Icelandic National Day(photo below) is celebrated annually on June 17. It commemorates the foundation of the Republic of Iceland in 1944 and the end of its ties with Denmark. The date was chosen to honor Jón Sigurðsson, the 19th-century leader of Iceland's independence movement, who was born on June 17, 1811. The day is Iceland's most important national holiday. Across cities, towns, and villages, communities host lively, family-friendly festivities.