Vietnam’s National Day, September 2

79th Anniversary of Victory of August Revolution

“Uncle Ho reading the Declaration of Independence,” by Nguyen Nguyen Duong, 1979
(Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum)

September 2 is Vietnam’s National Day. It was on this day in 1945 that Ho Chi Minh, founder and leader of the Communist Party of Vietnam and father of the modern Vietnam, crowned the Victory of the August Revolution by declaring Vietnam a sovereign and independent nation.

This year is the 79th anniversary of these momentous events. In Vietnam, the Victory of the August Revolution and Vietnam’s National Day are joyously celebrated with art exhibits, film festivals, cultural events large and small, including visits to historical sites. The confident strides with which Vietnam continues on the path of national independence and socialism, for global peace, friendship, cooperation and development are discussed in cities, towns and villages as the people unite to achieve the goals they have set for themselves.

Decorations celebrating the 79th anniversary of the August Revolution and
Vietnam’s National Day adorn Hanoi.

The August Revolution was an event of great significance both for the Vietnamese nation and for the liberation struggles of the peoples of the world. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam with Ho Chi Minh at the head, the Vietnamese people rose up as one to topple the colonial and feudal regimes, seize power, and establish the first people’s democratic country in Southeast Asia, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

The victory of the August Revolution liberated Vietnam from the yoke of centuries of foreign domination, French colonial subjugation and Japanese militarist occupation. The declaration of Vietnam’s sovereignty and independence on September 2, 1945, marked a significant milestone in the struggle for national construction and defence. Since then, under the leadership of the Communist Party, the Vietnamese people have entered a new period of national independence associated with socialism. They are the masters of the country, united in the shared mission of building and defending Vietnam.

The Vietnamese people are forever proud of the achievements of the August Revolution as it is the crystallization of passionate patriotism, wisdom, and the unwavering spirit of the nation, which has been promoted to new heights under the leadership of the Party and path set by Ho Chi Minh. The Party and the people of Vietnam continue to this day to be inspired by the lessons of the August Revolution: lessons on Party-building, on mobilizing and promoting national solidarity, and self-reliance to achieve victory in their ongoing nation-building project.

On this occasion of the 79th anniversary of the Victory of the August Revolution and of Vietnam’s National Day, the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) extends its heartfelt revolutionary greetings to the Communist Party of Vietnam, to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and to the Vietnamese people at home and abroad, including the hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese who today call Canada home.

On August 19, 1945, following a gathering in front of the Opera House, residents of Hanoi gain control of the Tonkin Palace — headquarters of the French-backed administration in the north.

On September 2, 1945, at Hanoi’s Ba Ðình Square, President Ho Chi Minh reads the Declaration of Independence declaring the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam)

President Ho Chi Minh and members of the provisional Government Council of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam at its first meeting on September 3, 1945.

(Photos: VNA)