The Navy's Day is celebrated on May 20th since 1998, as to pay homage to the great deed by Vasco da Gama (1469-1524). That was the day when his pioneering armada reached Calicut, India, in 1498, by sea, for the first time in History.
Up until 1998, the Navy's day was celebrated on July, 8th, the day when Vasco da Gama's Armada left Lisbon, in 1497. By altering the day, the emphasis was put on the finding of the maritime path to India, a goal pursued for several decades.
The Navy's Day is celebrated on a different coastal region each year, in order to tighten the bonds between the Portuguese population and their Navy, thus providing an agenda filled with different events.
