Victory Day

This article is about the type of commemoration days. For the Russian song, see Den Pobedy. For the 1988 album by Tom Cochrane and Red Rider, see Victory Day (album). For the related Victory parades, see Victory parade. For the military term, see Military designation of days and hours.

People gathered in Whitehall to hear Winston Churchill's victory speech and celebrate Victory in Europe, 8 May 1945

Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may observe the same holiday, with the most prominent united celebrations occurring in states that comprised the Allies of World War II, celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany.

List

State	Holiday	Date	Observed	Relationship	Ref.
Afghanistan	Mujahideen Victory Day	28 April	1992–present	Soviet–Afghan War	[1]
	Taliban Victory Day	15 August	2022–present	War in Afghanistan	[2]
Algeria	Victory Day	19 March	1962–present	Algerian War	[3]
Armenia	Victory Day [a]	9 May	1995–present	World War II	[4]
Azerbaijan	Victory Day	8 November	2020–present	2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War	[5]
Bangladesh	Victory Day [b]	16 December	1971–present	Bangladesh Liberation War	[6]
Belarus	Victory Day [a]	9 May	1945–present	World War II	[7]
Bosnia–Herzegovina	Victory Day [a]	9 May		World War II
China	Victory over Japan Day	3 September	1946–present	World War II	[8] [9]
Croatia	Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day	5 August	2003–present	Croatian War of Independence	[10]
	Victory Day [a]	9 May	2019–present	World War II	[10]
Czech Republic	Victory in Europe Day [c]	8 May	1993-present	World War II	[11]
France	Victory in Europe Day [c]	8 May	1945–present	World War II
Estonia	Võidupüha	23 June	1934–1939; 1992–present	Estonian War of Independence	[12]
Georgia	Victory Day [a]	9 May	1945–present	World War II
India	Vijay Diwas [b]	16 December	1972–present	Indo-Pakistani War of 1971	[13]
	Kargil Vijay Diwas	26 July	2000–present	Indo-Pakistani War of 1999	[14]
Israel	Victory in Europe Day (Israeli) [c]	9 May	2018–present	World War II	[15]
Ba'athist Iraq	Great Victory Day	8 August	1988–2003	Victory over Iran
Iraq	Victory Day	10 December	2017–present	Victory over Daesh ISIS
Kazakhstan	Victory Day [a]	9 May	1945–present	World War II	[16]
Kyrgyzstan	Victory Day [a]	9 May	1945–present	World War II
Maldives	Victory Day	3 November	1989-Present	1988 Maldives coup attempt	[17]
Malta	Victory Day	8 September		Great Siege of Malta, French blockade, World War II	[18]
Moldova	Victory Day [a]	9 May	1945–present	World War II	[19]
Mozambique	Lusaka Accord Day	7 September	1975–present	Mozambican War of Independence	[20]
Netherlands	Liberation Day	5 May	1990–present	World War II
North Korea	Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War	27 July	1973–present	Korean War	[21]
Poland	Victory Day [a]	9 May	1945–2014	World War II	[22]
	Victory in Europe Day [c]	8 May	2015–present	World War II	[22]
Russia	Victory Day [a]	9 May	1995–present	World War II	[ citation needed ]
Serbia	Victory Day [a]	9 May	1995–present	World War II	[ citation needed ]
Sri Lanka	Victory Day	18 May	2010–2014	Sri Lankan Civil War	[23]
	Remembrance Day	18 May	2015–present	Sri Lankan Civil War	[23]
Turkey	Victory Day	30 August	1926–present	Turkish War of Independence	[24]
Ukraine	Victory Day [a]	9 May	1991–2015	World War II	[25]
	Victory Day over Nazism in World War II	9 May	2016–2023	World War II	[25]
	Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in World War II 1939 – 1945	8 May	2023–present	World War II	[25]
United Kingdom	Victory in Europe Day [c]	8 May	1945–present	World War II	[ citation needed ]
United States (Rhode Island)	Victory Day	Second Monday in August	1945–present	World War II	[26]
Vietnam	Reunification Day	30 April	1976–present	Vietnam War	[25]

1. Countries celebrating the same Victory Day of the Soviet Union
2. Countries celebrating the same Victory Day over Pakistan
3. Countries celebrating the same Victory in Europe Day of the Allies of World War II

See also

• Holidays portal

• 11 November: Remembrance Day, Veterans Day, Armistice Day
• Liberation Day: List of dates on which countries were liberated from occupiers
• National day: A day marking the founding of a nation which can be related to a key victory

References

1. "27th Mujahideen Victory Day Marked in Kabul; "Peace depends on Afghan nation"". Kabul: Afghanistan Times. 29 April 2019. Archived from the original on 31 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
2. Gul, Ayaz (14 August 2022). "Taliban Announce Public Holiday in Afghanistan to Mark Retaking of Power". Voice of America . Islamabad, Pakistan. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
3. "Victory Day in Algeria". Algeria: Ministry of Mujahideen. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
4. Anon. "Victory and Peace Day: May 9". Holidays around the world. A Global World. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
5. "Azərbaycan Respublikası Prezidentinin Administrasiyasının məlumatı". azertag.az (in Azerbaijani). 3 December 2020.
6. "V-Day Observed: Memories of martyrs shine on". The Daily Star. Dhaka. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
7. "Belarus official holidays". Belarus. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
8. Li, Jing (3 September 2014). "Month of commemorations of China's 1945 victory over Japan begins". SCMP. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
9. "国务院关于中国人民抗日战争暨世界反法西斯战争胜利70周年纪念日调休放假的通知" (in Chinese (China)). State Council of the People's Republic of China. 13 May 2015. Archived from the original on 21 May 2020.
10. "Law on Holidays, Remembrances and Non-working Days in the Republic of Croatia" (in Croatian). Narodne novine. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
11. "Law on Public Holidays" (in Czech). Zakony pro lidi. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
12. "Estonia celebrates Victory Day". Estonian World. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
13. Chatterjee, Debjani (16 December 2020). "Vijay Diwas 2020: Key Facts That Led To India's Victory In 1971 War". NDTV.com. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
14. Bose, Joydeep (26 July 2021). "Kargil Vijay Diwas 2021: India to honour fallen heroes, 559 lamps lit in Ladakh". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
15. "Knesset passes bill declaring Victory in Europe Day a national holiday". The Knesset. 27 July 2017. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
16. "Holidays and weekends in the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2019". Government of Kazakhstan. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
17. "Victory Day 2025, 2026 and 2027 in Maldives". Public Holidays Global Pty Ltd.
18. "Victory Day 2022, 2023 and 2024". Public Holidays Global Pty Ltd. 2022. Archived from the original on 12 April 2022.
19. "Holiday Calendar 2019". US Embassy in Moldova. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
20. "Victory Day in Mozambique in 2021". Office Holidays. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
21. Persio, Sofia Lotto (27 July 2017). "North Korea Celebrates Victory on Korean War Armistice Day, America's 'Forgotten War'". Newsweek. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
22. "Poland celebrates National Victory Day". Radio Poland. 8 May 2015. Archived from the original on 31 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
23. "Sri Lanka shift on civil war anniversary". BBC. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
24. "Turkey marks Victory Day as Erdoğan vows resistance against 'increasing threats'". Ankara: Hurriyet Daily News. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
25. "Ukraine celebrates Day of Victory over Nazism in World War II". UNIAN. 9 May 2016. Archived from the original on 31 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
26. "Legal Holidays | RI Department of Labor & Training". dlt.ri.gov. Retrieved 12 August 2024.