Switzerland debates having National day celebration on Federer's 40th Birthday

An initiative to move Switzerland's national day celebration by one week to August 8th (Roger's 40th Birthday) has picked up steam in the Swiss parliament.

For many decades Roger Federer has been Switzerland's brightest export. The country known for stunning natural beauty and watches and chocolate has been represented on the world stage by Federer for close to 4 decades. Now an initiative to honour him even further has picked up steam in the Swiss parliament.

As reported by Blick, the countries biggest national newspaper, there is a debated ongoing on whether to postpone the National Day celebration by one week. The reason for the change would be to align the National Day celebration with Roger Federer's birthday.

This would not be the first time the Country has celebrated Federer in a grand manner. In 2007 he became the first living person to receive a Swiss stamp in their honor. He also received a 20-franc silver coin from Swissmint which is another rare honor.

The interesting fact is that Federer's birthday actually predates the National Day by 13 years. The celebration has been in place since 1899 but it has been an official National Day only since 1994. The Swiss maestro is currently preparing to resume playing after a short return at the Qatar Open last month.