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Holiday Focus: Unification Day (Germany)
On October 3, Germans celebrate Unification Day, which commemorates the day in 1990 when the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) became the reunified FRG.
The division dated back to World War II, when Germany was split into occupation zones. The zones occupied by the Western Allies became the FRG, and the Soviet-occupied eastern zone became the GDR. In 1961, the GDR built the Berlin Wall to shut off access to West Berlin.
The wall remained a symbol of the Cold War until it was torn down in November 1989. The following October, the two Germanys became one nation again. The official Unification Day celebrations rotate among the 16 states from year to year, but a festival with food and music is always held in central Berlin. For many Germans, the holiday evokes mixed emotions, as the economic transition to a unified country has been difficult, and social divisions remain between people in the west and east.
World Holidays Featured This Month
India - Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday - October 2
Honors the independence leader and campaigner for peaceful resistance.
Tunisia - Evacuation Day - October 15
Marks the day in 1963 when the last of the French troops returned to France, the colonial power in Tunisia since the 19th century.
Azerbaijan - National Independence Day - October 18
Commemorates the nation's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Hungary - National Holiday - October 23
Held in honor of the 1956 uprising, in which thousands of Hungarians were killed in a revolt against Soviet rule.
Nauru - Angam Day - October 26
Also known as the Day of Fulfillment, the holiday celebrates the birth of the 1,500th Nauruan in 1932. The population had just recovered from a devastating influenza epidemic, so the birth was a cause for great celebration. The holiday also marks the birth of the 1,500th Nauruan after World War II, during which the population had dropped to some 1,200.
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