Holidays on 9th May

Europe Day

Europe Day is a day celebrated on 5th May by the Council of Europe and 9th May by the European Union. The first recognition of the day was by the Council of Europe in 1964, marking the day it was formed in 1949. The European Union later started to celebrate it’s own day in commemoration of the 1950 Schuman Declaration which first proposed the European Coal and Steel Community, leading to it being referred to by some as “Schuman Day” or “Day of the United Europe”. It is also Victory Day in Europe, commemorating the day when the Nazis signed the German Instrument of Surrender to the Allied Expeditionary Force and the Red Army in Berlin, ending World War Two in Europe.

Liberation Day

This day celebrates the end of the occupation of Jersey and Guernsey by Nazi Germany. It is celebrated as their national days. On 9th May 1945 HMS Bulldog arrived in St Peter Port, Guernsey, and the German forces surrendered unconditionally aboard the vessel at dawn. British forces landed in St Peter Port shortly afterwards, greeted by crowds of joyous but malnourished islanders singing, amongst other patriotic songs, “Sarnia-Cherie”. The same day HMS Beagle arrived in Jersey to accept the surrender of the occupying forces there. Two naval officers, Surgeon Lieutenant Ronald McDonalds and Sub Lieutenant R Milne, were met by the Harbour Master, who escorted them to his office where they together hoisted the Union Flag, before also raising it on the flagstaff of the Pomme d’Or Hotel. This has been re-enacted every year on Liberation Day since 1995. The Public Holidays and Bank Holidays (Jersey) Act 1952 established it as a public holiday it fell on a weekday, and the 2010 Act laid down that it was a public holiday if it falls on a Saturday, but not on a Sunday. Since the 50th Anniversary, a pattern of official ceremonies has developed based in and around Liberation Square.

Victory Day

The Russian Federation has officially recognised 9th May since its formation in 1991 as Victory Day, and considers it a non-working holiday even if it falls on a weekend. It is because of the time difference that it is celebrated on 9th May rather than the 8th May. There is a big military parade in Russia and some other countries. Other former Soviet countries celebrate Victory Day on the 9th May like Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Tajikstan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.