Social cohesion is one of the priority strategies of the modern state, which requires development of a supra-ethnic civic identity. National holidays performs a role of a certain marker of civic participation, civil identity. The article analyzes the empirical material that allows us to outline the trends in the perception of Chisinau urbanites of the two main national holidays – Independence Day of the Republic of Moldova and Our Language Day (Limba noastră). The results showed a lack of a coherent attitude towards these holidays due to the contradictory nature of their basic message. The majority of respondents perceive them as simple days off. The rest distinguish between their meaning and format of performance. According to the respondents, the semantic content, in their opinion, very rarely corresponds to the declared one; they more often speak about the formal nature of the holidays. As for the format of the event, the positive aspects are the handicraft fair and the opportunity to spend some interesting time in the city center. Among the negative ones are large crowds of people and noise. This contradictory perception of national holidays may characterize young states with a short political history and the cumulative complexity of the transition period. Nevertheless, the development of civil identity requires presence of shared and integrative narratives about the past and the future of the country and a common identity construct to be reflected in celebration protocols.