9th April: Day of National Unity, Georgia.

Georgia's Day of National Unity commemorates the 1989 Tbilisi Massacre, when in Tbilisi an anti-Soviet demonstration was dispersed by the Soviet Army, resulting in 20 deaths and hundreds of injuries. On 9 April 1991, shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia declared independence.

1. Georgians don't call themselves Georgians - they call the country Sakartvelo, themselves Kartvelians and their language Kartuli. No-one is sure where the name "Georgia" actually came from but it's likely to have something to do with St George, who is the country's patron saint.
2. The capital and largest city is T’bilisi, which comes for the Georgian word for warm.
3. The Georgian alphabet has 33 letters and is thought to be based on Aramaic.
4. Georgia is home to the world's deepest cave, the Voronya Cave...
5. ... And some of Europe's highest mountains, in the Caucasus range. The highest mountain in Europe is in Russia, but Georgia has the second highest, Mount Shkhara, at 5,201 m.
6. The Greeks considered these mountains to be one of the pillars holding up the world. It was here that Zeus tied up Prometheus, to have his liver eaten by eagles.
7. The former ruler of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, was from Georgia. The Georgian people have mixed feelings about him. Some are proud that their little country produced such a powerful ruler; others see him as a tyrant. Either way, markets still sell portraits of him and his statue may be found in some town squares.
8. Another famous historical figure is Queen Tamar (pictured), who reigned in her own right from 1184 to 1213, during Georgia's "Golden Age." She was referred to as "King of Kings". Her first marriage was arranged and ended in divorce and the exile of the husband; her second husband she chose herself, and they had two children who succeeded her. She is an often idealised and romantic figure and the subject of many songs and legends. One, for example, says that her son was conceived, not in the usual way, but by a sunbeam shining through a window. She was admired by Ivan the Terrible, who said she was "endowed with the intelligence and courage of a man."
9. Archaeologists have found the oldest remains of Wine jugs and vines in Georgia - so this may be where wine making was born. Feasting and toasting with wine is an important part of Georgian culture. However, Beer is only used to toast enemies.
10. The national flag of Georgia is called the Five Cross Flag. It consists of a large red cross on a white background with a smaller red cross in each quadrant. The large red cross is the cross of St George. The five together are sometimes said to represent the five wounds of Christ on the cross or Christ and the Four Evangelists.