History from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_Day 6/02/2019 blocked in China but needed for this conversation.
Children’s Day began on the second Sunday of June in 1857 by Reverend Dr. Charles Leonard, pastor of the Universalist Church of the Redeemer in Chelsea, Massachusetts: Leonard held a special service dedicated to, and for the children. Leonard named the day Rose Day, though it was later named Flower Sunday, and then named Children’s Day.[1][2][3]
Children’s Day was first officially declared a national holiday by the Republic of Turkey in 1920 with the set date of 23 April. Children’s Day has been celebrated nationally since 1920 with the government and the newspapers of the time declaring it a day for the children. However, it was decided that an official confirmation was needed to clarify and justify this celebration and the official declaration was made nationally in 1931 by the founder and the President of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.[4][5][6]
The International Day for Protection of Children is observed in many countries as Children’s Day on 1 June since 1950. It was established by the Women’s International Democratic Federation on its congress in Moscow (4 November 1949).[citation needed] Major global variants include a Universal Children’s Holiday on 20 November, by United Nations recommendation.[7]
Even though Children’s Day is celebrated globally by most of the countries in the world (almost 50) on 1 June, Universal Children’s Day takes place annually on 20 November.[8] First proclaimed by the United Kingdom in 1954, it was established to encourage all countries to institute a day, firstly to promote mutual exchange and understanding among children and secondly to initiate action to benefit and promote the welfare of the world’s children.
That is observed to promote the objectives outlined in the Charter and for the welfare of children. On 20 November 1959, the United Nations adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.[9] The United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 20 November 1989 and can be found on the Council of Europe website.[10]
In 2000, the Millennium Development Goals outlined by world leaders to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015. Albeit this applies to all people, the primary objective is concerning children.[9] UNICEF is dedicated to meeting the six of eight goals that apply to the needs of children so that they are all entitled to fundamental rights written in the 1989 international human rights treaty.[11] UNICEF delivers vaccines, works with policymakers for good health care and education and works exclusively to help children and protect their rights.[11]
In September 2012, the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations led the initiative for the education of children.[12] He firstly wants every child to be able to attend school, a goal by 2015.[12] Secondly, to improve the skill set acquired in these schools.[12] Finally, implementing policies regarding education to promote peace, respect, and environmental concern.[12] Universal Children’s Day is not just a day to celebrate children for who they are, but to bring awareness to children around the globe that have experienced violence in forms of abuse, exploitation, and discrimination. Children are used as laborers in some countries, immersed in armed conflict, living on the streets, suffering by differences be it religion, minority issues, or disabilities.[13] Children feeling the effects of war can be displaced because of the armed conflict and may suffer physical and psychological trauma.[14] The following violations are described in the term “children and armed conflict”: recruitment and child soldiers, killing/maiming of children, abduction of children, attacks on schools/hospitals and not allowing humanitarian access to children.[14] Currently, there are about 153 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 who are forced into child labor.[15] The International Labour Organization in 1999 adopted the Prohibition and Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour including slavery, child prostitution, and child pornography.[15]
A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child can be found on the UNICEF website.[16]
Canada co-chaired the World Summit for children in 1990, and in 2002 the United Nations reaffirmed the commitment to complete the agenda of the 1990 World Summit. This added to the UN Secretary-General’s report We the Children: End-of Decade review of the follow-up to the World Summit for Children.[17]
The United Nations children’s agency released a study[18] referencing the population increase of children will make up 90 percent of the next billion people.[19]
The officially recognized date of Children’s Day varies from country to country. This section lists some significant examples, in order of date of observance.
| Gregorian calendar | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Occurrence | Dates | Countries and regions | ||||
| First Friday of January | Jan 5, 2018 Jan 4, 2019 Jan 3, 2020 | Bahamas | ||||
| 11 January | Tunisia | |||||
| Second Saturday of January |
Jan 13, 2018 Jan 12, 2019 Jan 11, 2020 | Thailand | ||||
| Second Sunday of February |
Feb 11, 2018 Feb 10, 2019 Feb 9, 2020 | Cook Islands Nauru Niue Tokelau Cayman Islands | ||||
| 13 February | Myanmar | |||||
| First Sunday of March |
March 4, 2018 March 3, 2019 March 1, 2020 | New Zealand | ||||
| 17 March | Bangladesh | |||||
| 4 April | Taiwan Hong Kong | |||||
| 5 April | Palestine | |||||
| 12 April | Bolivia Haiti | |||||
| Last Saturday of April[20] |
Apr 28, 2018 Apr 27, 2019 Apr 25, 2020 | Colombia | ||||
| 23 April | National Sovereignty and Children’s Day | Turkey | ||||
| 30 April | Mexico | |||||
| 5 May | 5 May | South Korea Japan | ||||
| Second Sunday of May |
May 13, 2018 May 12, 2019 May 10, 2020 | Spain United Kingdom | ||||
| 10 May | Maldives | |||||
| 17 May | Norway | |||||
| 27 May | Nigeria | |||||
| Last Sunday of May |
May 27, 2018 May 26, 2019 May 31, 2020 | Hungary | ||||
| Ascension Day |
May 10, 2018 May 30, 2019 May 21, 2020 | American Samoa Falkland Islands Solomon Islands | ||||
| 1 June | Albania Algeria Angola Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Benin Bulgaria Bosnia and Herzegovina | People’s Republic of China Cambodia Czechia East Timor Ecuador Estonia Ethiopia Georgia | Guinea-Bissau Kazakhstan Kosovo Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lithuania Macau | Moldova Mongolia Montenegro Mozambique Myanmar Nicaragua North Korea North Macedonia Poland | Portugal Romania Russia São Tomé and Príncipe Serbia Slovakia Slovenia | Tajikistan Tanzania Turkmenistan Ukraine Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen |
| Second Sunday of June |
Jun 10, 2018 Jun 9, 2019 Jun 14, 2020 | United States | ||||
| 25 June | 25 Jun 2012 20 Oct 2013 19 Oct 2014 19 Oct 15~17 | Syria | ||||
| 1 July | Pakistan | |||||
| Third Sunday of July |
Jul 15, 2018 Jul 21, 2019 Jul 19, 2020 | Cuba Panama Venezuela | ||||
| 23 July[21] | Indonesia | |||||
| 29 July | Colombia | |||||
| First Sunday of August |
Aug 5, 2018 Aug 4, 2019 Aug 2, 2020 | Uruguay[citation needed] | ||||
| 16 August | Paraguay | |||||
| Third Sunday of August |
Aug 19, 2018 Aug 18, 2019 Aug 16, 2020 | Argentina Peru | ||||
| 9 September | Costa Rica | |||||
| 10 September | Honduras | |||||
| Bhadra 29 | 14 Sept 15 Sept(leap year) | Nepal | ||||
| 20 September | Austria Germany | |||||
| 25 September | Netherlands (Oosterhout) | |||||
| 1 October | El Salvador Guatemala Sri Lanka | |||||
| First Friday of October |
Oct 5, 2018 Oct 4, 2019 Oct 2, 2020 | Singapore | ||||
|
First Wednesday of October (Children’s Day recognition and assignation) Second Sunday of August (Children’s Day observance) |
Oct 3, 2018 Oct 2, 2019 Oct 7, 2020 | Chile | ||||
| 8 October | Iran | |||||
| 12 October | Brazil | |||||
| Fourth Saturday of October |
Oct 27, 2018 Oct 26, 2019 Oct 24, 2020 | Malaysia | ||||
| Fourth Wednesday of October |
Oct 19 – Oct 28, 2018 Oct 18 – Oct 27, 2019 Oct 16 – Oct 25, 2020 Celebrated as National Children’s Week | Australia | ||||
| First Saturday of November |
Nov 3, 2018 Nov 2, 2019 Nov 7, 2020 | South Africa | ||||
| 11 November | Croatia | |||||
| 14 November | India | |||||
| 20 November | Arab World Azerbaijan Canada Croatia Cyprus Egypt Ethiopia Finland France Greece Ireland Israel | Kenya Malaysia Netherlands North Macedonia Philippines Serbia Slovenia South Africa Spain Sweden Switzerland United Arab Emirates Trinidad and Tobago | ||||
| 5 December | Suriname | |||||
| 23 December | South Sudan Sudan | |||||
| 25 December | Congo Congo DR Cameroon | Equatorial Guinea Gabon Chad Central African Republic |
