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Holiday Focus: Cassinga Day (Namibia)
South Africa annexed Namibia in 1946. Roughly a decade later, the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) had emerged as a leading multiracial force to oppose South Africa's occupation in what started as a series of isolated attacks on South Africa's Defense Forces and became a large-scale war in the 1980s. Cassinga Day takes its name from a May 4, 1978 attack on the Namibian town of Cassinga, when hundreds of Namibians died at the hands of South African forces. The annual holiday honors all SWAPO war dead and marks a massacre of eight hundred refugees during the war. Namibia achieved independence in 1990.
World Holidays Featured This Month
Mexico - Cinco de Mayo - May 5
Celebrates the 1867 victory over the French.
Ukraine - Victory Day - May 9
Marks the end of World War II and is extremely important to most families.
Norway - Constitution Day - May 17
Celebrated with parades, flags, family gatherings, and the like.
Cameroon - Unification Day - May 20
Marks the unification of the French and British zones.
Jamaica - Labor Day - May 23
A day for community improvement projects.
Azerbaijan - Republic Day - May 28
Marks the 1918 declaration of independence.
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