Happy Birthday to Panama!

Estonian folk dance group performing. *Photo from Wikipedia February 24 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Estonia from the Russian Empire in 1918. Following centuries of successive Teutonic, Danish, Swedish, and Russian rule, Estonians experienced a national awakening that culminated in independence from the Russian Empire towards the end of World War I. In the aftermath of World War I and the Russian revolutions, the Estonian Declaration of Independence was issued in February 1918. The Estonian War of Independence ensued on two fronts between the newly proclaimed state and Bolshevist Russia to the east and the Baltic German forces

Traditional Armenian dance. *Photo from Wikipedia September 21 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Armenia from the Soviet Union in 1991. Armenia became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion. In between the late 3rd century to early years of the 4th century, the state became the first Christian nation. The ancient Armenian kingdom was split between the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires around the early 5th century. Declining due to the wars against the Byzantines, the kingdom fell in 1045 and Armenia was soon after invaded by the Seljuk Turks. Between the 16th

Asunción, the capital and largest city of Paraguay. *Photo from Wikipedia May 14 is Paraguay’s Flag Day, the real date of the independence of Paraguay from Spain in 1811. Celebration continues the next main day, Independence Day. The indigenous Guaraní had been living in Paraguay for at least a millennium before the Spanish conquered the territory in the 16th century. Spanish settlers and Jesuit missions introduced Christianity and Spanish culture to the region. Paraguay was a peripheral colony of the Spanish Empire, with few urban centers and settlers. In early 1811 Paraguayan forces had repeatedly defeated Argentinian army which considered