Trafalgar Day
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Trafalgar Day is the celebration of the victory won by Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's British fleet over the combined French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805. It was widely commemorated by parades, dinners and other events throughout much of the British Empire in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Its celebration declined rapidly after the end of the First World War in 1918. The massive casualties and upheaval had changed the general public perception of war as a source of glorious victories to a more sombre view of it as a tragedy, for which the newly instituted Armistice Day on November 11 was felt more appropriate.
2005 was the 200th anniversary of Trafalgar, and the Royal Navy led Trafalgar 200 celebrations. The International Fleet Review, the first since Her Majesty The Queen's 1977 Silver Jubilee, was held off Spithead in the Solent on June 28.
The victory is celebrated each year in Trafalgar (Gippsland) Australia in which the small town of 2,200 hold an annual Battle of Trafalgar Festival with the Trafalgar Day Ball held on the Friday or Saturday closest to 21 October each year.
