Observances in October

October 1:
* Independence Day for Cyprus, Nigeria, Tuvalu, and Palau
* National Day of the People's Republic of China

October 2:
* Independence Day for Guinea
* Batik Day in Indonesia
* International Day of Non-Violence, and Gandhi Jayanti in India, both celebrating Mohandas Gandhi's birthday

October 3:
* German Unity Day, celebrating the reunification of East and West Germany at the end of the Cold War
* National Day in Iraq, celebrating its independence
* Gaecheonjeol in the Koreas, celebrating the founding of the first Korean state

October 4:
* Independence Day in Lesotho
* Day of Peace and Reconciliation in Mozambique, celebrating the end of the civil war in 1992
* Beginning of World Space Week

October 5:
* Constitution Day in Vanuatu, celebrating the country's independence

October 6:
* Day of Remembrance in Turkmenistan, honoring the victims of a massive, deadly earthquake in 1948
* Memorial Day for the Martyrs of Arad in Hungary

October 7-8: No major observances

October 9:
* Takayama Autumn Festival, one of the largest festivals in Japan
* Independence Day in Uganda
* Independence of Guayaquil in Ecuador, the first city-state in the modern country to break away from Spain

October 10:
* Capital Liberation Day in Vietnam
* Independence Day in Cuba
* Fiji Day in Fiji, celebrating Fiji's independence
* Constitution Day in Sint Maarten, celebrating the day the island nation's constitution came into force
* Curaçao Day, celebrating Curaçao's independence
* Double Ten Day in China, celebrating the start of the uprising that led to the Republic of China

October 11:
* National Coming Out Day
* Day of Macedonian Uprising, celebrating North Macedonia's rejection of fascism (also known as Revolution Day)

October 12:
* A number of celebrations of Columbus's "discovery" of the Americas in Spain, Latin America, and the Caribbean
* Independence Day in Equatorial Guinea

October 13:
* International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction
* Doi Takuramatsuri, a Japanese festival hoping for a good harvest

October 14:
* Nyerere Day in Tanzania, honoring the death of the nation's founder
* Defenders Day in Ukraine

October 15:
* Commemoration Day of the King's Father in Cambodia, honoring the death of the country's founder
* Evacuation Day in Tunisia, celebrating the French Army's final retreat from the country
* Shwmae Sumae Day in Wales

October 16: No major observances

October 17:
* Dessalines Day in Haiti, celebrating the first leader of independent Haiti
* Loyalty Day in Argentina, celebrating the start of a labor uprising that resulted in Juan Perón becoming President of Argentina

October 18:
* Independence Day in Azerbaijan
* Persons Day in Canada, celebrating the court decision that held that women were eligible to serve in the Canadian Senate

October 19:
* Constitution Day in Niue, celebrating its independence from New Zealand

October 20:
* Revolution Day in Guatemala, celebrating the popular uprising that overthrew dictator Jorge Ubico and reinstated democracy (until the US-led coup in 1954)
* Heroes' Day in Kenya, honoring all those who fought for Kenya's independence
* Women's Day in Vietnam

October 21: No major observances

October 22:
* Jidai Matsuri, a major festival in Kyoto, Japan
* National Santri Day in Indonesia, celebrating a major milestone in the fight for independence from the Netherlands

October 23:
* (my sister's birthday!)
* Day of the Macedonian Revolutionary Struggle
* Liberation Day in Libya, celebrating the end of the Libyan Civil War
* National Day in Hungary, honoring the 1956 Revolution that sought to drive Soviet troops from Hungary and declare independence

October 24:
* United Nations Day
* Azad Kashmir Day in Pakistan, celebrating the founding of Azad Kashmir
* Independence Day in Zambia

October 25:
* Retrocession Day (disputed) in Taiwan, celebrating Japan ceding control of the island
* Sovereignty Day in Slovenia, celebrating the final retreat of the Yugoslav People's Army from Slovenia
* Thanksgiving Day in Grenada

October 26:
* Accession Day in Jammu and Kashmir, celebrating the day when those territories were admitted to India
* Angam Day in Nauru, celebrating the viability of the Nauru people
* National Day in Austria
* One of the Twin Holy Birthdays in the Baha'i faith

October 27:
* Independence Day in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
* One of the Twin Holy Birthdays in the Baha'i faith

October 28:
* (my dad's birthday!)
* Ohi Day in Greece, celebrating the Greek refusal to the Italian ultimatum of 1940
* Day of the Establishment of an Independent Czecho-Slovak State in the Czech Republic and Slovakia
* Liberation Day in Ukraine, celebrating the liberation of Ukraine from the Nazis

October 29:
* Republic Day in Turkey

October 30:
* Anniversary of the Declaration of the Slovak Nation (that's really what it's called)
* Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repressions, in former Soviet republics except Ukraine
* Thevar Jayanthi, a celebration of the birthday of Pasumpon Muthuramalingam Thevar in the Thevar community in southern India

October 31:
* Halloween, Allantide, Hop-tu-Naa, and related celebrations
* Samhain in the northern hemisphere and Beltane in the southern hemisphere
* First day of the Day of the Dead, celebrated October 31-November 2 in Mexico
* Día de la Canción Criolla in Peru, celebrating criollo culture
* National Unity Day in India
* Reformation Day for Protestant Christians
* Saci Day, a holiday founded in Brazil to oppose Halloween