In the history of mankind the most common way for one group of people to win their freedom from another group of people is to wage war. In most cases this is called a revolution and the resulting freedom is called indepdence. Different societies have different ways they celebrate Independence Day but when any nation celebrates Independence Day they are remembering the day that brave men and women lost their lives so that their country could be free. That is why when a country looks to celebrate Independence Day they will have many solemn ceremonies designed to remember those that have fallen in the quest for independence and then there is usually a boisterous celebration later because while it is true that many people lost their lives in the quest for independence the fact still remains that to celebrate Independence Day is to celebrate a day when an entire nation became free and such an event demands a joyous celebration. Many different countries celebrate Independence Day in different ways and on different dates. Some nations do not celebrate Independence Day at all as they are nations that grew up from ancient times and still remain today. But a look at how the world does celebrate Independence Day shows the diversity of culture in our world.

In the United States Independence Day is celebrated with solemn prayer during the day and then loud and colorful fireworks celebrations at night. It is celebrated on the 4th of July every year and many families, and communities, have large gatherings and picnics to celebrate American independence. Other countries throughout the world also celebrate their Independence Day in their own way and on dates special to them. Just because the United States seems to be the loudest in celebrating their independence does not make them the only country to celebrate an Independence Day.

In Afghanistan they celebrate their Independence Day on August 19 and it is the day that they received their independence from the United Kingdom. It is unclear how events of the last 6 or 7 years will effect how the Afghan people celebrate an Independence Day but for now this is the one they celebrate and they have since 1919.

One of the more interesting Independence Day celebrations in the world is the one that happens in the Bahamas every year on July 10. On this date they celebrate their independence from the United Kingdom in 1973 and even though this is a fairly new Independence Day holiday there is no doubt that the good people of the Bahamas have already figured out many fun ways to celebrate their special day.

One of the non-violent revolutions that resulted in an Independence Day is celebrated in the Czech Republic and has its origins in the Velvet Revolution of 1989. In the Velvet Revolution it was the overthrow of the Socialist government without firing a shot. It started as a student protest that was put down by riot police. In response to the way the students were treated other protests sprang up all over the Czech Republic and soon an all out general strike was called. Because other Communist governments had collapsed recently the Socialists soon found themselves in no position to put up any further military resistance to this peaceful coup. On November 28 the Socialists announced they were stepping down and by December 29 the Czech’s had an elected president. November 17 is set aside for remembering the Velvet Revolution.