Happy Birthday to Antigua and Barbuda!

Women in Bulgarian traditional costumes. *Photo from Wikipedia September 22 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire in 1908. The emergence of a unified Bulgarian state dates back to the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire in 681 AD, which dominated most of the Balkans and functioned as a cultural hub for Slavs during the Middle Ages. With the downfall of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1396, its territories came under Ottoman rule for nearly five centuries. The Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) led to the formation of the Third Bulgarian State. The Treaty of San Stefano

2004 National Day celebration in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. *Photo from Wikipedia October 1 is National Day of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The PRC was founded on October 1, 1949, with a ceremony at Tiananmen Square. One thing should be noted is that the PRC was not founded on that day, but on September 21, 1949. The Central People’s Government passed the Resolution on the National Day of the People’s Republic of China on December 2, 1949, and declared that October 1 is the National Day. The National Day is celebrated throughout mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau with

Kuala Lumpur was the capital city of Malaya. *Photo from Wikipedia August 31 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Malaya from the United Kingdom in 1957. The Federation of Malaya was a federation of what previously had been British Malaya comprising 11 states (nine Malay states and two of the British Straits Settlements, Penang and Malacca) that existed from February 1, 1948 until September 16, 1963. Although Muslims had passed through the Malay Peninsula as early as the 10th century, it was not until the 14th century that Islam first firmly established itself. Islam had a profound influence on