Commonwealth Day is generally celebrated on the second Monday in the month of March every year.
In India, however, another Commonwealth Day is also celebrated on May 24.
The day commemorates the formation of the British Empire in India and other colonies of Britain.
History
It was only after the death of Queen Victoria, who passed away on January 22, 1901, that Empire Day was first celebrated.
The first Empire Day was celebrated on the late Queen's birth anniversary which was on May 24, 1902.
However, many schools across the British Empire were celebrating it even before it was officially recognised as an annual event. Moving speeches and tales of the Empire's bravery were also narrated to the children on this day.
How did Empire day become Commonwealth Day?
By the 1950s, the British empire had started to fall apart as many of the colonies began to gain independence and Empire Day lost its significance.
However, most of them maintained a relationship with Britain and formed a new organization called the Commonwealth of Nations. In 1958 Empire Day was changed to Commonwealth Day.
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