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national anthem is a country’s offi cial national song, recognized either by a nation’s government or by convention through use by the people. It is supposed to evoke and eulogize the history, traditions and struggles of its people.

We all must know a great deal about our own anthem and the story behind it, but what about the anthems of other countries?

“Het Wilhelmus” is the Dutch national anthem and is known as old music. In English it means “The William” because it tells of Willem van Oranje (William of Orange), his life and his fi ght against the King of Spain to achieve independence. The song first became public in 1568 but was only proclaimed the national anthem in 1932.

The oldest lyric goes to Japan’s “Kimigayo”. It was introduced as the Japanese national anthem after 1868 (post-Meiji Restoration Period). Its lyrics are based on a waka poem written in the Heian period (794-1185), sung to a melody written in the imperial period (1868–1945). Prior to 1945, “Kimigayo” was the offi cial national anthem of the Japanese empire. When the Japanese Empire fell and was replaced by new governance in 1945, politics changed from absolutism to democracy.

However, just as Emperor Hirohito was not dethroned, so too was “Kimigayo” retained as the de facto national anthem, becoming legally recognized as such in 1999 with the passage of the Act on National Flag and Anthem.

The shortest national anthem in the world belongs to Uganda. “Oh Uganda, Land of Beauty”, only consists of eight bars of music.

“Ýmnos is tin Eleftherían”, or as in English translated to “The Hymn of Liberty” consists of 158 stanzas. The national anthem of the Greeks was originally made from a poem by Dionýsios Solomós in 1823 and has now become the longest anthem in terms of lyrics.
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