Holidays Calendar for September 8, 2023

Victory Day is a national holiday in Pakistan, that has a great importance for the nation. This holiday celebrates victory of the Pakistan Navy in Operation Dwarka during the Indo-Pakistan War.

People of Andorra annually celebrate National Day on September 8. This holiday is established to honor of Our Lady of Meritxell, the patron saint of Andorra.

People of the Republic of North Macedonia celebrate their Independence Day on September 8. This holiday was established to celebrate the day, when North Macedonia gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.

September 8 is a national holiday in Malta. This day is locally known as il-Vitorja, that in English means Victory Day.

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as simply the Nativity of Mary, is a Christian feast celebrating the birthday of Saint Mary, mother of Jesus. Although the exact day of her birth is unknown, it is traditionally celebrated on September 8, nine months after the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

World Physical Therapy Day (or World Physiotherapy Day) is observed every year on September 8. This day provides physiotherapists an opportunity to raise people's awareness about the crucial contribution, that they make to keep people healthy, independent and well.

On September 8, we celebrate one of the most successful and beloved science fiction media franchises of all time. The date of Star Trek Day was chosen to commemorate the airing of the first regular episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, titled “The Man Trap”.

World Ampersand Day, formerly known as National Ampersand Day, is celebrated annually on September 8. It was created to celebrate a widely used character whose origins can be traced back to ancient Rome.

Financier's Day is a Russian professional holiday of the people who work in the financial sphere. It is observed by all Russian financiers annually on September 8.

Volunteer Day (Día del Cooperante) is an annual observance celebrated in Spain on September 8. It was initiated by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo, AECID).

On September 8, dog owners across the United States thank their dog walkers for making their lives easier, since it is National Dog Walker Appreciation Day. If you use the services of a professional dog walker regularly or occasionally, don’t forget to congratulate them!

National Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses Day is celebrated annually on September 8. It was founded by the Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses (APHON) to celebrate the hard work and dedication of its members.

National Iguana Awareness Day is celebrated annually on September 8. This holiday is dedicated to amazing lizards native to tropical areas of the Americas that are often kept as pets.

Day of the Battle of Borodino is one of the Days of Military Honor in the Russian Federation. This day commemorates the major engagement, that was fought on September 7 during the Napoleonic Wars.

In addition to nationwide public holidays, each state in Micronesia has its own official observances. For example, Liberation Day in the state of Kosrae is celebrated on September 8. It commemorates the liberation of Kosrae from Japanese occupation.

On September 8, Lithuanians celebrate the coronation anniversary of Vytautas the Great (although the coronation never actually happened). This unofficial observance honors a national hero of Lithuania, whose figure served as an inspiration during the Lithuanian National Revival.

The official holiday of the Spanish autonomous community of Asturias is celebrated annually on September 8. Asturias Day coincides with the feast day of Our Lady of Covadonga, the patroness of Asturias, as well as with the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The official holiday of the Spanish autonomous community of Extremadura is celebrated annually on September 8. Extremadura Day overlaps with the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patron saint of the autonomous community, as well as with the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Western Christianity.

There are a number of designated flag-flying days in the United Kingdom when the Union Flag must be flown on all government buildings. One of these flag-flying days is His Majesty’s Accession Day that commemorates King Charles III’s accession to the throne in 2022.

The National Date Nut Bread Day is a food day celebrated on December 22 or September 8. Date nut bread, also known as date and walnut loaf, is a traditional British cake originating in Scotland. It is a hearty bread which is usually served with no condiments.

Nuakhai is a traditional harvest festival observed in the Indian state of Odisha (mainly in its western part). It occurs on the day after Ganesh Chaturthi, a major Hindu festival celebrating the deity Ganesh. In the Gregorian calendar, the date Nuakhai falls during August or September.

It's estimated, that about 775 million adults and 60.7 million children around the world lack literacy skills. The UN observance International Literacy Day, that annually falls on September 8, is aimed to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals, communities and societies.


This Day in History

  • 2023 An earthquake with a moment magnitude of 6.9 struck Morocco's Al Haouz Province. At least 2,960 deaths were reported, with most occurring outside Marrakesh.
  • 2022 Died: Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death. Her reign is the longest of any British monarch or female monarch.
  • 2009 Died: Aage Bohr, Danish nuclear physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1975 with Ben Roy Mottelson and James Rainwater. He was the son of Niels Bohr.
  • 2003 Died: Leni Riefenstahl, German film director, photographer and actress known for producing Nazi propaganda. Her association with Adolph Hitler destroyed her film career after the end of WWII.
  • 1994 USAir Flight 427 suddenly crashed in clear weather on approach to Pittsburgh International Airport. All 132 people aboard were killed.
  • 1989 Born: Tim Bergling, better known by his stage name Avicii, Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer. He rose to prominence in 2011 with his single "Levels".
  • 1988 Yellowstone National Park was closed for the first time since its opening. The reason was ongoing fires that collectively formed the largest wildfire in the history of the park.
  • 1987 Born: Ray Fisher, American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of the superhero Victor Stone / Cyborg in the DC Extended Universe media franchise.
  • 1987 Born: Wiz Khalifa, American rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, and entrepreneur. As of 2024, he has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards.
  • 1985 Died: John Franklin Enders, American virologist and academic, often called the father of modern vaccines. In 1954, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
  • 1981 Died: Hideki Yukawa, Japanese theoretical physicist, Nobel Prize laureate for the prediction of the existence of mesons on the basis of theoretical work on nuclear forces.
  • 1980 Died: Willard Libby, American chemist and academic, noted for his role in the development of radiocarbon dating that revolutionized archeology. This work earned him the 1960 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
  • 1979 Born: Alecia Beth Moore, better known by her stage name Pink, American singer and songwriter. She is known for her rock-influenced pop songs and powerful voice.
  • 1971 Born: David Arquette, American actor, producer and retired professional wrestler. As an actor, he is known for playing Dewey Riley in the slasher franchise Scream.
  • 1971 Born: Martin Freeman, English actor. His most notable roles include Tim Canterbury in The Office, Dr. John Watson in Sherlock, and young Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit film trilogy.
  • 1970 Died: Percy Spencer, American engineer and inventor, best known for the invention of the microwave oven.
  • 1966 The first Star Trek series, retroactively referred to as Star Trek: The Original Series, premiered on NBC and ran for three seasons. Since then, it has spawned a successful media franchise.
  • 1951 49 nations signed the Treaty of San Francisco that re-established peaceful relations between Japan and the Allied Powers on behalf of the United Nations.
  • 1949 Died: Richard Strauss, German composer and conductor best known for his tone poems and operas. He is considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras.
  • 1944 Nazi Germany successfully used V-2 rockets for the first time. One rocket was launched at Paris, causing modest damage, and two more were launched at London.
  • 1934 A fire broke out aboard the passenger liner SS Morro Castle when it was off the New Jersey coast. 135 people on board were killed.
  • 1925 Born: Peter Sellers, English actor and comedian. He became known to a worldwide audience through his many film roles, among them Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther series.
  • 1922 Died: Léon Bonnat, French painter, Grand Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honor, art collector, and professor at the École des Beaux-Arts.
  • 1919 Born: Maria Lassnig, Austrian artist, known for her painted self-portraits. She became the first female artist to receive the Grand Austrian State Prize and was awarded the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art.
  • 1918 Born: Derek Barton, English organic chemist. He shared the 1969 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Odd Hassel for “contributions to the development of the concept of conformation and its application in chemistry."
  • 1900 About 8,000 people were killed by a powerful hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas. This hurricane is the deadliest natural disaster in the history of the US.
  • 1895 Died: Adam Opel, German businessman known as the founder of the German automobile company Adam Opel AG.
  • 1894 Died: Hermann von Helmholtz, German physicist and physician who made significant contributions in several scientific fields, particularly hydrodynamic stability.
  • 1883 The Northern Pacific Railway was completed in a ceremony at Gold Creek, Montana. The final "golden spike" was driven in by President Ulysses S. Grant.
  • 1841 Born: Antonín Dvořák, Czech composer. His best known works include the opera Rusalka and a series of sixteen orchestra pieces known as the Slavonic Dances.
  • 1830 Born: Frédéric Mistral, Occitan writer and lexicographer of the Provençal form of the language. He received the 1904 Nobel Prize in Literature.
  • 1781 The last major battle in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Eutaw Springs, ended in a narrow British tactical victory, but strategical loss.
  • 1742 Born: Ozias Humphry, English painter of portrait miniatures, later oils and pastels. In 1792, he was appointed Portrait Painter in Crayons to the King (i.e. pastels).
  • 1655 Charles X Gustav of Sweden captured Warsaw with almost no resistance to a small force. This was the first time that the city was captured by a foreign army.
  • 1588 Born: Marin Mersenne, French polymath whose works touched a wide variety of fields. He is best known today for Mersenne prime numbers and as the "father of the acoustics".
  • 1157 Born: Richard I, King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He is known as Richard the Lionheart because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior.