How do you celebrate Independence Day in your country?

[jack]

I saw this as a "writer's block" blogging prompt on Livejournal. At first I was shocked: wasn't that just rampant American-centrism? And then I thought, was that just my own English-centrism?

England has never really become independent of anywhere, except perhaps the Roman Empire, but I don't think that has a good story and authoritative date attached (?)

But is it reasonable to assume that most countries have (at least one) independence day? And that its named and commemorated in a similar manner to America? Wikipedia has quite a comprehensive list (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_independence_days) which covers surprisingly many countries (with some number of notable exceptions, UK, Russia, China, Australia[1]...)

[1] Which may yet get there one day :)

Comments

[rmc28]

An awful lot of those independence days are independence from the UK. Perhaps we need lots of "That Bit Less Imperialist" parties each year.

[jack]

I think some people celebrate a tongue-in-cheek "good riddance" day; I can't quite imagine a world where we celebrate every time we got less colonial, we'd barely have time for anything else :)

[the_future_modernes]

Between Britain and Spain and Belgium and many other Western countries pulling off the "lets invade and steal everything and everyone we can get our hands on" on a whole lot of the earth...I'd say yes, that is some English-centrism there.

[jack]

:) Yeah, unsurprisingly English-centric in England, alas.

But no-one would have batted an eyelid if the question had been "How do you celebrate its Independence Day in your country". It wasn't obvious to me (it still isn't) that the concept of independence day is sufficiently genaralised that you can just assume it's called "Independence Day" without further qualification without any "do you celebrate...?" or "what do you call...?"

[the_future_modernes]

I will definitely give you that. The question was badly posed.

[jack]

Yeah. As demonstrated by this discussion, the prompts are interesting whether or not they're well-thought-out: indeed, a simple prompt is probably better. So it's a useful feature, even if the individual prompts are badly thought out.

But this one just seemed especially over the top, when it strongly implied (if not stated) it was talking about the Fourth of July, and then asked "in your country..."

[ptc24]

On the list, there are also several independences from Russia (does Russia count as Western?) or the USSR, several independences from Yugoslavia, some independences from the Ottoman Empire (there might have be more had the Ottoman Empire not failed to be the last imperial power ruling over various places, see for example all the independences from Yugoslavia), some joint independences (e.g from Japan and France, from Egypt and the United Kingdom), some independences from distinctly non-Western states such as Japan, Ethiopia, and Haiti, some complicated situations like the Namibian independence from apartheid-era South Africa...

Also on the map there are some notable non-Western countries without Independence days as such; notables include Japan, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, (does Russia count as Western?)...

It seems likely that a majority of people live in countries celebrating some sort of Independence Day; Western Europe is a bit odd in that it consists of countries that don't - however this is merely going against the trend, rather than being some strange exception.

[the_future_modernes]

Western Europe is a bit odd in that it consists of countries that don't - however this is merely going against the trend, rather than being some strange exception.

Not saying it is a strange exception. Am saying that its not necessarily US-centrism to inquire about independence day. The question could have been better worded, but too many of the answers erased the rest of us. You are right about the non-Western European imperialists as well.

[morwen]

Well, England was founded after the withdrawal of the Roman Empire from this island, and, yes, both those things were gradual processes rather than specific events. So it really doesn't work.

Possibly May 1, as the union of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland? But that date is taken already here!

[ptc24]

Of course, some of the independence days are independence from the colonial oppressor, some are independence so that the settlers can be the colonial oppressors without interference from the mother country, some independences happened so long ago, or prior to real nationhood (see for example Spain), or with intervening events that complicate things (see for example Serbia) that independence days aren't really the thing.

[jae]

Former American, now Canadian (for years) perspective: your first instinct was right. That question only assumes that most countries have at least one Independence Day, it also assumes that it's something one necessarily celebrates, and that the appropriate day to ask about it is July 4th. And then there's the question's title...I mean, it takes a pretty biased American eye not to recognize that as total U.S.-centrism.

Not that I don't admire your efforts to not be English-centric, mind. Most "-centrisms" need a bit less knee-jerking!

-J (currently in England, oddly enough)