Citizenship Day
Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Each 4 November is Citizenship Day in the Northern Mariana Islands to celebrate the acquisition of US citizenship by qualified residents of the islands. In 2026, Citizenship Day falls on Wednesday 4 November. The holiday will be on Thursday 4 November in 2027. Northern Mariana Islands was discovered by Ferdinand Magellan in his round the world trip in 1521. They were thereupon claimed by Spain and became a Spanish colony. But in 1899, Spain gave up control of the islands to the German Empire. After World War I, Germany lost control of the islands to the League of Nations, which then handed them over to Japan. During World War II, US forces invaded and conquered the Northern Mariana Islands and held them to the war’s end. The islands became a UN trust territory but were administered by the United States. Finally, in 1976, the people of Northern Mariana Islands voted in a popular referendum to become a US commonwealth. But it wasn’t until 10 years later, on 4 November 1986, that the people of these islands became US citizens. This was such a huge benefit to them that 4 November was thereafter dubbed “Citizenship Day” and remains a public holiday in Northern Marianas Islands.
History
After World War I, Germany lost control of the islands to the League of Nations, which then handed them over to Japan. During World War II, US forces invaded and conquered the Northern Mariana Islands and held them to the war’s end. But it wasn’t until 10 years later, on 4 November 1986, that the people of these islands became US citizens
How It's Celebrated
Each 4 November is Citizenship Day in the Northern Mariana Islands to celebrate the acquisition of US citizenship by qualified residents of the islands. The holiday will be on Thursday 4 November in 2027. This was such a huge benefit to them that 4 November was thereafter dubbed “Citizenship Day” an