Abstract
David McCrone’s and Gayle McPherson’s edited volume National Days: Constructing and Mobilizing National Identity makes a persuasive case for a more sustained scholarly interest in the phenomenon of national days. The book – a competently contextualized selection of contributions to the International Conference on National Days held in November 2007 at Glasgow Caledonian University – is accessible to both academic and non-academic readers alike.
Following the editors’ introduction (Chapter 1), Michael E. Geisler’s essay entitled ‘The Calendar Conundrum: National Days as Unstable Signifiers’ (Chapter 2) elucidates the historically volatile and socially contested nature of national days. A particular strength of the essay lies in illustrating the problematic (re)invention of national holidays – not as isolated phenomena – but in relation to other national symbols (e.g. flag, anthem, currency) and religious (holy) days. The following 12 chapters look at the phenomenon of national days within specific national, regional, and diasporal contexts, thus forming the body part of the book. The respective case studies reveal interesting cross-national variations, even (or perhaps particularly) amongst comparatively close ‘neighbours’.
St. Patrick’s Day, for example, is widely recognized within the Republic of Ireland as well as amongst the catholic population in Northern Ireland (Chapter 5; John Poulter); and most fervently celebrated by Irish emigrant communities and their descendants outside Ireland (Chapter 14; Gayle McPherson, Malcolm Foley and Aaron McIntosh). Scotland’s St. Andrew’s Day equally enjoys widespread public support (Chapter 3; David McCrone). Most English, however, take little notice of St. George’s Day and show even less enthusiasm for celebrating it (Chapter 4; Michael Skey). While St. George’s Day struggles for public recognition, political initiatives towards the creation of a distinctly ‘British’ national day constitute an even more contested and widely unpopular alternative (Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 15).
The Nordic ‘neighbours’ of Finland (Chapter 10; Heino Nyyssönen), Norway (Chapter 8; Gabriella Elgenius), and Sweden (Chapter 9; Magnus Rodell) provide another case in point. Whereas in Norway ‘Constitution Day continues to be an emotionally charged celebration that reproduces a complex of national symbolism through large-scale processions and festivities throughout the country’ (p. 116), in Sweden ‘extrovert celebrations came to be seen by most political parties, as an expression of irrationality, a kind of nationalism that Sweden had surpassed’ (p. 132). In Finland, on the other hand, preferences for a particular national day (i.e. 16 May or 6 December) largely differ according to political convictions and allegiances.
The other case studies are equally instructive, albeit for different reasons. The examples of Australia (Chapter 6; Warren Pearson and Grant O’Neill) and South Africa (Chapter 7; P. Eric Louw) show the difficulty (and perhaps impossibility) of establishing a national day that would do justice to the different experiences and sentiments of indigenous groups, descendants of former colonizers, and more recent immigrant populations. South Africa’s and Germany’s (Chapter 11; Vera C. Simon) histories of repeated and extreme regime change illustrate the volatility of national days depending on the respective socio-political climate. Political ideologies and different readings of history also dominate debates on the Giorno del Ricordo in Italy (Chapter 12; Andrea Cossu) – a national day in commemoration of resistance against fascism and/or of mourning the victims of atrocities committed against Italians in Istria and Dalmatia? In the case of the autonomous region of Valencia (Chapter 13; Enric Castelló and Rafael Castelló), it is interesting to learn about the three more or less nationally and/or regionally salient national days. And the example of St. Patrick’s Day in New York (Chapter 14; Gayle McPherson, Malcolm Foley and Aaron McIntosh) demonstrates the considerable cultural, political, social, and economic impact of national day celebrations in countries far away from the original or imagined ‘homeland’.
As the editors conclude (Chapter 15), national days constitute important yet comparatively little-researched societal phenomena that merit serious academic enquiry. The present book takes a decisive and original step in this direction. But much remains to be explored. What about national days in other less Euro- and/or Anglicized parts of the world? How much do we really know about people’s attitudes and perceptions concerning actual or potential national day celebrations? What about the relative salience of national days in relation to international, supranational, and transnational forms of collective commemoration?
National Days: Constructing and Mobilizing National Identity lays the groundwork for research into these and related topics. It constitutes essential reading for students of nations and nationalism and anybody else with an interest in the making, unmaking, and remaking of national days.