The Day of the Sun (Korean: 태양절; MR: T'aeyang-jŏl) is an annual public holiday in North Korea on 15 April, the birth anniversary of Kim Il-sung, founder and Eternal President of North Korea.[5] It is the most important national holiday in the country,[6] and is considered to be the North Korean equivalent of Christmas.[3] Kim's birthday, which had been an official holiday since 1968, was renamed Day of the Sun in 1997, three years after his death. The name takes its significance from his name; Il-sung is Korean for "become the Sun".