Navy Day
Several nations observe or have observed a Navy Day to recognize their navy.
Argentina
The Argentine Navy day is celebrated on May 17, anniversary of the victory achieved in 1814 in the Battle of Montevideo.[1]
Bangladesh
The Bangladesh Navy Day is celebrated on March 26, in anniversary the Independence Day of Bangladesh, the day in which Bangladesh Navy first came into existence.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria's Navy Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in August.[2]
Chile
The Día de las Glorias Navales is a public holiday in Chile on May 21.[3] It commemorates the Battle of Iquique on May 21, 1879, in the War of the Pacific.
The date also marks the opening of ordinary Parliamentary season (through September 18, Independence Day) and is the traditional day for the President's State of the Nation address.
Principal civic acts are performed in Santiago de Chile, Iquique and Valparaíso, where the Chilean Navy Headquarters are located.
China
The People's Liberation Army of China celebrates the founding of its naval arm on "Navy Day", 23 April.[4]
Croatia
The Day of the Croatian Navy is celebrated on September 18.
India
Navy day in India is celebrated on 4 December every year to celebrate the achievements and role of the naval force to the country.
Iran
November 28 is a Navy Day in Iran. It commemorates Operation Morvarid of 1980, a major Iranian Navy victory during the Iran Iraq war.[5]
Israel
In Israel, Navy Day (יום חיל הים) is celebrated on June 30. At this time in 1948 the Port of Haifa was captured by Israel during the 1948 Israeli War of Independence. Traditionally, Navy Day is preceded by Memorial Evening.
In 1993 Admiral Ami Ayalon decided to hold the Israel Navy day in the last week of October, commemorating victories in several wars:
- The sinking of the Egyptian Navy flagship El Amir Farouq on 22 October 1948.
- Capture of the Egyptian frigate Ibrahim el Awal on 31 October 1956.
- The overwhelming successful actions of the Yom Kippur War, 6–24 October 1973.
Memorial Evening was rescheduled as well, marking the loss of destroyer INS Eilat on 21/10/1967. As of 2009 the celebrations have been elongated for a week, which for practical reasons, are held each year in August.
Italy
In Italy, Navy Day is June 10[6] and it is not a national holiday.
Japan
In the Empire of Japan, Navy Anniversary Day (海軍記念日, Kaigun Kinen'bi) was May 27 from 1906 until 1945. It was in commemoration of the Battle of Tsushima.
Mexico
In Mexico, The Mexican Navy celebrates Navy Day on June 1, which is also National Maritime Day.[7]
Netherlands
In The Netherlands the navy days ("vlootdagen") are held on the first weekend of July, with major events organized by the Royal Netherlands Navy.
Peru
In Peru, Navy Day is a national holiday celebrated on October 8 in commemoration of the Battle of Angamos in 1879 and the anniversary of Peruvian Navy creation in 1821.
Pakistan
In Pakistan, Navy Day (Urdu: بحریہ دن), is celebrated on September 8 in commemoration of the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965. September 8, 1965 was the day when Pakistan Navy launched its successful strategic operation against India, codename Operation Dwarka, by the 25th Destroyer Squadron.
Russia
In Russia Navy Day is a national holiday that normally takes place on the last Sunday of July. It is a legacy of the Soviet Union that introduced this holiday in June 1939; the date was chosen in connection with the Battle of Gangut.[8]
Romania
In Romania, Navy Day is a national holiday that takes place on August 15.
Turkey
In Turkey, Navy Day is celebrated on September 27. It commemorates the Battle of Preveza on 27 September 1538 near Preveza in northwestern Greece between an Ottoman fleet and that of a Christian alliance assembled by Pope Paul III in which the Ottoman fleet defeated the allies. It is not a national holiday.
Ukraine
In Ukraine Navy Day is a professional holidays that is celebrated on every first Sunday of July.[9] The commemoration was established in 1996 (then to be celebrated August 1).[10] Till 2012 the day was celebrated on August 1.[11] From 2012 till 2015 Ukraine had the same date for its Navy Day as Russia and the Soviet Union (like Russia, Ukraine is a former Soviet republic); the Soviet Union introduced its Navy Day in June 1939; the date was chosen because of a connection with the day the Battle of Gangut took place.[8][12] On 24 August 2014 Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko speeched that Ukraine should not celebrate the holidays of the "military-historical calendar of Russia" but "We will honor the defenders of our homeland, not someone else's".[13] On 12 June 2015 a Presidential decree by Poroshenko moved Ukraine's Navy Day to every first Sunday of July.[9]
United Kingdom
The term is also used in Britain to mean an open day at a dockyard such as HMNB Portsmouth, when the public can visit military ships and see air displays, roughly along the lines of an American Fleet Week.[14] The Royal Navy's equivalent of "Navy Day" is Trafalgar Day, which is celebrated on 21 October.
United States
In the United States, the Navy League of the United States organized the first Navy Day in 1922, holding it on October 27 because it was the birthday of President Theodore Roosevelt, who was a naval enthusiast. Although meeting with mixed reviews the first year, in 1923 over 50 major cities participated, and the United States Navy sent a number of its ships to various port cities for the occasion. The 1945 Navy Day was an especially large celebration, with President Harry S. Truman reviewing the fleet in New York Harbor.
In 1949, Louis A. Johnson, secretary of the newly created Department of Defense, directed that the U.S. Navy's participation occur on Armed Forces Day in May, although as a civilian organization the Navy League was not affected by this directive, and continued to organize Navy Day celebrations as before. In the 1970s, the "birthday" of the Continental Navy was found to be October 13, 1775, and so CNO Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt worked with the Navy League to define October 13 as the new date of Navy Day. However, Navy Day in the United States is still largely recognized as October 27.
Venezuela and Colombia
July 24, the birthday of Simon Bolivar and the anniversary of the 1823 Patriot victory in the Battle of Lake Maracaibo, is marked as Navy Day in both Venezuela and Colombia. Both the Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela and the Colombian Navy hold major events to mark the holiday.
See also
References
- ↑ Historia de la Armada Argentina (in spanish)
- ↑ AnydayGuide. "Navy Day in Bulgaria / August 14, 2016".
- ↑ "Días Feriados en Chile". Retrieved 18 May 2016.
- ↑ "海军节".
- ↑ "IRAN HIT BY WORK STOPPAGES". RFE/RL Iran Report. Radio Free Europe. January 1999. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
- ↑ "Giornata della Marina – Marina Militare".
- ↑ "Secretaría de Marina – Gobierno – gob.mx".
- 1 2 The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Navy in the Baltic 1921–1941 by Gunnar Åselius, Routledge, 2005, ISBN 0-7146-5540-6
- 1 2 Ukrainian Navy to celebrate its holiday on first Sunday of July – decree, Interfax-Ukraine (12 June 2015)
- ↑ Ukraine Intelligence & Security Activities and Operations Handbook, International Business Publications, USA, 2009, ISBN 0-7397-1661-1
- ↑ The Global Road Warrior: 100 Country Handbook for the International Business Traveler by Joe Reif, World Trade Press, 2001, ISBN 1-885073-86-0
- ↑ President signs Decree On Celebration of Some Memorable Dates and Professional Holidays, President.gov.ua (30 December 2011)
- ↑ (in Ukrainian) Poroshenko: Ukraine will never celebrate February 23 , TVi (24 August 2014)
English-language translation of Poroshenko's Independence Day remarks in Kyiv, Kyiv Post (24 August 2014) - ↑ Navy Matters