HOLIDAYS

Pope Leo XIV is the 267th Pope and replaced Pope Francis, who had been Pope since 2013 until he died in 2025.

He is the first American to fill the role of Pope, although he is considered as much a cardinal from Latin America because of the many years he spent as a missionary in Peru, before becoming a bishop there.

Born in Chicago in 1955 to parents of Spanish and Franco-Italian descent, Prevost served as an altar boy and was ordained as a priest in 1982. Although he moved to Peru three years later, he returned regularly to the US to serve as a pastor and a prior in his home city.

He has Peruvian nationality and is fondly remembered as a figure who worked with marginalised communities and helped build bridges.

He spent 10 years as a local parish pastor and as a teacher at a seminary in Trujillo in northwestern Peru.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan gained its independence in December 1991.

The new-found independence meant the need for Kazakhstan to protect itself and on May 7th 1992, President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed the Decree that established the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan. On the same day, the President enacted the transformation of the State Committee of Defence of the Republic of Kazakhstan into the Ministry of Defence, giving Sagadat Nurmagambetov the military rank of Colonel-General, and the appointment of the General-Colonel Nurmagambetov as Defence Minister of Kazakhstan.

From the 1990s Defender’s Day had been a holiday only for military personnel. In 2012, marking the 20th anniversary, the law was amended to declare it a national holiday for all Kazakhs.

Despite being called Defender of the ‘Fatherland’ Day, thousands of women serve in the Kazakh Armed Forces, so this is not a purely ‘male’ holiday in Kazakhstan.

The holiday is celebrated with military parades, demonstrations, concerts, shows and festive events across the country. It has become an annual tradition that on this day the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan issues a decree on awarding new military ranks and presents awards to distinguished military men.

This holiday is followed two days later with Victory Day, which celebrates the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany and the end of the Second World War, making this a very patriotic time of year.

Bulgaria became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1396. In the late nineteenth century, a growing tide of nationalism had been spreading across Europe, which had been threatening the break up of the western parts of the Ottoman Empire.

In April 1876, uprisings in other parts of the Ottoman Empire spread to Bulgaria. The suppression of the revolts by the Ottomans was horrific and when the atrocities were made public to the West and Russia, international condemnation was widespread. In April 1877, Russia formally declared war on the Ottoman Empire. The war ended in March 1878 with the signing of the San Stefano peace treaty which created the independent state of Bulgaria.

On July 22nd 1878, 12 battalions of volunteer units who had participated in the war, formed the Bulgarian armed forces.

May 6th was officially pronounced as the Day of the Bulgarian Army in 1880, though it has only been marked with a national holiday since 1998.

At the outbreak of the second world war, the Netherlands had declared its neutrality from the conflict. However, this did not stop the country being invaded by Nazi Germany on May 10th 1940.

After landing in Normandy in June 1944, the allied forces advanced across Europe with key engagements taking place in the south of the Netherlands by September of that year.

The Netherlands was liberated in a large part by the Canadians, British and Polish armies.

On May 5th 1945, General Foulkes of the Canadian forces and the German Commander Blaskowitz reached an agreement on the surrender of the German forces in the Netherlands in Hotel de Wereld in Wageningen.

Even though some German troops remained on Dutch soil until May 8th, the date of the surrender of the German forces is celebrated on Liberation Day.

Historically the economy of Dominica has been agriculture-based. In recent years it has become a major international financial hub and is aiming to be one of the largest banking centres in the world. Its offshore services are also becoming its main source of income.

Celebrating the efforts and achievements of workers has been observed at the start of May since the beginning of the 20th century.

The date was chosen due to events that happened in America. In 1884 the American Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions demanded an eight-hour workday, to come in effect as of May 1st 1886. This resulted in the general strike and the Haymarket (in Chicago) Riot of 1886, but eventually also in the official sanction of the eight-hour workday.

The custom spread to Europe and on to the Soviet Union. Its association with communism and socialism is why even though it marks events in America, America celebrates Labor Day on a different date.

Poland’s constitution was the first constitution to be adopted in Europe and second only in the world – the American constitution of 1789, being the oldest. The first draft of the Polish constitution dates back to 1788.

The Polish constitution was based on principles influenced by the French revolution and introduced a constitutional monarchy. 

The constitution itself applied to the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth and the implementation of the constitution led to the ‘War of the defense of the constitution’ between the commonwealth and conservative nobility backed by the Russia empire.

This led to the annulment of the constitution just 19 months later, but the 3 May constitution is still regarded as a key event in the history of Poland.

After gaining independence in 1918, this day became a holiday, but like many national holidays it was not celebrated during the the time of the communist government.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the holiday was restored by the Act of 6 April 1990 and the first gala celebration took place in Warsaw’s Castle Square on 3 May 1990 in the presence of President Wojciech Jaruzelski.

Jigme Dorji Wangchuck was born on May 2nd 1929. He ruled Bhutan as the Third Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King) for twenty years from March 1952 until his death at the age of 43 from a heart condition in July 1972.

Druk Gyalpo Jigme Dorji Wangchuck is known as the Father of Modern Bhutan as he is credited with opening Bhutan to the outside world and beginning the modernisation of the Kingdom.

He is revered for bringing modernity to the Himalayan Kingdom while preserving Bhutanese culture.

He also initiated reforms that led a shift away from Bhutan being an absolute monarchy to parliamentary democracy.

“This is the 20th century,” the king once told a group of visiting Americans. “We are working to make sure that Bhutan truly belongs to this century.”

May 2nd is also celebrated as Teachers’ Day in Bhutan because it was the Third Druk Gyalpo who established a modern educational system in the country.

With its northern latitude leading to cold. dark winters, the arrival of spring has always been a welcome event in Finland and a tradition of a festival to mark the turning of the seasons dates back to pagan times. 

The Finnish name ‘Vappu’ originates from an 8th-century German saint called Walpurgis, who was canonised on May 1st 870 AD.

A Finnish twist on the May Day celebrations developed in the nineteenth century when engineering students would celebrate and party at midnight on April 30th, while sporting their traditional white caps. This custom has now become widespread across Finland, leading to almost a carnival-like partying in towns and cities with large student populations. 

Festivities begin in Helsinki at 6pm on April 30th, when students will gather at the Market Square to wash the statue of a nude female called Havis Amanda, before putting a white cap on her head. 

On May 1st, students and graduates will then lead a procession through Helsinki, ending in large open-air picnics in the parks across the city. Mead and doughnuts are traditional treats on this day.

It always precedes the next day’s subsequent celebrations of Israel Independence Day, the Yom Haatzmaut of the 5th of Iyar for the annual holiday of the Public Proclamation of the State of Israel of 1948.

Memorial Day honours veterans and fallen soldiers of the State of Israel and the Israel Defense Force who died in the modern Arab Israeli conflict. 

Nowadays, Memorial Day also commemorates fallen civilians, slain by acts of hostile terrorism.

Memorial Day is a statutory holiday; by law, all places of entertainment are closed on the eve of Yom Hazikaron. Broadcasting and educational bodies will mark the sombre of the day.

Restaurants reopen in the evening – partly because the Independence Day festivities begin at sunset, but also because some people may have travelled far to visit the grave of a fallen soldier friend or family member and may require refreshments.

Commemoration ceremonies are held across the country and TV and radio are devoted to the commemoration of those who have fallen. Flags throughout the country are lowered to half-mast. Public transport for those going to military cemeteries is free of charge.

The Showa Era is the longest and most dramatic reign of an emperor in Japan’s history. Emperor Showa was the longest-living emperor. He died at age 87 after reigning for 63 years. In fact, the Showa Era literally covers some of modern Japan’s brightest and darkest hours. After his death in 1989, he was renamed Emperor Showa.

Traditionally the Emperor’s birthday was a national holiday, and after the death of Emperor Hirohito in January 1989, April 29th was subsequently no longer celebrated as The Emperor’s Birthday but instead as Greenery Day, part of Japan’s Golden Week.

After many attempts since 2000, Greenery Day finally won approval to be renamed Shōwa Day in May 2005, and the decision to move the date of Greenery Day from April 29th to May 4th was taken.

The official purpose of the holiday is to reflect on Japan’s Showa period when the nation recovered after the turbulent times and to think about the country’s future.

In 1978 Afghanistan’s prime minister, Mohammed Daoud Khan, was assassinated during a coup led by the socialist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). The PDPA then seized power. But as more and more groups emerged in opposition to the communist leanings of the leadership, the PDPA government sought help from the Soviet Union. Soviet troops invaded in 1979, staring their conflict with local insurgent groups known as the mujahideen. The nine-year Soviet-Afghan War ended in 1989 with victory for the Mujahideen and the withdrawal of Soviet forces.

After the Soviets left, the PDPA remained in power supported by Pakistan and Russian financial aid; and war with the mujahideen continued with the Afghan Civil War.

The war led to another victory for the Mujahideen on April 28th 1992, when the rebel forces overthrew Mohammad Najibullah’s Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.

Known locally as “Hashte Saur,” this is a day in when former Mujahideen fighters and present-day soldiers and supporters march on bases or streets and the national songs traditionally sung by the “holy warriors” in the trenches are revived. Mosque prayers are dedicated to those who lost their lives and iconic green Mujahedeen flags are flown.

In 1915 Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula. The plan was to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul), capital of the Ottoman Empire and an ally of the Germans. They landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Turkish defenders. The assault rapidly became a stalemate, dragging on for 8 months. By the end of 1915 the allied forces were evacuated after both sides had suffered heavy casualties. Around 14,000 soldiers from New Zealand were involved in the fighting and of these, 2,700 were killed and 4,852 injured. 

Despite the defeat and heavy losses, Anzac Day is a day of pride and to reflect on the contribution of New Zealand to the world and to remember the sacrifice of all those who have died in battle for their country.

The date was officially named Anzac Day in 1916 and was a half-day public holiday marked at the time by range of ceremonies and services held throughout New Zealand.

In 1922, Anzac Day became established as a national day of commemoration for New Zealanders who died during the great war.

Since then, Anzac Day has grown to become the day on which New Zealanders acknowledge the service and sacrifice of all people involved in military conflicts. It commemorates over 300,000 New Zealanders who served their country and the 30,000 who have died in service.

Like the British Remembrance Day tradition, poppies are worn to signify support for the soldiers who lost their lives. Sometimes Anzac Day is called Poppy Day, but Poppy Day, when the poppies go on sale, is usually the Friday before Anzac Day.

The first European to visit Tanzania was Vasco da Gama in 1498. European colonialism in the region began on mainland Tanzania during the late 19th century when Germany formed German East Africa. 

Following World War I, the mainland came under British control and was ruled as Tanganyika, with Zanzibar remaining a separate colonial jurisdiction. 

Tanganyika gained its independence in 1961. The British ended the protectorate status of Zanzibar in December 1963 making it constitutional monarchy under the rule of Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah. A month later, the Sultan was deposed in a socialist revolution.

On April 26th 1964, Zanzibar and Tanganyika became the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar with the country renamed to Tanzania in October of that year. 

Zanzibar is now a semi-autonomous region within Tanzania.

‘Tanzania’ is a combination of ‘Tan’ from Tanganyika and ‘Zan’ from Zanzibar, reflecting the origin of the country.

YOU’VE seen her hungover. You’ve seen her cry over a situationship. You’ve even seen her attempt to reverse park. Now, for a nightmare week in Marbella, you meet the real her:

The airport personality shift

There are two types of airport freak; those who arrive the night before for a 3pm flight, and those who text you ten minutes before check-in closes saying ‘nearly there, just nipping to Aldi’. Each is lunatic in their own way, but whichever you are your mate will be the opposite. And will have six bags because she ‘didn’t know Ryanair had a limit’.

The differing views on room etiquette

Sharing a room will be fine, we’ll save money! Until the second night, when she picks up a Latino gentleman called Ricardo, saying ‘Don’t worry, we’ll stay under the covers, you won’t see anything’. And now you’ve got to find a Spanish pharmacy to buy earplugs, which is useful the next day when she needs the morning-after pill.

The emergence of control issues

At work, she procrastinates. At weekend, she hangs out. Here? There’s a nine-page laminated itinerary, she books three restaurants for every meal ‘in case’ and frowns on drinking before noon which is ridiculous, this is a holiday. Ask for the room key so you can dodge a historical site and you discover she owns it and you’re not allowed to have it.

The disagreements about money

She’s always been chill about splitting a Costa bill, but here? Suddenly every Euro matters, apparently because you’re on cocktails and she’s on water and you didn’t realise cocktails were only two-for-one for the first hour. And in restaurants! Order the venison and you see your friendship die in her eyes.

The purpose of a holiday being Instagram

A few photos, sure. Tagging in everywhere you go, even if it’s a park? Multiple snaps in every location? Discovering she livestreamed your conversation about cystitis and apps are being used to slim her but not you? You’re on different holidays, and yours now incorporates heavy drinking as a survival strategy.

The Sinai Peninsula has been part of Egypt since the First Dynasty of ancient Egypt (c. 3100 BC).

In 1956, Egypt prohibited Israeli ships from using the Suez Canal, forcing them to take a much longer route to reach Europe.

This raised tensions in the region and supported by Britain and France, Israeli forces occupied the Sinai Peninsula. Israel withdrew its troops after pressure from the US and USSR in 1957, with a UN presence established in the region to avoid further conflict.

In May 1967, the Egyptians forced the UN presence to leave, which led to the Six-Day War that saw Israel once again occupy the entire Sinai Peninsula as well as other territories in the region.

This initiated a long period of conflict between Egypt and Israel culminating in the Yom Kippur War of October 1973. This conflict proved to be a turning point for both Egypt and Israel and led to a process to find a lasting peace between the two nations. 

The Camp David Accords in 1978 led to Egypt and Israel signing a peace treaty in which Israel agreed to withdraw from the entirety of the Sinai Peninsula. The Israeli withdrawal took place in stages, with the last troops leaving Sinai on April 25th 1982.

The advent of the 1990s saw big political changes in Niger. The decade brought multi-party democracy for the first time, but also saw rebellions by the Tuareg and Toubou people, leading to conflict in the northern part of the country. The rebels formed two umbrella organisations called the Organisation of Armed Resistance (Organisation de Résistance Armée, ORA), and the Coordinated Armed resistance (Coordination de Résistance Armée, CRA). 

A truce was agreed in 1994, which led to talks between the government and rebels. This eventually led to the signing of the April 24th 1995 Peace Accord, negotiated in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.

While it wasn’t until 1998 that the last armed group signed up to the accord and sporadic fighting continued until 1999, the accord was seen as marking the end of the fighting and the end of the rebellion.

The final peace agreement was celebrated with a “Flame of Peace” in which weapons were burned in Agadez on September 25th 2000.

It has been a public holiday since 1995. Businesses and government offices will be closed.

Given the climate in Iceland, it might seem strange that summer comes so early to Iceland. However, in Iceland, the old Norse calendar was in use by the first settlers to Iceland in the 9th century and it divided the year into only two seasons, vetur (winter) and (sumar) summer.

The first day of summer was traditionally celebrated on the first day of Harpa, the first of the six summer months. It may also be called ‘Girl Day’ or ‘Maiden Day’ as the month of Harpa was associated with Girls.

If it doesn’t feel like summer in Iceland in mid-April, don’t worry too much – a local tradition is that if the temperature on the night before the First Day of Summer falls below zero degrees centigrade, then it will be a long and warm summer.

While it is unclear whether the Norse considered the first day of Summer or the first day of Winter to be the start of the year, it is likely that the date in April was the start of the year. This would link with similar traditions of April being the start of the year in other parts of Europe. Ancient Icelanders calculated people’s age by the number of winters they had lived through, a practice that is still upheld in the countryside with horses and other domestic animals.

The first day of Harpa corresponded to April 14th in the modern calendar. The current date for the First Day of Summer was determined by the church as it is technically deemed to be the second Thursday after the Saint’s Day of Pope Leo I (April 11th).

Yom Ha’atzma’ut, Israeli Independence Day, commemorates the declaration of independence of Israel in 1948 and is the official national holiday of the state and the only official non-working day in Israel.

The holiday is celebrated on the fifth day of the Hebrew month of Iyar. The holiday is transferred to the preceding Thursday if 5 Iyar falls on Friday or Saturday.

The Gregorian date for the day on which Israel’s independence was proclaimed is May 14th, 1948 when David ben Gurion publicly read the Proclamation of the Establishment of the State of Israel, and the end of the British Mandate in Israel.

It is also known as Radunitsa or Radonitsa and is a festival amongst many eastern Slavs, though Belarus is the only country where it is a state holiday.

Despite its date being dependent on Easter and it being observed as an Orthodox Christian holiday, the origins of Radunitsa are pagan rather than Christian with its roots based on an ancestor festival.

On Radonitsa, families go to church and then on to the cemetery. At the family tomb, a meal is eaten and any leftovers are offered to dead relatives. In pagan times, families would have left eggs on the graves of the dead, symbolising rebirth.

When Christianity arrived in the region, rather than suppress the older traditions, the church simply absorbed the rituals into Christian festivals. The egg was an easy one as the date of spring for the ancestor worship festival fell close to Easter and the use of the egg as a symbol of rebirth fitted well with the Easter message of resurrection.

Despite honouring and remembering the dead, Radonitsa is a day of celebration not one of mourning. Indeed, in Slavic languages, Radonitsa means ‘Joy Day’.

Despite its date being dependent on Easter and it being observed as an Orthodox Christian holiday, the origins of this festival are pagan rather than Christian with its roots based on an ancestor festival.

On Memorial Easter, families go to church and then on to the cemetery. There, the family graves are cleaned and a meal is eaten with some food intentionally let to fall on the ground as an offering to dead relatives. 

In pagan times, families would have left eggs on the graves of the dead, symbolising rebirth. When Christianity arrived in the region, rather than suppress the older traditions, the church simply absorbed the rituals into Christian festivals. The egg was an easy one as the date of spring for the ancestor worship festival fell close to Easter and the use of the egg as a symbol of rebirth fitted well with the Easter message of resurrection.

As one of the first countries to take steps along the long revolutionary road to the end of European rule of Latin America, Venezuela can be excused for effectively having two independence days. 

In 1806, there had been a failed attempt to start a revolution in Venezuela by Francsico de Miranda. Despite the failure, the attempt had sowed the seed of insurrection and a few years later, events in Europe would gave the independence movement further impetuous.

In 1808, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Spain and put his brother Joseph on the throne. Many of the Spanish colonies in Latin America remained loyal to the deposed King Ferdinand. On 17 April 1810, news that Ferdinand had been finally defeated by Napoleon reached Caracas, where the people decided independence was better than French rule.

On 19 April 1810 (Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday) Vicente Emparan, the Captain General of Venezuela, was dismissed, giving way to the formation of the Supreme Junta of Caracas, one of the first to form an autonomous government in Latin America.

The Junta governed until 2 March 1811, when the First National Congress was installed, which appointed a triumvirate composed of Cristóbal Mendoza, Juan Escalona and Baltasar Padrón. 

Francsico de Miranda returned from exile, and pushed further for independence. A few months later, on 5 July 1811, the Declaration of Independence was finally signed, creating the First Republic of Venezuela. The Spanish resisted this movement for independence and the revolution and republic was quashed in 1812. 

However, this first declaration of independence meant that full independence was only a matter of time indeed nine years later Venezuela became independent under the leadership of Simon Bolivar in 1821.

Zimbabwe was first influenced by Europeans with the arrival of The British South Africa Company in the 1890s. The company had been founded by Cecil Rhodes in 1889 to colonise the region.

The area became known as Southern Rhodesia (in honour of Cecil Rhodes) in 1895 and was governed by the British South Africa Company until 1922 when the European settlers voted to become a British Colony.

In 1953, Britain created the Central African Federation, made up of Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) and Nyasaland (Malawi).

Following the breakup of the Federation in 1964, when Zambia and Malawi gained independence, Ian Smith became Prime Minister of the country (now called Rhodesia). Smith began a campaign for independence from Britain, with the government being run by the white minority. Independence was declared in 1965, but was not recognised internationally and led to sanctions against the country. This also led to an extensive campaign of guerilla warfare within Rhodesia and the rise of the Zanu and Zapu organisations.

Under this pressure, the white minority finally consented to multiracial elections in 1980. Robert Mugabe and his Zanu party won the independence elections, with Mugabe becoming Prime Minister and Zimbabwe’s independence being formally recognised on April 18th 1980.