Holiday A Day

Hello and welcome to Holiday a Day, your daily dose of Holidays, festivals, celebrations and remembrances from around the world.   I am your host Jeffrey Johnson   On July 12th 2014 we celebrate   Independence Day for Independent and Sovereign Republic of Kiribati   In 1979 Kiribati gained it's independence from Great Britain. An island nation in the south pacific straddling the equator it is also the furthest east of all the countries as it is next to the International Date line.  Actually prior to 1995 it straddled the IDL so that government offices could only work with other offices 4 days a week since it was the weekend in the eastern most part when the western part was Friday.   Happy Independence Day Kiribati!   We also celebrate   Independence Day for the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe   In 1975 this small island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, near the equator, received it's independence from Portugal. It was one of the first African nations to embrace democratic reform in the 1990s.  Ori