The Republic of Seychelles is made up of over
100 islands in the Indian Ocean to the east of Africa.
Liberation Day, June 5. Celebrates the initial resolution leading to independence on June 29, 1976.
Public holidays
New Year's Day, Easter, Labor Day, Liberation Day,
Corpus Christi, Independence Day (Jun 29), Assumption, All Saints' Day,
Immaculate Conception, Christmas.
Sierra Leone
The Republic of Sierra Leone is on the
west coast of Africa.
Independence Day, April 27. Anniversary of independence attained in 1961.
Republic Day, April 19. Commemorates the formation of the republic in 1971.
Public holidays
New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Independence Day,
Christmas, Boxing Day, Mouloud, Id al-Fitr, Id al-Adha.
Sikhism
The majority of Sikhs live in the Punjab and
Haryana states of India.
Guru Nanak's Day, on full moon in November/Kartika. Festival celebrating the birthday of the founder of Sikhism.
Observed in the Punjab state of India.
Guru Gobind Singhji's Birthday, first quarter moon after December 22.
Guru Ravi Das' Birthday, near full moon after January 21. [moved up if full moon falls on a Saturday?]
Guru Arjan Dev's Martyrdom Day. 6/12/94, 6/2/95.
Guru Purnima, near full moon in July/Sravana.
Guru Tegh Bahadur Martyrdom Day. lunar. 12/7/94, 11/26/95.
Singapore
The Republic of Singapore lies in south-east
Asia next to Indonesia and Malaysia.
There are large numbers of Taoists, Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, and Hindus.
Independence Day, September 16. Anniversary of sovereign status in 1963.
National Holiday, August 9. Celebrates anniversary of independence from Malaysia in 1965.
Mooncake Festival, occurs in September. Celebrated by Chinese communities throughout the world.
Birthday of the Monkey God, occurs in February and September/October. This religious holiday celebrates the birthday of T'se Tien Tai Seng Yeh,
the Monkey God, who cures the sick and frees the hopeless.
It is celebrated twice a year in several Chinese temples in Singapore, especially
in the Soon Thian Keng Temple on Bukit Permei.
During the ceremony mediums with their cheeks and tongues pierced with skewers go
into a trance and write out charms in their blood.
The celebrations also include Chinese opera, or
Wayang, puppet shows, and processions.
Chinese parents ask the Monkey God to godfather their children in hopes that their
children will grow up strong like the Monkey God.
Birthday of the Saint of the Poor, occurs in March.
Vesak Day, occurs in May. See Buddhism.
Public holidays
New Year's Day, Chinese New Year, Good Friday,
Labour Day (May 1), Vesak Day, National Holiday, Deepavali (Diwali), Christmas,
Hari Raya Puasa (Id al-Fitr), Hari Raya Haji (Id al-Adha).
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic achieved independence on
January 1, 1993 when Czechoslovakia was split into two nations, the other being the
Czech Republic.
Slovak National Uprising Day, August 29.
Liberation Day, May 8. V-E Day.
Commemorates the entrance in 1945 of the Soviet forces into Prague and the defeat of
the Nazis.
Originally observed on May 9, like the Soviets, but in 1992 it was moved to May 8 like
the Western Europeans.
Public holidays
New Year's Day, Easter Monday, May Day, Liberation Day, Day of the
Slav Apostles (Jul 5), Slovak National Uprising Day, Reconciliation Day (Nov 1),
Christmas.
Slovenia
The Republic of Slovenia is one of the former
republics of Yugoslavia.
National Statehood Day, June 25. Slovenia declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on
June 25, 1991.
Preseren Day, February 8. Day of culture.
Public holidays
New Year's Day, Preseren Day, Easter Monday,
Resistance Day (Apr 27), Labor Day, National Statehood Day, Assumption,
Reformation Day (Oct 31), All Saints' Day, Christmas, Independence Day (Dec 26).
Solomon Islands
An archipelago in the Pacific Ocean
near Papua New Guinea, and is part of the British Commonwealth.
Independence Day, July 7. Independent since 1978.
Public holidays
New Year's Day, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Monday,
Whit Monday, Queen's Birthday, Independence Day, Christmas, Boxing Day.
Somalia
The Somali Democratic Republic is on the east
coast of Africa.
Independence Day, June 26. Anniversary of self-government in 1960.
Revolution Anniversary, October 21-22. Commemorates the bloodless revolution of 1969.
Foundation of the Republic Day, July 1. Anniversary of the union of former British and Italian protectorates in 1960.
Public holidays
New Year's Day, Labor Day (May 1), Independence Day,
Foundation of the Republic Day, Ashoura, Mouloud, Id al-Fitr, Id al-Adha.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa.
Kruger Day, October 10. The birthday of Paulus Kruger, or Oom Paul. Born in 1825.
Van Riebeeck Day, April 6. Honors the explorer Jan Van Riebeeck, who founded Cape Town.
Also known as
Founder's Day. Republic Day, May 31. Commemorates the union of four South African colonies in 1910 and the establishment
of the republic in 1961.
Family Day, second Monday of July (Jul 12, 2004).
Settlers' Day, first Monday in September (Sep 6, 2004). Commemorates the first settlers in southern Africa.
Day of the Vow, December 16. Previously known as
Dingaan's Day.
Day of Goodwill, December 26.
Public holidays
New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday,
Workers' Day (May 1), Ascension Day, Republic Day, Settlers' Day, Kruger Day, Day of the
Vow, Christmas, Day of Goodwill.
Soviet Union, former republics of
See also Estonia,
Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, Ukraine, ...
Anniversary of the October Socialist Revolution, November 7-8. Commemorates the revolution in 1917.
Victory Day, May 9. Commemorates the end of World War II.
Spain
The Kingdom of Spain is most of the Iberian
peninsula in western Europe.
Hispanidad Day, October 12. The Spanish name is
Dia de la Hispanidad. National Holiday of Spain, October 12. Honors Columbus' discovery of the New World.
Occurs on the same day as Columbus Day in the USA.
Constitution Day, December 6.
Labor Day, July 18.
Queen Isabella Day, April 22. Birthday of Isabella (b.1451), the Spanish queen who funded Christopher
Columbus's expidition.
Also occasionally observed by various states in the United States.
Fiesta del Arbol, March 26. "Tree Festival".
Anniversary of the day in 1895 when King Alfonso planted a pine tree near Madrid.
Grenada Day, January 2. Commemorates the recapture of Grenada from the Moors in 1492.
Christmas, December 25. Children receive their presents during street festivals.
Public holidays
New Year's Day, Epiphany, Maundy Thursday (except Barcelona),
Good Friday, Easter Monday (Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca),
St Joseph the Workman (May 1), St Isidro's Day (May 15, Madrid only),
Corpus Christi, King Juan Carlos' Saint's Day (Jun 24), St James Day (Jul 25),
Assumption, National Day (Oct 12), All Saints' Day, Constitution Day,
Immaculate Conception (except Barcelona), Christmas, Boxing Day
(Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca).
Local holidays are also observed.
Festivals
There are dozens of local annual fiestas in Spain that include dropping goats from
church steeples, walking on hot coals, throwing bulls into the sea, and the world's
biggest tomato fight.
Fiesta de San Fermin, July 7. The "Running of the Bulls", is observed in Pamplona and elsewhere in the world.
Tomatina, late August. This annual celebration in Bunyol is the world's biggest tomato fight in the world.
The tradition started in 1945 among feuding local youths, and is now an annual hour long
tradition.
The tomato fight on August 25th, 1993 included 25,000 townspeople and four truckloads
holding 264,000 pounds of ripe tomatoes.
spring equinox
spring equinox, near March 20. Marks the first day of spring.
A holiday in Japan.
Sri Lanka
The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
is an island off the south of India, and a few smaller islands.
Independence Day, February 4. A national holiday celebrating the anniversary of independence from Britain in 1948.
Republic Day, May 22. Anniversary of the constitution's ratification in 1972.
In the same year the country changed its name from Ceylon.
National Heroes Day, May 22.
Kandy Perahera, new moon in July (Jul 17, 2004). Festival of the Sacred Tooth.
Thai Pongal Day, occurs in January. A Hindu festival honoring the Sun God.
Also known as
Tamil Thai Pongal Day. [see also the Indian holiday Pongal]
Vesak Festival, occurs in May. See Buddhism.
Sinhala and Tamil New Year, April 14. [may be on 13th?]
Hadji Festival Day. [4/29/96].
Bandaranaike Memorial Day. [9/26/96].
Public holidays
New Year's Day, Tamil Thai Pongal Day, Independence Day,
Good Friday, Sinhala and Tamil New Year, May Day, National Heroes Day, Diwali,
Holy Prophet's Birthday, and Christmas.
Also there is a monthy Full Moon Day.
Full Moon Days
When there are two full moons in one month, the second full moon may be a special
bank holiday.
Duruthu Full Moon Poya Day, full moon in January (Jan 7, 2004).
Navam Full Moon Poya Day, full moon in February (Feb 6, 2004).
Medin Full Moon Poya day, full moon in March (Mar 6, 2004).
Vesak Full Moon Poya Day, full moon in May (May 4, 2004). Following day is also a public holiday.
[same as Vesak Festival?]
Poson Full Moon Poya Day, full moon in June (Jul 2, 2004). Celebrates the introduction of Buddhism into Sri Lanka in 247 B.C.
Esala Full Moon Poya Day, full moon in July (Jul 31, 2004).
Nikini Full Moon Poya Day, full moon in August (Aug 29, 2004).
Binara Full Moon Poya Day, full moon in September (Sep 28, 2004).
Vap Full Moon Poya Day, full moon in October (Oct 27, 2004).
Il Full Moon Poya Day, full moon in November (Nov 26, 2004).
Unduvap Full Moon Poya Day, full moon in December (Dec 26, 2004).
Sudan
The Republic of Sudan is an African nation just
south of Egypt and west of Ethiopia.
Most of the northerners are Muslim, while the south is populated with animists and
Christians.
Independence Day, January 1. Commemorates the anniversary of the establishment of sovereignty in 1956.
National Day, May 25. Commemorates the revolutionary council's assumption of power in 1969.
Uprising Day, April 6. Anniversary of the bloodless coup of 1985 that deposed Gaafar Mohammed Nimeri after
tensions erupted over economic troubles and and Nimeri's imposition of strict
Islamic law and attempts to make Sudan a formal Islamic state.
Public holidays
New Year's Day, Unity Day (Mar 3), Uprising Day, Sham an-Nassim
(Coptic Easter Monday), Decentralization Day (Jul 1), Christmas, Islamic New Year,
Mououd, Id al-Fitr, Id al-Adha.
summer solstice
summer solstice, near June 21. The longest day of the year.
First day of summer.
Senegal
Liberation Day, June 5. Celebrates the initial resolution leading to independence on June 29, 1976.
