Reunification Day
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Victory Day (Ngày Chiến thắng), Reunification Day (Ngày Thống nhất), or Liberation Day (Ngày Giải phóng) is a public holiday in Vietnam that marks the anniversary of National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam and North Vietnamese troops capturing Saigon (later renamed Ho Chi Minh City) on April 30, 1975. This signalled the end of the Vietnam War (locally known as the "American War" or, in Vietnamese Kháng chiến chống Mỹ) and the start of the transition period towards the reunification of the nation on July 2, 1976.
In the overseas Vietnamese exile communities and with Vietnamese allied with the Southern government still left in Vietnam, the day is remembered as the "Fall of Saigon" or "Ngày Quốc hận" (National Day of Infamy). These terms are considered treasonous in present day Vietnam and can lead to harassment or imprisonment. This is a commemorative day for exile Vietnamese who served, were affected, and displaced in those overseas communities, and as such is a day of reflection.
The anniversary is marked by several festivals around the date.
[edit] See also
- Fall of Saigon
- Holidays in Vietnam
- Liberation Day in other countries
- Victory Day in other countries
