Gabon Independence Day
Gabon Independence Day is held on August 17. Celebrates the independence of Gabon from France in 1960. This event in the second decade of the month August is annual. 
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Gabon's Independence Day is celebrated in the second decade of August. It is dedicated to the acquisition of sovereignty in 1960. The annual celebration of Independence Day in Gabon includes a parade and a series of cultural events.
The country is located mostly on hills and is full of lush green tropical rainforests of equatorial Africa. The highest point is Mount Ibongi, with an altitude of 1,575 meters above sea level. The climate is generally hot and humid. The hottest months are May and June. Dry and more favorable months for traveling are from June to August.
The rainforests are home to 777 species of birds, and the population of African gorillas reaches up to 80% of the entire African population.
The largest lake in Gabon is Ogou, which stretches for a distance of 1200 kilometers. There are also hundreds of dolomite and limestone caves in the country, many of which have not yet been explored.
The official language of Gabon is French. About 75% of the country's population is now Christian.
At the end of the 15th century, Europeans, including the Portuguese, French, Dutch, and English, arrived in what is now Gabon. With their arrival, Gabon soon became one of the centers of the slave trade, which flourished for the next 350 years. The first European settlement on the territory of this country was founded by France.
Between 1839 and 1841, the French began to sign treaties with local leaders to gain some legal status as the country's defender. After some time, in 1885, when the struggle for Africa broke out, the French began to use these treaties to justify their occupation, but only in 1903 did they manage to organize a full-fledged government in Gabon.
In 1910, Gabon became one of the four territories of French Equatorial Africa, which also included Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic. This entity existed from 1910 to 1959.
In 1922, the first political party was organized in Gabon. Its goal was to achieve representation of indigenous Gabonese in the colonial administration to fight for their rights. Hopes of gaining freedom increased in 1958, when Gabon voted for autonomous status in the French community. The French authorities finally agreed to grant Gabon sovereignty in July 1960, and a month later, on August 17, 1960, the Republic was born.
The capital, the city of Libreville, means Free City. The city was founded by freed slaves in 1849.
Similar holidays and events, festivals and interesting facts
Feast day of the Assumption of Mary on August 15 (Christian feast day, one of the Catholic holy days of obligation a public holiday in Austria, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia, Burundi, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Ivory Coast, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malta, Mauritius, Monaco, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Senegal, Seychelles, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Togo, and Vanuatu);
All Saints' Day a holy day of obligation on November 1 (a national holiday in many historically Catholic countries. And its related observance: Day of the Innocents, The first day of Day of the Dead or El Dia de los Muertos celebration. - Mexico, Haiti);
Children's Day in Cameroon on December 25 (also Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Republic of Congo);
Night of Redemption on February 2
Renewal Day in Gabon on March 12
Eid al-Fitr on March 19 (also called the "Festival of Breaking the Fast", is a religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of Ramadan);
Easter in Western Christianity on April 5 (Første påskedag in Norway)
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