Holidays Calendar for August 29, 2020
Slovak National Uprising Anniversary is one of the public holidays in Slovakia. This holiday commemorates the day, when the Slovaks rose up against Nazi Germany in 1944.
Day of Ashura
The Day of Ashura is observed on the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram. It is commemorated by both Sunni and Shia Muslims although they associate it with different events.
International Bat Night is held annually on the last full weekend of August. It takes place in more than 30 countries, primarily those covered by the Agreement on the Conservation of Population of European Bats.
Municipal Police Day, also known as City Guard Day (Dzień Straży Gminnej), is a Polish professional holiday celebrated on August 29. It was officially declared by statute in 1997. This holiday is normally a working day unless falling on a weekend.
Ukrainians, employed in civil aviation, celebrate their professional holiday, Aviation Day, on the last Saturday in August. This holiday was established by presidential decree in 1993.
On the last Saturday of August, all Russian long-haul truck drivers celebrate their professional holiday. Although Long-Haul Truck Driver Day is not an official observance in Russia, it is supported by a number of large oil companies.
Annually thousands of Argentinians take their shovels and buckets full of water to participate in tree planting event, that is organized at the national level on August 29. Arbor Day is celebrated in Argentina since 1900.
Finnish Nature Day is an annual holiday dedicated to the uniqueness of Finland’s nature. It is celebrated on the last Saturday of August. In 2017, Finnish Nature Day was declared an official flag day, alongside holidays such as Mother’s Day and Kalevala Day.
Telugu is one of the six classical languages in India. It's spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and in the union territory of Yanam. The holiday of Telugu Language Day is annually celebrated in India on August 29.
On August 29, Indians celebrate National Sports Day. The holiday was established to commemorate the birthday of Dhyan Chand, an Indian field hockey player considered to be one of the greatest field hockey players of all time.
The Day of Remembrance of the Defenders of Ukraine is a memorial day that was added to the Ukrainian official holiday calendar in 2019. It is observed on August 29 to honor the memory of Ukrainian soldiers and officers who died protecting the country’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site Closure Anniversary in Kazakhstan
The Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site Closure Anniversary is observed in Kazakhstan on August 29 every year. It was established by the government of Kazakhstan in 2019 to commemorate the closing of the first and one of the largest nuclear test sites in the Soviet Union.
August 29 is the National Lemon Juice Day. This is the perfect occasion to learn more about the benefits of lemon juice.
August 29 is the perfect day to order some delicious takeout from your nearby American Chinese restaurant since it is National Chop Suey Day. This food holiday celebrates a stir-fry what was inspired by Chinese cuisine but developed in the United States.
More Herbs, Less Salt Day is observed annually on August 29. It was created to encourage people to eat a healthier diet by showing them that healthy food doesn’t have to be bland.
August 29 is one of the UN international observances, International Day Against Nuclear Tests. This observance was established on December 2, 2009 by the UN General Assembly.
National Lesbian Visibility Day (Dia Nacional da Visibilidade Lésbica) is observed in Brazil on August 29 every year. It was created to celebrate the L in LGBTQ+ and highlight the challenges faced by lesbian women.
Festivals on August 29, 2020
- Manifesta (European Nomadic Biennial) in Marseille, France
- Imagine Film Festival in Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Chorus Inside International in Rovinj, Croatia
- Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy
- gamescom in Cologne, Germany
- Odense International Film Festival in Odense, Denmark
- Molodist Kyiv International Film Festival in Kyiv, Ukraine
- Onam Festival in Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram, India
- Beijing International Film Festival in Beijing, China
- DOKer Film Festival in Moscow, Russia
- Encounters South African International Documentary Festival in Johannesburg, South Africa
- Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, Canada
- Encounters South African International Documentary Festival in Cape Town, South Africa
- Giffoni Film Festival in Giffoni Valle Piana, Italy
- Paris Jazz Festival in Paris, France
This Day in History
- 2024 Died: Johnny Gaudreau, American professional ice hockey winger for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the NHL. He and his younger brother Matthew died in a cycling accident.
- 2022 During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine launched a military counteroffensive in Southern Ukraine that eventually resulted in the liberation of Kherson.
- 2016 Died: Gene Wilder, American stage and screen comic actor, screenwriter, film director, and author. He is best known for his portrayal of Willy Wonka in Mel Stuart's film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.
- 2005 Much of the U.S. Gulf Coast from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle was devastated by hurricane Katrina. 1,836 people were killed and over $108 billion in damage was caused by the hurricane.
- 2004 German racer Michael Schumacher beat a 47-year-old world record held by Argentinian Juan Manuel Fangio, winning the 5th consecutive Formula One Drivers' championship.
- 1996 Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801 en route from Moscow, Russia to Longyearbyen, Norway crashed into a mountain on the Arctic island of Spitsbergen. All 141 people on board were killed.
- 1993 Born: Liam Payne, English singer who He rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction. He released his debut solo single, "Strip That Down", in 2017.
- 1989 Died: Peter Scott, British ornithologist, conservationist and painter. He is best remembered for his contribution to the conservation of wild animals. He was one of the founders of the WWF and designed its logo with a panda.
- 1986 Born: Lea Michele, American actress, singer, songwriter and author, best known for originating the role of Wendla in Spring Awakening and playing Rachel Berry on Glee.
- 1982 The synthetic chemical element Meitnerium, atomic number 109, was first synthesized at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt, Germany.
- 1981 Born: Emily Hampshire, Canadian-American actress known for her roles in Boy Meets Girl, Snow Cake, 12 Monkeys, Schitt's Creek, Chapelwhite, The Rig, and other films and shows.
- 1977 Died: Jean Hagen, American actress, best known for the role as Lina Lamont in Singin' in the Rain. This role brought her a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
- 1975 Died: Éamon de Valera, American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of government and head of state and had a leading role in introducing the 1937 Constitution of Ireland.
- 1966 The Beatles performed their last concert before the fans at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California, closing their 1996 United States tour.
- 1959 Born: Chris Hadfield, Canadian retired astronaut, engineer, fighter pilot, musician, and writer. In 2001, he became the first Canadian to perform extravehicular activity in outer space.
- 1958 Born: Michael Jackson, American singer, songwriter, dancer and actor, often called the King of Pop. His contributions to music and dance and his much publicized personal life made him a global figure in popular culture.
- 1949 The Soviet Union conducted its first nuclear weapons test, known as First Lightning (Joe 1), at Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan.
- 1946 Died: John Steuart Curry, American painter, noted for his paintings depicting life in Kansas. His is considered to be one of the three great painters of American Regionalism of the first half of the 20th century.
- 1939 Born: Joel Schumacher, American director, producer and screenwriter. He directed such notable films as The Lost Boys, St. Elmo's Fire, Batman Forever, A Time to Kill, Batman & Robin, The Phantom of the Opera.
- 1938 Born: Elliott Gould, American actor. His breakthrough role was in the film Bob & Carol & Ted & Alicefor which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
- 1923 Born: Richard Attenborough, English actor, director and producer. His best known work was Gandhi, an epic biographical film dramatizing the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
- 1920 Born: Charlie Parker, American jazz saxophonist and composer, known as a highly influential jazz soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop.
- 1915 Born: Ingrid Bergman, Swedish actress. With a career spanning five decades, Bergman is often regarded as one of the most influential screen figures in cinematic history.
- 1910 The Japan-Korea Treaty came into force, officially starting the period of Japanese rule in Korea.
- 1904 Born: Werner Forssmann, German physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate for developing a procedure that allowed for cardiac catheterization.
- 1898 American inventor Frank Seiberling founded the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. Today this company is one the most recognizable advertising icons in America.
- 1891 Died: Pierre Lallement, French inventor of the pedal bicycle. His invention was inspired by a dandy horse, a human-powered vehicle that required the rider to propel the vehicle by walking.
- 1885 German engineer Gottlieb Daimler patented the Reitwagen ("riding wagon" in English) that became the first motorcycle in the world.
- 1865 Died: Robert Remak, Polish-born German embryologist, physiologist and neurologist. He is best known for the introduction of modern terms for germ layers and the discovery that the origin of cells is the division of pre-existing cells.
- 1862 Born: Maurice Maeterlinck, Belgian playwright, poet and essayist who was awarded the 1911 Nobel Prize in Literature. His best known masterpiece is the philosophical fairy play The Blue Bird.
- 1831 Michael Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction, the production of an electromotive force across a conductor when it is exposed to a varying magnetic field.
- 1799 Died: Pope Pius VI, born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, head of the Catholic Church from 1800 until his death in 1823. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI began the process towards canonizing him as a saint.
- 1780 Died: Jacques-Germain Soufflot, French architect known as the person who introduced neoclassicism. His most famous work is a church dedicated to Saint Genevieve in Paris that is now known as the Panthéon.
- 1657 Died: John Lilburne, English political activist, known for coining the term "freeborn rights". He defined the term as rights with which every human being is born, as opposed to rights bestowed by government of human law.
- 1632 Born: John Locke, English philosopher and physician, who is regarded as one of the most influential thinkers of Enlightenment and known as the Father of Classical Liberalism.
- 1533 Died: Atahualpa, the last sovereign emperor of the Inca Empire before the Spanish contest. He was captured by the Spanish, who used him to control the empire. After his death the Inca Empire began to disintegrate.