- What is Children's Day?
- Origin of Children's Day
- When is Children's Day celebrated and why?
- Importance of Children's Day
- Phrases about childhood
- Ideas to celebrate Children's Day
We explain what Children's Day is, its origin and when it is celebrated. In addition, the principles of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.
What is Children's Day?
Children's Day or Universal Children's Day is an event celebrated in the world, which aims to celebrate the current achievements in the defense and protection of children, and at the same time to draw attention to the risks and suffering still suffered by the world's disadvantaged children. It is an international celebration, but celebrated in different ways and on different dates depending on the country and of the culture.
The fight for children's rights and for the protection of minors in the world occurs in very different ways depending on the geographic region and the economic status of each. It often develops in coordination with institutions international such as Unicef wave United Nations (UN).
Both organizations have set themselves the goal of offering future generations a more harmonious, safe and peaceful childhood, as a way of guaranteeing happier, more stable and healthier adults in the future. The celebration of Universal Children's Day makes these efforts visible.
According to the UN, this date should serve to promote compliance with the 10 beginning principles of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child approved on November 20, 1959, which are:
- principle first. All children must enjoy without exception the rights set forth.
- second principle. Children must have the conditions, services, opportunities and laws necessary for your developing Y increase optimal, in freedom Y dignity.
- Third principle. Every child has the right from the day of his birth to a name, a identity and one nationality.
- fourth principle. Every child should enjoy the benefits of social, medical and educational security.
- Fifth principle. Every child who suffers from some type of physical, social or mental handicap must receive the necessary help to deal with it in a positive way that does not impede her development as an individual.
- Sixth principle. Every child requires love and understanding for her full development as an individual. In the case of homeless children, the Condition must ensure that they are granted the necessary conditions for proper personal development.
- Seventh principle. Every child has the need and the right to receive a education formally and freely exercise their creativity, or to practice physical exercise and sports.
- eighth principle. Children should be the first individuals to receive protection and relief in the event of disasters or dangers.
- Ninth principle. Every child must be protected by the society of abandonment, exploitation and cruelty, and child labor must be punished and prosecuted.
- tenth principle. Every child should be educated in the principles of peace, the tolerance, the respect and the fraternity universal, free prejudices and practices discriminatory.
Origin of Children's Day
The celebration of Children's Day is the product of the growing concern for the defense of childhood that arose after the First World War, which caused non-governmental organizations such as Save the Children and the International Red Cross promoted the first declaration of children's rights in history.
This declaration was presented to the League of Nations, the forerunner of the current UN, and on September 26, 1924, it was part of the Geneva Declaration on the Rights of Children, where the creation of International Children's Day was proposed. , event that would be celebrated on June 2 of each year.
However, the League of Nations was an organization that was not very effective in its international representation, so that once again UNICEF and the Organization of American States drafted a Declaration of Universal Principles for the Child in 1952, which urged the member countries to elect a day to celebrate childhood and infancy, and raise awareness about the efforts needed to defend them.
Two years later, the UN did the same with its member countries, by decision of the General Assembly. This organization finally approved the Declaration of the Principles of the Child in 1959, giving a formal and global character to the event, but leaving each nation to choose its best date for Children's Day.
When is Children's Day celebrated and why?
Children's Day is celebrated on different dates depending on the country or the international organization in charge of promoting it. Thus, for example, the UN celebrates November 20 as Universal Children's Day, since on that date, but in 1959, the Declaration of the Rights of the Child was approved for the first time in the General Assembly of this multilateral organization.
Instead, many countries celebrate it on different dates, such as, for example:
- Germany. International Children's Day (Internationaler Kindertag) is celebrated on June 1, although in some cities, such as Berlin, World Children's Day is also celebrated (Weltkindertag) November 20th.
- Argentina. Children's Day has been celebrated since 1960 during the month of August, but its exact day has changed over time from the 1st Sunday of the month to the second in 2003 and then to the 3rd Sunday of the month in 2013.The local toy market has a great impact on the management of the celebration date.
- Australia. Children's Day (Children's Day) has been celebrated since 1977 every 4th Wednesday of the month of October. Initially, this event was linked to sick children and child welfare institutions, but since 1985 it was consecrated as a national event by the Australian Congress.
- Brazil. Children's Day (World Children's Day) has been celebrated on October 12 since 1924, but has had a notorious national relevance since 1960, due to the commercial impact that this date has on the industry toy store.
- China. Children's Day (儿童节) has been celebrated every June 1 since 1950, and since 2007 it is also a day off for all citizens under the age of 14.
- Spain. Children's Day is celebrated in almost the entire country on April 15, except in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, which celebrates it on the second Sunday in May.
- Japan. Children's Day (こどもの日) is celebrated every May 5, a date that was formerly reserved for Boy's Day, since Girls' Day was celebrated separately every March 3.
- Mexico. Children's Day in Mexico has been celebrated since 1969 on April 30, and it is a particularly important day in the country's school agendas.
- Venezuela. Children's Day has been celebrated since 1990 on the 3rd Sunday of July, typically in parks and green areas that are used as a meeting and entertainment point.
Importance of Children's Day
Children's Day is an important symbol to remember that the protection of children is one of the pillars of the modern world. In fact, the concept Childhood is a modern concept, since in ancient times children had to work and respond to society in the same or similar way as adults.
For this reason, celebrating Children's Day serves to remember the great achievements made in this area and the enormous work that remains to be done in the world, since child labor and exploitation, as well as family and domestic abuse, have not yet been eradicated.
On the other hand, this celebration usually has an important commercial impact in the toy industries, and its celebration is often stimulated by intense promotional campaigns. With this, unfortunately, there is also the risk of trivializing the event and forgetting the important message that underlies it.
Phrases about childhood
Some famous phrases about childhood and the importance of children are:
- “Educate children and you will not have to punish men” – Pythagoras (c. 569-475 BC), Ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician.
- "Before you punish a child, make sure you are not the cause of his mistakes" - Austin O'Malley (1858-1932), American professor of literature.
- “In every child humanity is born” – Jacinto Benavente (1866-1954), Spanish playwright.
- “The wonderful thing about childhood is that everything is wonderful in it” – G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936), British writer and journalist.
- “All children are born artists; the problem is how to continue being artists when growing up” – Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), Cubist painter and sculptor.
- “All grown-ups were children at first, although few of them remember it” – Antoine de Saint Exupéry (1900-1944), French aviator and writer.
- “Children are the world's most important resource and the best hope for the future” – John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963), US president.
Ideas to celebrate Children's Day
The following are five simple ideas to celebrate Children's Day:
- plan a day of games of table Whether at home or in an outdoor setting, it's possible to play a few rounds of your favorite board games, and pair them with some fun foods.
- run a marathon cinema at home. see everything in a row The Lord of the rings, all Harry Potter or some other film saga that children are fans of.
- Plan a picnic in the park. Settling down the whole day in a pleasant and safe park, in the healthy company of some balls, toys and the house dog, to spend an afternoon of sports.
- Play treasure hunt. Something similar to the tradition of the Easter egg hunt: the gifts are hidden in different parts of the house and the children are given a series of coded clues that they can decipher to find them.
- An afternoon of video games with mom or dad. Buying a new video game and playing it with your child can be a beautiful plan for an entire afternoon.