Ho Chi Minh's Birthday

Ho Chi Minh's Birthday

May 19

Ho Chi Minh was born on May 19, 1890. Often referred to as the "father of modern Vietnam," Ho Chi Minh spearheaded the Vietnamese people's revolt against French and Japanese occupation. In 1954, after the French and Japanese left, the United States entered the scene, and it was during this struggle that Ho Chi Minh died in 1969. It was another six years before North and South Vietnam united into the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
On Ho Chi Minh's birthday each year people hold parades in cities, carrying posters depicting him. Many women wear the ao dai, traditional Vietnamese dress. Speeches about Ho Chi Minh generally follow the parades.

CONTACTS:
Socialist Republic of Vietnam Embassy
1233 20th St. N.W., Ste. 400
Washington, D.C. 20036
202-861-0737; fax: 202-861-0917
www.vietnamembassy-usa.org

SOURCES:
FestWrld: Viet-1997, p. 21

Celebration day: May 19