National Day in 2024

When is Myanmar National Day?

National Day is an annual public holiday in Myanmar. It is celebrated on the tenth day following the full moon of the month of Tazaungmone.

The holidays marks the beginning of student-led protests against the British in 1920. It is Myanmar's National Day and should not be confused with Myanmar's Independence Day, which takes places on 4 January.

History of Myanmar National Day

In 1886, Myanmar (then called Burma) came under British control, with Rangoon (the capital. now called Yangon) being an important port situated between India and Singapore.

From the earliest days of colonisation, there was a strong feeling of resentment against the rule of the British, with the student protests of 1920 seen as the start of the resistance movement that ultimately led to independence from Britain in 1948.

In 1920, on the tenth day following the full-moon day of Tazaungmone on the Burmese lunar calendar, students from the Rangoon and Judson Colleges began protests against the British administration’s Rangoon University Act of 1920.

The Act raised the status of Rangoon College to that of a university, but the changes in the administration and curriculum were seen to exclude the local Burmese population.

The protests ignited a call for nationalism in the students, the basis of which formed the key elements of the movement for independence.

The national holiday is a day to remember not just the 1920 protests, but also the key role played by students in the creation of modern day Myanmar.