Remembrance Day (Sinhala: ජාතික රණවිරු සැමරුම් උළෙල Jāthika Raṇaviru Sæmarum Uḷela), also known as National War Heroes Commemoration Day, is a memorial day observed in Sri Lanka since the end of the Sri Lankan Civil War, which is observed to commemorate the war heroes which fought in the war and the civilians who were killed in the war from both sides. Remembrance Day is observed on 19 May, which marks the decisive victory of the Sri Lankan Army against the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the end of the Sri Lankan Civil War, on 18 May 2009. Celebrations are marked by speeches and a moment of silence. Initially, under President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the day was known as Victory Day and included a military parade, but in 2015 was renamed Remembrance Day by President Maithripala Sirisena. The memorial day occurs on the day after Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day, a similar memorial day celebrated by Sri Lankan Tamils to commemorate the Tamils who were killed during the final stages of the war.