The third installment in my “Interesting Facts…” series comes from the country of Honduras. While I didn’t get to spend a lot of time in Honduras this past summer, I definitely enjoyed myself during my stay and would love to go back one day. So, without any further ado, here are 7 interesting facts about the country of Honduras.
1. Honduras was formerly known as Spanish Honduras in order to differentiate itself from Belize, which was previously known (see Belize post) as British Honduras. (source)
2. Honduras was originally neutral during World War II but after the bombing of pearl harbor they joined the side of the allies. They declared war on Japan on December 8th, 1941 and on Germany and Italy on December 13th, 1941. Honduras never sent troops to aid in the war effort but were contributors of raw materials and other supplies to the allies. (source)
3. Hondurans are often referred to as Catrachos/Catrachas by other Central Americans. This term was created by NIcaraguans and comes from the name of a famous Honduran general named Florencio Xatruch. The name is considered to be a compliment and is not derogatory. (source1) (source2)
4. Dia del Nino, or Children’s Day, is celebrated on September 10th in Honduras. It is a day that celebrates children and consists of similar celebrations as Christmas and birthdays such as gifts and parties. (source1) (source2)
5. The Honduran flag has 3 equal stripes. The middle stripe is white and has five blue stars on it. These five stars represent the five states of the Central American Union (which I talk more about here on #7) and the middle star represents Honduras, with is geographic location in the middle of the five states.
6. A conflict between Honduras and El Salvador has become known as the Football (Soccer) war. In the 1960’s there were growing tensions between the two countries regarding border disputes. The Honduran president made a derogatory statement regarding the reason for economic problems in Honduras being the immigrants from El Salvador. The tension escalated even further when the two nations met in a three game elimination football match as a preliminary match for the World Cup. The El Salvadorian army launched an attack against Honduras. The war lasted roughly 100 hours. (source)
7. Honduras is roughly 112,000 square kilometers, making it the 102nd (out of 251) largest country in the world according to the CIA Factbook. It is ranked between Benin (101) and Liberia (103).
*note – This list contains many “countries” that are not recognized by the United Nations
Migrationology
Cool, interesting facts, I would love to visit sometime!
Scott @ Ordinary Traveler
Thanks for sharing. I never knew Belize was formerly know as British Honduras. Great fact!
inka
It’s always good to know facts about a country. I’ll go visit Honduras when I’m back in Miami at the end of this year. It’s so close from there.
Matt
I highly recommend it! And if you make it to Honduras, you’d be crazy not to head across the border to Guatemala as well!
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Cathy Sweeney
I’ve really appreciated your “interesting facts” series. It’s a nice way to learn some key aspects of places that I haven’t been or had much information about before. I like the flag pic and description, too. I’ve always found country flags to be totally cool for some reason.
Matt
Yea I’m excited for future posts in the series! Glad you found this stuff interesting!
Robin
Yet another article that does exactly what it says on the tin. Seven interesting facts promised and delivered 🙂
Katherine
hey i like the facts tht u put… its really interestin and there r some facts tht i didnt even kno of… and its really cool how i see pplz wantin to go to honduras….aka my homeland…. i really love my hondurian flagg i think u did a wonderful job..:)
Joey
I knew all of those facts exept 6 and 7. I also went to Honduras andm one time me and my family went scuba diving and we all saw some jelly fish and my sister freaked out and people were all watching thinking she was attacked by a shark.
Otkazaki
i like volcanos