Philippines Independence Day 2020: The Philippines, the country that declared independence from Spanish rule in 1898, celebrates its Independence Day on June 12 every year.
The large island archipelago situated off Southeast Asia, Philippines was colonized by the Spanish in the latter part of the 16th century. Opposition to Spanish rule began among Filipino priests, who resented Spanish domination of the Roman Catholic churches in the islands.
In April 1898, the Spanish-American War broke out over Spain’s brutal suppression of a rebellion in Cuba. Later, America signs a deal with Spain to overtake the Philippines.
In reply to this deal, Aguinaldo led rebel formally launched a new revolt, this time against the United States. The rebels, consistently defeated in the open field, turned to guerrilla warfare, and the U.S. Congress authorized the deployment of 60,000 troops to subdue them.
On the occasion of Independence Day of the Philippines, here are some interesting and unusual facts about the country:
- The world’s biggest pair of shoes was made in Marikina City, Philippines, in 2002. The wingtips measured about 17.4 feet (5.3 m) in length, 7.9 feet (2.4 m) in width, and almost 6.6 feet (2 m) in height. Their cost was 2 million Philippine pesos.
- The Philippines is the world’s largest exporter of coconuts and tropical fruits, such as papaya and mangosteen
- The national symbol of the Philippines is the Philippine, or monkey-eating, eagle. It is the largest of all eagles and was declared the national bird of the Philippines in 1995.
- Three of the largest pearls known in the world have been found in the Philippines. The biggest of all is the Pearl of Lao Tzu, found in Brooke’s Point, Palawan in 1934 by a Filipino diver.
- The Philippines is home to the world’s longest snake, the Reticulated Python (Python reticulatus), which also happens to be the world’s longest reptile.
- Filipinos observe the world’s longest Christmas season. It begins with the playing of carols in September and officially ends in January with the Feast of the Three Kings.
- The Philippine capital city of Manila was named after the white-flowered mangrove plant, the Nilad, or Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea.
- Manila, the capital of the Philippines is considered the world’s most densely populated city in the world.
- One of the most interesting and traditional Philippine dishes is balut, which is essentially a boiled, fertilized duck egg with a half-formed chick inside.
- Pop singer Bruno Mars is half Filipino and half Puerto Rican. His childhood nickname was “Little Elvis.”
