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The U.S. celebrates July 4, but independence from Britain is marked around the globe. Here’s a look at how and when different countries celebrate.
On July 4, the United States celebrates its independence from Britain with displays of fireworks, barbeques, shopping — and for an estimated 70 million citizens this year, travel.
The United States’ celebration is held on the anniversary of the Second Continental Congress’ adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. But America isn’t the only country that celebrates independence from Britain. Much of the global population — around one-fifth of the world, according to Guinness World Records — were subjects of Great Britain prior to 1914.
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Some countries don’t celebrate their independence from the United Kingdom, but instead dedicate a day to celebrating their formation. Others celebrate similarly to the United States, on the day the country either declared or formally gained independence from the United Kingdom.
Here’s when and how several former British colonies celebrate their freedoms.
Kite flying on India’s Independence Day
India celebrates its independence on August 15, marking the end of 200 years of British rule in 1947 — when the Indian Independence Act separated British India into India and Pakistan — and its ascendence to becoming the world’s largest democracy.
The prime minister starts the day by raising the country’s flag at the Red Fort in Old Delhi, marking the anniversary of the first time the modern flag was officially hoisted in the country.
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Following the flag-raising, there is a parade — but most families celebrate the day by flying kites. Indians used to fly kites as a form of protest. In 1927, slogans were written on kites deriding the Simon Commission, a group appointed by the British Conservative Government to report on the workings of the fledging Indian constitution. Since then, kites have been seen as an integral part of protest — and subsequent freedom.
As Independence Day is one of three major national holidays, many people have the day off and gather on streets, beaches and other locations to fly kites of various colors.
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Bahamas celebrates independence with Junkanoo
Independence Day in the Bahamas is celebrated annually on July 10. After 300 years of British rule, the Bahamas became a fully independent nation in 1973.
Bahamians start their celebrations 8 to 10 days before July 10, marking the momentous occasion with numerous cultural activities and events. Its most famed celebration is Junkanoo, a vibrant Bahamian street parade with music, dancing and elaborate costumes.
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Although the exact origins of Junkanoo are unknown, a popular belief is that the traditions evolved from the days of slavery and now represent the Bahamian culture, according to the Bahamas.com. There is also a Junkanoo parade on Boxing Day, which takes place the day after Christmas.
Australia’s independence marks the arrival of convicts
Australians celebrate Australia Day annually on January 26. The day isn’t tied to independence from Britain — but instead, marks the day that the first convict ships arrived from the United Kingdom.
It’s the Commonwealth’s only public holiday celebrating the date of physical colonization, rather than the date of the country’s independence or another significant day.
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Many Australians celebrate the summer holiday with barbeques. Australians also honor the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who inhabited the land for 65,000 years, according to Australia Day Council.
It is also a day when many new citizens are minted — the country added over 22,000 new Australians in 2024, according to the Australian Ministry for Immigration, Citizenship, and Multicultural Affairs.
The U.S. received written assurance from Iran before the presidential election that its leadership was not actively trying to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump, CBS News confirmed, according to a source with direct knowledge of the correspondence. The message arrived after the White House in September affirmed that killing a former U.S. president or former U.S. official would be seen by the Biden administration as an act of war.
“We consider this a national and homeland security matter of the highest priority, and we strongly condemn Iran for these brazen threats,” National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement in September.
Iran said in its message, which was conveyed by a third party, that it understood this premise. The Wall Street Journal first reported Iran’s message to the U.S.
The Justice Department is currently prosecuting at least two individuals alleged to have been part of murder-for-hire plots to kill Trump while he was still a candidate. One operative working for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps told federal investigators that he was tasked in September with “surveilling, and, ultimately, assassinating” Trump, according to court records unsealed last week.
Prosecutors said Farhad Shakeri, who is believed to be residing in Iran, told investigators in a phone interview that unnamed IRGC officials pushed him to plan an attack against Trump to take place in October. If the plan could not come together in time, the Iranian officials directed Shakeri to delay the plot until after the election because the official “assessed that [Trump] would lose the election,” the charging documents said.
In early August, a Pakistani national with alleged ties to Iran was arrested and charged with plotting a murder-for-hire scheme targeting U.S. government officials and politicians, according to charging documents unsealed Tuesday.
A U.S. official pointed out that Iran did not task its most effective proxy force, Hezbollah, with carrying out these plots. This official described Iran’s approach to date as “nice if it works. If it doesn’t, then it’s not a problem.”
In response to inquiries suggesting that “Iran told U.S. it wouldn’t try to kill Trump”, the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran said it would not comment on official messages between two countries.
The mission said in a statement, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has long declared its commitment to pursuing Martyr Soleimani’s assassination through legal and judicial avenues, while adhering fully to the recognized principles of international law.”
Trump has raised the ire of Iranians for a few reasons. He exited the international Iran nuclear agreement, which had lifted some sanctions in exchange for restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program. He also directed the 2020 airstrike that killed top Iranian commander Gen. Qasem Soleimani. Since then, some Trump administration officials and military officials received threats from the regime, among them, Robert O’Brien, who was national security adviser during the strike. His predecessor in the job, John Bolton, who was part of the maximum pressure campaign that exerted sanctions pressure on Tehran, has also received threats.
In 2022, the U.S. intelligence community assessed that Iran would threaten Americans — both directly and via proxy attacks — and was committed to developing networks inside the U.S. Two persistent threat assessments submitted to Congress by the State Department in January 2022 cited a “serious and credible threat” to the lives of former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Trump administration Iran envoy Brian Hook. The non-public assessments showed that throughout 2021 and again in 2022, the State Department determined that round-the-clock, U.S.-taxpayer-funded diplomatic security details were needed to protect both men. That continues today.
Multiple former officials have spoken to CBS about duty-to-warn notices that they have recently received from the FBI and other agencies regarding the ongoing threat from Iran and Iranian-hired actors, implying the U.S. is taking the threat seriously and not taking the Iranian regime’s assurances at face value.
contributed to this report.
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