Commonwealth Day

Commonwealth Day (formerly Empire Day) is the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations, often held on the second Monday in March.[1] It is marked by an Anglican service in Westminster Abbey, normally attended by Queen Elizabeth II as Head of the Commonwealth along with the Commonwealth Secretary-General and Commonwealth High Commissioners in London.[2] The Queen delivers an address to the Commonwealth, which is broadcast throughout the world.[3]

"Empire Day" redirects here. For the CAM ship, see MV Empire Day.
For other uses, see Commonwealth Day (disambiguation).

Commonwealth Day
Flags of the Commonwealth flying in Horse Guards, London; Monday, 10 March 2014
Observed byCommonwealth of Nations
CelebrationsService in Westminster Abbey
DateSecond Monday in March
2020 dateMarch 9  (2020-03-09)
2021 dateMarch 8  (2021-03-08)
2022 dateMarch 14  (2022-03-14)
2023 dateMarch 13  (2023-03-13)
Frequencyannual
Related toCommonwealth Games (every four years)

Commonwealth Day is a public holiday in some parts of the Commonwealth, but not presently in Britain.[4]

History

Empire Day

After the death of Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901, her birthday, 24 May, was celebrated from 24 May 1902 as Empire Day, though not officially recognised as an annual event until 1916.[5] It was instituted in the United Kingdom in 1905 by Lord Meath, and extended throughout the countries of the Commonwealth; Empire Day was a "symbol of that unity of feeling . . . to those ideals of freedom, justice, and tolerance for which the British Empire [stood] throughout the world".[6] Empire Day became a major event, involving, among other things, school parades and the BBC; in 1925, 90,000 people attended an Empire Day thanksgiving service held at Wembley Stadium as part of the British Empire Exhibition.[7]

The idea of a day that would "remind children that they formed part of the British Empire, and that they might think with others in lands across the sea, what it meant to be sons and daughters of such a glorious Empire"; and which apprised them that "The strength of the Empire depended upon them, and they must never forget it" was conceived earlier, in 1897.[5] In 1898, Canadian Clementina Trenholme introduced an Empire Day to Ontario schools, on the last school day before 24 May, Queen Victoria's birthday.[8] Empire Day or Victoria Day was celebrated in the Cape Colony before the Second Boer War and thereafter throughout the Union of South Africa.[9]

The British Empire League was instrumental in promoting Empire Day as a patriotic holiday.[10] Empire Day traversed class boundaries, and after World War I it retained "hegemonic potency by amalgamating the emerging traditions of sombre commemoration into the repertoire of imperial festivity".[11]

Commonwealth Day
Harold Macmillan

In 1958, Harold Macmillan announced in Parliament the renaming of Empire Day as Commonwealth Day.[12]

The Commonwealth and Britain have a shared history, cultural links, common legal systems and business practices.[13] Following a 1973 proposal by the Royal Commonwealth Society, the Commonwealth Secretariat selected the second Monday in March as the date on which Commonwealth Day is observed throughout all countries of the Commonwealth.[14]

Observance

Commonwealth Day is not a statutory holiday; rather it is a day of observance by approximately one billion people of their common bonds and the contribution of the Commonwealth of Nations to the creation of a harmonious global environment.[14]

United Kingdom

The Union Flag is flown from UK public buildings on the second Monday in March to mark Commonwealth Day.[15] In addition, the Scottish Parliament Building flies the Commonwealth flag.[16] The Queen and other members of the Royal family attend a special service at Westminster Abbey.[17] A wreath is laid at the Commonwealth Memorial Gates in London to remember the sacrifices of Commonwealth soldiers by the Commonwealth Secretary General.[18][19] A number of other events, such as the Commonwealth Africa Summit, also take place around the United Kingdom.[20][21]

Australia

Although Commonwealth Day is not observed as a public holiday in Australia and many other places, several regional public holidays coincide with this day: Canberra Day in the Australian Capital Territory, Labour Day in Victoria, Adelaide Cup Day in South Australia, and Eight-hour Day in Tasmania.[22] In 2006 Queen Elizabeth II delivered her Commonwealth Day address from St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; this formed part of the lead-up to the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.[23]

Canada

Where two flagpoles are available, the Royal Union Flag – or Union Jack – is flown along with the Canadian national flag from sunrise to sunset at federal buildings, airports, military bases, and other establishments within Canada in order to mark Commonwealth day (French: Jour du Commonwealth).[14] The 1964 parliamentary resolutions creating the Maple Leaf flag simultaneously retained the Royal Union Flag as an official symbol of Canada's membership in the Commonwealth, and allegiance to the Crown.[24]

The original Empire Day (Fête de l'Empire) date in May continues to be observed in Canada as Victoria Day.

Gibraltar

Commonwealth Day is a public holiday in Gibraltar.[25]

Other Commonwealth countries

In Belize and The Bahamas, among other places, Commonwealth Day is marked officially in schools with special programmes and assemblies involving flag-raising ceremonies; the Queen's Commonwealth Day message is often read at such events.[26] In Belize, Commonwealth Day is still celebrated on 24 May.

Before 1997, Commonwealth Day was a school holiday in Hong Kong.[27]

Commonwealth Day Themes
YearTheme[28]
1995Our Commonwealth Neighbourhood – Working Together for Tolerance and Understanding
1996Our Working Partnership
1997Talking to One Another
1998Sport Brings Us Together
1999Music
2000Sharing Knowledge – The Communications Challenge
2001A New Generation
2002Diversity
2003Partners in Development
2004Building a Commonwealth of Freedom
2005Education – Creating Opportunity, Realising Potential
2006Health & Vitality
2007Respecting Difference, Promoting Understanding
2008The Environment, Our Future
2009Commonwealth@60 – Serving a New Generation
2010Science, Technology and Society
2011Women as Agents of Change
2012Connecting Cultures
2013Opportunity through Enterprise
2014Team Commonwealth
2015A Young Commonwealth
2016An Inclusive Commonwealth
2017A Peace-building Commonwealth
2018Towards A Common Future
2019 A Connected Commonwealth
2020 Delivering a Common Future

See also

References
  1. "Commonwealth Day". OxfordDictionaries.com. 2017. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  2. "Commonwealth National Days". Westminster Abbey. 2017. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  3. "Commonwealth Day". commonwealthofnations.org. 2017. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  4. "Commonwealth Day". OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com. 2017. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  5. "Empire Day". Historic UK. 2006. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  6. "Empire Day". Hansard. 1916. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  7. Pitchford, Mark (2011). The Conservative Party and the Extreme Right 1945–1975. Vancouver: Manchester University Press. p. 82. ISBN 978-0719083631.
  8. "Commonwealth Day unites people around the world". Times Colonist. 2015. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  9. Bickford-Smith, Vivian (2016). The Emergence of the South African Metropolis: Cities and Identities in the Twentieth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 70. ISBN 978-1107002937.
  10. "Empire? What empire?". The Daily Telegraph. 2004. Archived from the original on 4 October 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  11. "Empire Day in Britain". The Historical Journal. 2006. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  12. Blair, Alasdair (2014). Britain and the World since 1945. London: Routledge. p. 11. ISBN 978-1408248294.
  13. "Brexit will allow Britain to embrace the Commonwealth". The Daily Telegraph. 2016. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  14. "Commonwealth Day". Government of Canada. 2016. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  15. "Commonwealth:Written question – 224329". www.parliament.uk. 2015. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  16. "Flag flying policy". Scottish parliament. n.d. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  17. "Queen Elizabeth II: the most present monarch in a thousand years". The Daily Telegraph. 2013. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  18. "Memorial Gates falls silent to remember Commonwealth soldiers | The Commonwealth". thecommonwealth.org. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  19. "The valiant troops of the world wars celebrated this Commonwealth Day". GOV.UK. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  20. "Commonwealth Africa Summit Focuses on Youth, Gender Equality". Voice of America. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  21. "Flag raised in Grantham to celebrate Commonwealth Day". Grantham Journal. 11 March 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  22. "The Commonwealth: Shared past, bright future". Foreign and Commonwealth Office. 2015. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  23. "Queen cheered at Australia celebration". The Yorkshire Post. 2006. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  24. Igartua, José E. (2007). The Other Quiet Revolution: National Identities in English Canada, 1945–71. Vancouver: UBC Press. p. 181. ISBN 978-0774810913.
  25. "The rocky road to Spain". BBC News. 2002. Archived from the original on 18 February 2006. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  26. "It's Commonwealth Day: which countries are in the Commonwealth and what is the flag?". Metro. 2017. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  27. "5 Things That Happened Because it is Commonwealth Day". BBC America. 2015. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  28. "Commonwealth theme for the year". The Commonwealth. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
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