On Independence Day, towns and villages across Madagascar hold parades. Children dress in school uniforms or in the colours of the flag and march together. There are concerts, sports matches, fireworks at night, and lots of cooking.
Schools spend the days before talking about what it means to be Malagasy. Children learn songs, paint pictures of the flag, and write little speeches about their country. Often, the youngest pupils put on a small play for their families.
A traditional Independence Day evening involves lanterns. Many children carry paper lanterns called 'arendrina' through the streets, some shaped like animals, stars, or houses. The streets glow softly in the warm June evening.
Across Madagascar, Independence Day is a moment to be proud of the country's identity - its languages, its music, its forests, its wildlife, its food. Children invite cousins, neighbours and grandparents over. Houses fill with the smell of romazava cooking.