On this day in 1971, Qatar declared its independence from Britain.

But the country won’t officially celebrate its independence until Qatar National Day on Dec. 18, which was established in 2007.

Why?

According to Qatar Visitor:

Qatar was always more of a British protectorate rather than a dominion of the British Empire, and far from winning their independence from the UK Qatar had been keen to become part of the protectorate in the first place and, once they had it, to expand the protectorate…

However, arguably a more important date for the Qatari Nation was the day when the Qatari tribes people, lead by the Al Thanis, defeated the Turkish Empire in battle. It is that day, Qatar National Day, which is now celebrated in Qatar rather than Independence Day.

Read the full article to get the details.

In any case, happy independence day, Qatar!