National Sea Day in Portugal
National Sea Day in Portugal is held on November 16. This event in the second decade of the month November is annual. 
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Portugal is a country strongly linked to the sea, being marked for posterity as the country of maritime Discoveries. The sea is of strategic importance for Portugal, being a vital sector for the Portuguese economy and for the gross domestic product (GDP).
According to data released in 2013, the Portuguese sea provides work for 100,000 people and represents an annual wealth of 8 billion euros.
The celebration of this date aims to highlight the importance that the sea has for the history and identity of Portugal, as well as for the economy and development of the country.
The date (Dia Nacional do Mar) chosen is due to the entry into force of the «United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea» on November 16, 1994, which was ratified by Portugal in 1997.
On this day you can visit Belém and the Museu da Marinha, for example, where special initiatives related to the date are held.
Similar holidays and events, festivals and interesting facts
Portugal Republic Day on October 5
International Day of Islamic Art on November 18
Engineer's Day in Portugal on November 24
Portugal's Day of Scientific Culture on November 24 (Dia Nacional da Cultura Científica - in memory of Rómulo de Carvalho, educator, researcher, historian and poet. This is his birth date in 1906);
Restoration of Independence Day in Portugal on December 1
International Banking Day on December 4
Immaculate Conception on December 8 (public holiday in several countries, a holy day of obligation in others)