The origins of National Days in various countries
The basis for determining National Days in various countries around the world is varied. According to statistics, there are 35 countries in the world that use the time when the country was founded as its National Day. Cuba, Cambodia, etc. use the day when the capital is occupied as a national day. Some countries regard Independence Day as their national holiday. On January 1, 1804, the Haitian people annihilated Napoleon's 60,000-strong expeditionary force and declared independence in Port-au-Prince. Since then, January 1 each year has been designated as National Day. The same is true for countries such as Mexico and Ghana. There are also some countries that use the anniversary of the armed uprising as their national day. July 14th is France’s Bastille Day. On this day in 1789, the people of Paris captured the Bastille, a symbol of feudal rule, and overthrew the monarchy. Some other countries regard major conference days as national days. The United States celebrates its National Day on July 4, 1776, when the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. Canada celebrates the day when the British Parliament passed the "Great Britain North America Act" on July 1, 1867 as its national holiday. There are also countries where the birthday of the head of state is the national day, such as Nepal, Thailand, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium and other countries.
The term "National Day" originally refers to national celebrations and was first seen in the Western Jin Dynasty. Lu Ji, a writer in the Western Jin Dynasty, once recorded in his article "On the Five Classes of Princes" that "On National Day, we only enjoy its benefits, and we should not worry about its harm." In my country's feudal era, the most important national celebrations were the emperor's enthronement and birthday. (The Qing Dynasty called the emperor’s birthday Long Live Festival) and so on. Therefore, in ancient my country, the emperor's accession to the throne and birthday were called "National Day". Today, the anniversary of the founding of the country is called National Day.
At the first session of the CPPCC in September 1949, it was decided to designate October 1 as National Day. The founding of the People's Republic of China was proclaimed on October 1, 1949. This was the greatest change in Chinese history. At 3 pm on October 1, 1949, 300,000 people in Beijing held a grand ceremony in Tiananmen Square to celebrate the founding of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China. Chairman Mao Zedong solemnly declared the founding of the People's Republic of China and the Central People's Government, and personally raised the first five-star red flag. Chairman Mao read out the "Announcement of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China": "The Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing the people of the People's Republic of China. All parties willing to abide by equality and mutual benefit This government is willing to establish diplomatic relations with any foreign government that respects the principles of mutual respect for territorial sovereignty and other principles." A military parade and mass demonstrations were then held. Commander-in-Chief Zhu De reviewed the navy, army and air force and announced the "Order of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Headquarters", ordering the Chinese People's Liberation Army to quickly eliminate all remaining armed forces of the Kuomintang and liberate all unliberated lands. On the same day, Beijing Xinhua Radio Station conducted a live broadcast of the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China in Tiananmen Square. This is the first large-scale live broadcast in the history of China People's Broadcasting, and it is broadcast simultaneously by People's Broadcasting Stations across the country.