country with a population of only seven million (about the same size as London), yet has a staggering 850 languages, which makes it the country with the most languages in the world. Each language has its own customs and traditions. The official languages are Hiri Motu, Tok Pisin, Papua New Guinean, and English.

On September 16th 1975, Papua New Guinea gained full independence from Australia, with Sir Michael Somare becoming prime minister. Papua New Guinea remains part of the Commonwealth.

The territory of modern Guatemala was once the heart of the Maya civilization, which extended across Mesoamerica. 

Most of the country was conquered by the Spanish Conquistador Pedro de Alvarado in the first half of the 16th century, becoming part of the viceroyalty of New Spain.

Guatemala was the original source for potatoes, corn, chili peppers, and avocados.

In the first decade of the nineteenth century, Spain had been weakened by its involvement in the Peninsular War in Europe and local juntas had been created as local Spanish had revolted against the rule of King Joseph, Napoleon’s brother who was installed as ruler of Spain by the French in 1808.

This taste for independent rule persisted after King Ferdinand came to the Spanish throne and on September 15th 1821, the Act of Independence of Central America was declared by the Province of Guatemala.

Following independence and despite opposition from El Salvador, the regions became part of the Mexican Empire, until they ceded to become the Federal Republic of Central America in 1823.