entertainment

National Day

Published: 2025-05-01 18:25:15 5 min read
How to celebrate National Day 2023 in Singapore | Tatler Asia

Behind the Celebrations: A Critical Examination of National Day’s Complexities National Day, a cornerstone of patriotic observance in many countries, commemorates independence, revolution, or unification.

While it fosters unity and pride, its narratives often obscure contested histories, political manipulation, and social divisions.

From China’s October 1st celebrations to France’s Bastille Day, these events serve as both unifying spectacles and tools of ideological control.

This investigation probes the tensions beneath the fireworks, questioning whose stories are amplified and whose are erased.

Thesis Statement National Day celebrations, though framed as apolitical expressions of patriotism, are deeply ideological constructs that reinforce state power, marginalize dissenting voices, and often sanitize histories of violence and exclusion.

The Manufacture of National Identity Scholars like Benedict Anderson (, 1983) argue that nations are “imagined” through shared rituals.

National Day parades, flag ceremonies, and speeches cultivate collective identity but whose identity? In China, the Communist Party’s tightly choreographed October 1st events emphasize “harmony” while suppressing Tibetans, Uyghurs, and dissidents (Human Rights Watch, 2022).

Similarly, India’s Republic Day obscures ongoing caste violence beneath displays of military might (Ambedkar,, 1936).

Case Study: The U.

S.

Fourth of July America’s Independence Day glorifies 1776 as a triumph of liberty, yet Indigenous communities mark it as a “Day of Mourning” (UAINE, 1970).

Research by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (, 2014) reveals how foundational violence genocide, slavery is sidelined for mythic narratives of freedom.

Even the 1619 Project (NYT, 2019), which re-centers slavery in U.

S.

history, sparked backlash, illustrating resistance to re-examining national myths.

Political Instrumentalization Governments exploit National Day to consolidate power.

Russia’s Victory Day, commemorating WWII, has been weaponized by Putin to justify Ukraine invasions (Masha Gessen,, 2017).

In Turkey, Erdogan’s Republic Day speeches increasingly erase secular founder Atatürk’s legacy, replacing it with Islamist rhetoric (BBC, 2023).

Such cases reveal how states curate history to serve present agendas.

Grassroots Resistance and Counter-Narratives Critics challenge hegemonic narratives.

In Australia, “Invasion Day” protests on January 26th demand recognition of colonial brutality (Guardian, 2023).

Scholars like Gary Foley (, 2014) document how Indigenous movements reframe national symbols.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s pro-democracy activists subverted China’s National Day with Lennon Walls and silent vigils (SCMP, 2020) until crackdowns erased such dissent.

The Commercialization of Patriotism National Days are lucrative.

In the U.

S.

MARCH 23, 2023 | NATIONAL PUPPY DAY | NATIONAL CHIP AND DIP DAY

, July 4th generates $9.

5 billion in spending (Forbes, 2023), reducing patriotism to consumerism.

France’s Bastille Day, meanwhile, faces criticism for prioritizing military pomp over reflections on inequality (Le Monde, 2022).

This commodification, as theorized by Guy Debord (, 1967), turns collective memory into a marketable product.

Conclusion: Beyond the Pageantry National Days are not neutral; they are battlegrounds over memory and power.

While they can inspire solidarity, their selective amnesia perpetuates exclusion.

A truly inclusive patriotism would confront uncomfortable truths from colonial legacies to ongoing oppression rather than mask them with spectacle.

As historian Eric Hobsbawm noted (, 1983), traditions are constructed; they can thus be deconstructed and reimagined.

The challenge is to forge celebrations that honor complexity, not coercion.

- Anderson, B.

(1983).

- Dunbar-Ortiz, R.

(2014).

- Human Rights Watch.

(2022).

- UAINE.

(1970).

- Debord, G.

(1967).

This investigative approach strips back the veneer of unity, urging readers to question who benefits and who pays the price for national mythmaking.