Happy Birthday to Panama!

Maseru, the capital and largest city of Lesotho. *Photo from Wikipedia October 4 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Lesotho from the United Kingdom in 1966. The present Lesotho (then called Basutoland) emerged as a single polity under paramount chief Moshoeshoe I in 1822. Under Moshoeshoe I, Basutoland joined other tribes in their struggle against the Lifaqane associated with the reign of Shaka Zulu from 1818 to 1828. Subsequent evolution of the state was shaped by contact with the British and Dutch colonists from Cape Colony. Territorial conflicts with both British and Boer settlers arose periodically, including Moshoeshoe’s notable

Crowd cheers Hungarian troops in Budapest. *Photo from Wikipedia October 23 is Memorial day of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Also the day of the proclamation of the Third Hungarian Republic (1989). The day is celebrated with speeches and exhibitions. The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 or the Hungarian Uprising of 1956 was a nationwide revolt against the government of the Hungarian People’s Republic and its Soviet-imposed policies, lasting from October 23 until November 10, 1956. Though leaderless when it first began, it was the first major threat to Soviet control since the USSR’s forces drove Nazi Germany from its territory

The Chain Bridge, the most famous Budapest bridge built in 1849. *Photo from Wikipedia August 20 is Saint Stephen’s Day – Hungary’s first king St. Stephen’s Day, also the day of the Foundation of Hungary and “the day of the new bread”. St. Stephen of Hungary (975 – 1038), as the first king of Hungary, led the country into the Christian church and established the institutions of the kingdom and the church. Following centuries of successive habitation by Celts, Romans, Huns, Slavs, Gepids (East Germanic tribe) and Avars (a group of Eurasian nomads), the foundation of Hungary was laid in