Library of Congress

Capital: Addis Ababa. Major Cities: Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa, Nazret, Harer, Mekele, Jima, Dese, Bahir Dar, and Debre Zeyit (in order of decreasing size, 1994 census). Independence: Ethiopia celebrates May 28 as its National Day, the date of the defeat of the military government (Derg) in 1991. Public Holidays: Ethiopians observe the following public holidays: Christmas (January 7, 2005*); Epiphany (January 19, 2005*); Feast of the Sacrifice/Eid al Adha (January 21, 2005*); Battle of Adowa (March 2, 2005); Birth of the Prophet/Mouloud (April 21, 2005*); Good Friday (April 29, 2005*); May Day (May 1, 2005); Easter Monday (May 2, 2005*); Patriots' Victory Day (May 5, 2005); Downfall of the Derg (May 28, 2005); New Year's Day (September 11, 2005*); Feast of the True Cross (September 27, 2005*); End of Ramadan/Eid al Fitr (November 4, 2005*). Asterisks indicate holidays with variable dates according to either the Islamic or Orthodox calendar.

Capital: Bogot . Major Cities: According to the 2005 census, the four cities with more than 1 million population are: Bogot (4,300,000; Greater Bogot , 6,776, 009), Medell n (2,223,078), Cali (2,068,386), and Barranquilla (1,380,437). These cities are also the four major industrial centers. Independence: Colombia officially marks its independence from Spain on July 20, 1810, the date that criollo revolutionists established a ruling junta in the capital city of Santaf de Bogot . Public Holidays: A o Nuevo (New Year's Day) (January 1), D a de los Reyes Magos (Epiphany) (January 6*), D a de San Jos (St. Joseph's Day) (March 19*), Jueves Santo (Holy Thursday) and Viernes Santo (Holy Friday) (variable dates in March or April; in 2007: April 5 and April 6, respectively), Primero de Mayo (Labor Day) (May 1), Ascension Day (variable date; in 2007: May 17*), Corpus Christi (variable date; in 2007: June 7*), Sagrado Coraz n (Sacred Heart) (June 18*)...

Major Cities: Based on 2000 census data, the largest cities are the four centrally administered municipalities, which include dense urban areas, suburbs, and large rural areas: Chongqing (30.5 million), Shanghai (16.4 million), Beijing (13.5 million), and Tianjin (9.8 million). Other major cities are Wuhan (5.1 million), Shenyang (4.8 million), Guangzhou (3.8 million), Chengdu (3.2 million), Xi'an (3.1 million), and Changchun (3 million). China has 12 other cities with populations of between 2 million and 2.9 million and 20 or more other cities with populations of more than 1 million persons. Public Holidays: The official national holidays are New Year's Day (January 1); Spring Festival or Lunar New Year (movable dates-three days-in January and February), Labor Day (May 1), and National Day (two-day observance on October 1-2). Also commemorated are International Women's Day (March 8), Youth Day (May 4), Children's Day (June 1), Chinese Communist Party Founding Day (July 1), Army Day (August 1)

Formal Name: Republic of Bulgaria (Republika Bulgariya). Short Form: Bulgaria. Term for Citizens(s): Bulgarian(s). Capital: Sofia. Other Major Cities (in order of population): Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, Ruse, Stara Zagora, Pleven, and Sliven. Independence: Bulgaria recognizes its independence day as September 22, 1908, when the Kingdom of Bulgaria declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire. Public Holidays: Bulgaria celebrates the following national holidays: New Year's (January 1); National Day (March 3); Orthodox Easter (variable date in April or early May); Labor Day (May 1); St. George's Day or Army Day (May 6); Education Day (May 24); Unification Day (September 6); Independence Day (September 22); Leaders of the Bulgarian Revival Day (November 1); and Christmas (December 24-26).

Formal Name: Republic of Bolivia (Republica de Bolivia). Short Form: Bolivia. Term for Citizen(s): Bolivian(s). Capitals: La Paz (executive) and Sucre (judicial). Major Cities: Santa Cruz (1.3 million inhabitants), Cochabamba (900,000), El Alto (830,000), La Paz (810,000), and Sucre (225,000), according to 2005 projections. Independence: Led by "El Libertador," Simon Bolivar Palacios, Bolivia gained complete independence from Spanish and Peruvian control in 1825. Despite nearly 200 coups and counter-coups, Bolivia has maintained its autonomy since independence. Public Holidays: The following are Bolivia's federal holidays: New Year's Day (January 1), Carnival (two days, variable dates in February or March), Good Friday (variable date in March or April), Labor Day (May 1), Corpus Christi (variable date in May or June), Independence Day (August 6), All Saints' Day (November 1), Christmas (December 25). Each of Bolivia's nine departments also has a holiday celebrating its inception.

Formal Name: Commonwealth of Australia. Short Form: Australia. Term for Citizen(s): Australian(s). Capital: Canberra. Major Cities: In order of size, the largest cities in Australia are Sydney (4.2 million), Melbourne (3.6 million), Brisbane (1.7 million), Perth (1.4 million), and Canberra (323,000). Independence: The British colonies of Australia were federated and the Commonwealth of Australia established on January 1, 1901.

Formal Name: People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (Al Jumhuriyah al Jazairiyah ad Dimuqratiyah ash Shabiyah). Short Form: Algeria (Al Jazair). Term for Citizen(s): Algerian(s). Capital: Algiers, with a population of about 1.7 million, or 3 million including suburbs, in 2004. Major Cities: After Algiers, the most populous cities are Oran, Constantine, and Annaba. According to 2004 estimates, Oran has a population of 700,000; Constantine, 350,000; and Annaba, 235,000. Independence: Algeria celebrates independence from France on July 5, 1962.

Formal Name: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Dowlate EslamiyeAfghanestan). Short Form: Afghanistan. Term for Citizen(s): Afghan(s). Capital: Kabul. Major Cities: Herat (Hirat), Jalalabad, Kandahar (Qandahar), Kondoz (Kunduz), and Mazare Sharif. Independence: Afghanistan recognizes its independence day as August 19, the date in 1919 when the country became fully independent of British rule.

Swedish American studies, including local history and genealogy, are among the best documented immigrant studies in the United States. This is the result of the Swedish genius for documenting almost every aspect of life from birth to death. They have, in fact, created and retained documents that Americans would never think of looking for, such as certificates of change of employment, of change of address, military records relating whether a soldier's horse was properly equipped, and more common events such as marriage, emigration, and death. When immigrants arrived in the United States and found that they were not bound to the single state religion into which they had been born, the Swedish church split into many denominations that emphasized one or another aspect of religion and culture. Some required children to study the mother tongue in Saturday classes, others did not. Some, more liberal than European Swedish Lutheranism, permitted freedom of religion in the new country and even allowed sects to flourish that had been banned in Sweden. Amidst all these schisms the Augustana Synod in Rock Island, Illinois, remained the largest and most influential, the church that produced the most books and founded Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. In this city, and associated with the college, the Swenson Center is a repository of Swedish culture in America and a source of documents for genealogists (see more about this below). Most immigrants adjusted well and became Americans proud of their Swedish descent. Many have contributed significantly to the betterment of the country. Two phenomena, however, differentiate Swedish-American studies from those of other immigrant groups. First, there arose a "Swedish America," which was not entirely of either country. It was characterized by societies designed to keep immigrants together, and sometimes to isolate them from American influence. Swedish-language magazines and books were published, and immigrants were encouraged to live in communities of their own kind, partly to form mutual-aid societies, partly to prevent assimilation. Thus arose Swedish cities such as Lindsborg in Kansas (where the local college still presents a yearly musical performance of great beauty), Bishops Hill in Illinois, and Chisago Lake in Minnesota. In the great Chicago fire of 1871, the southern part of the city, dubbed "Swedetown" by other Chicagoans, was the first to burn, and approximately 200,000 Swedish immigrants were rendered homeless. Swedish America has generated many written records of inestimable value to the genealogist. As early as the 1840s, Swedish journalists and writers toured American Swedish communities to gauge the extent to which the mother culture was being preserved. Some were sympathetic, others were acerbically critical, but all of their writings shed light on Swedish American local history. The second phenomenon is the rise of a literary genre that expressed distaste for the new country. Although published almost entirely in Sweden rather than in America by immigrants, this genre began early and extended at least until 1996. It presents the United States as an inhospitable country to which emigration should be discouraged. While it is not a major factor in Swedish American local history, it is a sufficiently important phenomenon to include here; this compiler has not seen its like for any other immigrant group represented on the shelves of the Library of Congress. It is indeed striking that some Swedish immigrants took offense at American individualism and informality from the moment they set foot on American soil, and some never grew accustomed to it. Being a highly literate people, they expressed their feelings in published works (see Benzendal, Johansson, and Kremer below for examples). Austin and Daun below, both of them Swedes writing for Swedes, discuss Swedish thought and possible causes for this attitude.