Independence Day (Estonia)

Independence Day
Parade in Tallinn, 2011
Official name	Eesti Vabariigi aastapäev
Also called	National Day
Observed by	Estonians
Significance	National
Celebrations	Fireworks, Concerts, Parades
Date	24 February
Next time	24 February 2018 (2018-02-24)
Frequency	annual

Independence Day (Estonian: Eesti Vabariigi aastapäev) is a national holiday in Estonia marking the anniversary of the Estonian Declaration of Independence in 1918. It is commonly celebrated with fireworks, concerts, torchlight marches, parades, and parties. It is the national day of Estonia.

The Estonian Provisional Government decided on 12 February 1919 to consider 24 February to be the date of the declaration of independence. In 1933, the Government discussed whether the national day should be moved to another date at a better time of the year, such as 15 June, to mark the date when the Estonian Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution in 1920. Hugo Kuusner requested on 21 February 1937 that the anniversary of the Republic of Estonia should be 23 February, not 24 February. Gottlieb Ney, the director of the National Archives of Estonia said that "… one must reach the conclusion that the 24 February 1918 should be considered the date when the republic began; it is the day when the declaration of independence reached the capital city and actually went to the supreme powers of elected bodies (at that time the Estonian Salvation Committee and the provisional government)."

On 28 November [O.S. 15 November] 1917 the Estonian Provincial Assembly met in Toompea Castle and proclaimed itself "Estonia's sole bearer of a higher power." The decision not to use the word "state" was adopted by 48 members of the Provincial Assembly present, with 9 abstentions (who were mostly socialist revolutionaries, along with a couple of Mensheviks). The Estonian Provincial Assembly called for Estonian soldiers to immediately and quickly come from all over Estonia. Some sources have referred this date to as "The Real Estonian Independence Day".