List of generic types of observances

This is a list of generic types of observances, namely holidays and observances with similar names in different countries that do not necessarily commemorate the same thing or are observed on the same day in the same way.

One popular example is that of Independence Day, which is observed by many countries on different days of the year in commemoration of different events from one another.

Observances related to sovereignty and freedom
The meaning of an Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Independence Day, and Liberation Day can vary, but in general they are celebrated in various countries in commemoration of a historical event where a nation, state, or group of people achieved sovereignty, freedom, or some other form of independence (such as from military occupation or imprisonment).

Along with Independence Day, a Foundation Day and Republic Day commemorate the establishment of a nation or state.

Freedom Day

 * Freedom Day in Belarus is observed on March 25 to commemorate the anniversary of the establishment of the Belarusian People's Republic in 1918.
 * Freedom Day in Equatorial Guinea marks the date on August 3 in 1979 when Teodoro Obiang deposed the dictator Macías Nguema.
 * Freedom Day in Malawi is observed on June 14 to commemorate the first free election in Malawi in 1994.
 * Freedom Day in Malta is observed on March 31 to commemorate the anniversary of the withdrawal of British troops from Malta, 1979.
 * Freedom Day in Portugal is observed on April 25 to commemorate the anniversary of Carnation Revolution in 1974.
 * Freedom Day in South Africa is a public holiday observed on April 27 to commemorate the first general election in South Africa after the end of apartheid in 1994.
 * Freedom Day in Ukraine — Observed on January 22 as the anniversary of the signing of the Act Zluky by the Ukrainian People's Republic and the West Ukrainian People's Republic in 1919.
 * World Freedom Day — Observed in Taiwan and South Korea on January 23 to mark the return of ex-communist war prisoners of the Korean War.

In the United States, there are:


 * National Religious Freedom Day, observed on January 16 to commemorate the adoption of Thomas Jefferson's landmark Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786.
 * National Freedom Day, observed on February 1 to honor the signing by Abraham Lincoln of a joint House and Senate resolution that later became the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
 * World Freedom Day (US), observed on November 9 to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Unification and unity days
Various countries and communities celebrate a National Unity Day, Union Day, or Unification Day.


 * National Unity Day in Belarus — September 17
 * Unification Day in Bulgaria — September 6
 * Unity Day in Burundi — February 5
 * Unification Day in Cameroon
 * National Unity Day in Georgia — April 9
 * German Unity Day — October 3
 * National Unity Day in Hungary — June 4
 * National Unity Day in India — October 31
 * Anniversary of the Unification of Italy
 * Kazakhstan People's Unity Day — May 1
 * Union Day in Myanmar
 * Great Union Day in Romania — December 1
 * Unity Day in Russia — November 4
 * Unity Day in Tajikistan — June 27
 * Union Day in Tanzania — April 26, commemorating the unification of Zanzibar and Tanganyika in 1964.
 * Unification Day in Ukraine — January 22
 * Unity Day in the United States — in October
 * Unity Day in Vanuatu — November 29
 * Unity Day in Yemen — May 22
 * Unity Day in Zambia — on the first Tuesday of July
 * Unity Day in Zimbabwe — December 22
 * Unity Day in Leeds, England — early August
 * Unity Day in Philadelphia, USA — in August