This holiday is celebrated annually on 26 May.

Also known as Day of the First Republic, this is Georgia’s national day. It marks the adoption of the Act of Independence in 1918.

Georgia had been part of the Russian Empire since 1800. Following the Russian revolution and the defeats in the First World War, movements within Georgia pushed for independence from Russia and on 26 May 1918, Georgia declared itself an independent democratic republic.

26 May had been celebrated as a public holiday until Georgia became part of the Soviet Union in 1922. Celebrations of regional public holidays were suppressed across the Soviet Union and it wasn’t until 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet regime that this day regained its public holiday status.

Georgia seceded from the Soviet Union on 9 April 1991 and 9 April is now celebrated as a national public holiday, the Day of National Unity.