INTRODUCTION

Independence Day is the annual celebration of the beginnings of national

independence. Many countries commemorate Independence Day with a range of
activities such as lighting fireworks, attending a parade, and taking in the scenery.
However, there are some nations in the world, noticeably The United Kingdom,
which doesn’t have an official Independence Day. There's an old joke that the
UK doesn't need its national day since it is indirectly responsible for the
independence days of so many other countries.

WHY DOESN’T BRITAIN HAVE INDEPENDENCE DAY?

The true narrative is that the United Kingdom is an uncommon multi-national state
comprised of four non-sovereign countries: England, Wales, Scotland, and
Northern Ireland. England Day and Scotland Day cannot be celebrated by the
entire country. Perhaps an even more important reason is that the United Kingdom
established its current political status over several centuries, rather than in the flare
of a revolution, union, or independence, as most other countries did.
What's most remarkable about this is how unique it is. England has existed as a
unified entity since the tenth century. There is a valid reason why the United
Kingdom does not have a national day. Except for a few short-term revolutions,
devolution, unification, and independence, the UK has a thousand years of history
as an entire nation in the twenty-first century (of the Republic of Ireland). It does
not need to reaffirm its status as a state or a country because it has developed as
such rather than as a result of wars and conquests. In the absence of a long-
standing historical genealogy, national days serve to unite a nation. It helps to have
a Monarch whose position as a uniting force is recognized and understood, and
whose ancestors can be traced back a thousand years.

NATIONAL DAY IN THE UK

Data from several studies suggest that Britain doesn’t have a unique National day.
Practically no other country on the planet has remained as unaffected by revolution
or foreign invasion as the United Kingdom, which is one of the reasons they are
almost alone in not having a national day. Despite that fact, they celebrate their
current monarch's birthday as their National Day. Due to their political union
consisting of the three countries and a part of Ireland, there are 4 different days
celebrated as a National day in the UK.
 Wales (1 March): St David’s Day
 Northern Ireland (17 March): St Patrick’s Day
 England (23 March): St George’s Day
 Scotland (30 November): St Andrew’s Day
National Days in the United Kingdom are not commemorated in the same manner
that they are in a number of other nations. Only Northern Ireland's (and the
Republic of Ireland's) St Patrick's Day and Scotland's (since 2007) St Andrew's
Day are recognized as official holidays. The rest of the national holidays are
regular working days. Moreover, there is a fact that Bank Holidays are four public
holidays in a year when the government mandates banks and businesses to close
and these have neither religious nor patriotic significance. Currently, the United
Kingdom does not have a single official national day, however, the Queen's
Official Birthday, Remembrance Day or Trafalgar Day are sometimes utilized for
this purpose.
CONCLUSION
The most obvious finding to emerge from this study is that although Britain
doesn’t have a unique Independence Day, they have their own celebrated ways.
Every country has a different manner to praise their National Day, and that is a
recognizable feature.

References:

[1] Alan Allport, George Wingfield, Charles F. Gritzner (2008), England (Modern
World Nation), Chapter 9

[2] BBC News (2007), Ministers proposing 'Britain Day' from

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6721239.stm

[3] Britanica, Bank Holiday from https://www.britannica.com/topic/bank-holiday

[4] Karen Hewitt (2009), Understanding Britain Today, Part 1, Chapter 1,2, Part 2,
Chapter 1
[5] Merriam Webster, Definition of “Independence Day” from
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Independence%20Day

[6] Project of Britain (2014), National Day in the UK, from

http://projectbritain.com/nationalday.html
[7] Times Online (2006), British Day of unity tops Brown agenda, from
https://web.archive.org/web/20081007162738/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/
news/politics/article788313.ece

[8] Vox (2014), MAP: How every country in the world celebrates its version of
July 4th, from https://www.vox.com/2014/7/3/5867599/heres-a-map-of-
other-countries-versions-of-4th-of-july