Nov 22, 2019
Lebanon Independence Day 2019
This Doodle’s Key Themes
Today’s Doodle celebrates the 76th anniversary of Independence Day in Lebanon. On this day in 1943, the French government released several elected Lebanese leaders from detention and recognized Lebanon as a sovereign country.
Although the modern state of Lebanon has existed for just under 100 years, people have been living in this scenic land, stretching from the Mediterranean Sea’s eastern shore to the snow-capped Lebanon mountains, since the Stone Age. A center of Middle Eastern culture and trade since the era of the ancient Phoenicians, Lebanon and its people embody a convergence of cultures, faiths, and civilizations.
The country’s red and white flag is emblazoned with an iconic Lebanon cedar tree, an emblem of the country since Biblical times.
Part of the Ottoman Empire from 1516 to 1918, the country was ruled by a French mandate during the aftermath of World War I. Soon after the first election in 1943, the elected leaders were arrested and exiled for two months in Rashaya Castle. November 22nd, the anniversary of their release, has become one of the country’s most important holidays, and Rashaya Castle has become a national monument now known as the Citadel of Independence.
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