While holidays have a local history and flavor, many countries share international holidays, commemorating essential parts of history and culture. While commemorating these international holidays and observances can take the form of parades and events, their celebrations and commemorations can also be more straightforward but no less memorable, like giving away handcrafted items with sterling silver charms. Today’s feature will look at well-known (and lesser-known) international holidays and observances this year and why they matter to different peoples and communities.
International Programmer’s Day
Programmers are greeted with encouraging words like “Happy Programmer’s Day” in various work contexts on this day. Social media and online forums also feature discussions on the celebration among the programming community. The first annual celebration of International Programmers’ Day took place in 2007. Numerous nations observe this day. Many people celebrate International Programmers’ Day on the 256th day of the year because 256 is the maximum power of 2, below three hundred and sixty-five. Unfortunately, “256” is the number of distinct values a machine can express via an 8-bit byte.
Earth Hour
Earth Hour is a worldwide climate change program organized by WWF (previously known as World Wildlife Fund). This event is meant to raise consciousness about the importance of individual action in pursuing a more sustainable future. It’s important to distinguish between Earth Day and Earth Hour.
Earth Hour occurs annually on the last Saturday of March, and millions participate by switching off their lights at 8:30 p.m. (20:30) local time. During past Earth Hours, famous sites and structures across the globe went dark. Some people celebrate Earth Hour by having a candlelit supper or a relaxing bath, while others throw elaborate parties in the dark or with candles.
Participants in Earth Hour include not just individuals, businesses, government agencies, and civic and political leaders. A sustainable low-carbon future for Earth is about giving everyone a say in that future and working together to make it a reality.
In 2007, Sydney, Australia, became the birthplace of Earth Hour. During this event that year, 2.2 million homes and businesses participated by going dark for an hour to show their opposition to climate change. Over 50 million individuals in 35 countries participated in Earth Hour in 2008, making it a global ecological movement. In honor of Earth Hour, famous buildings and structures worldwide went dark. Hundreds of millions of people celebrated the third Earth Hour in March of 2009.
The World Wildlife Fund is a group that hosts an annual event called Earth Hour to halt the deterioration of Earth’s natural environment. It’s also about creating a future where humans can coexist peacefully with the natural world.
World Religion Day
World Religion Day is observed yearly on the third Sunday of January. In 1950, the Baha’i community in the United States founded the National Spiritual Assembly to foster religious harmony. To mark the occasion, many groups host interfaith events where religious figures from other traditions can exchange ideas and insights.
People need to interact with those of diverse religious persuasions and learn about their beliefs. Since World Religion Day is not a federal holiday, higher education and government institutions are operating as usual.
Baha’i is a religion with its roots in 19th-century Iran. Its central tenets are the oneness of God, religion, and humanity. The Baha’i faith is based on the idea that all world religions share a common spiritual origin with Bahaism.
They also believe everyone is endowed with inherent worth, dignity, and rights at birth. In 1949, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States announced the establishment of World Religion Day in keeping with this philosophy. In 1950, people began celebrating this special day. Today, people of all faiths are encouraged to appreciate how similar their traditions are to one another on a spiritual level.
International Customs Day
International Customs Day (ICD) is celebrated annually on January 26 to honor the efforts of customs officers and organizations worldwide. The difficulties and hazards encountered by customs officials during their employment are the subjects of this article. To show their gratitude to their customs agents, customs agencies often host staff appreciation parties. Workshops, conferences, and presentations focusing on the year’s subject and the problems agencies and officers face are also held.
Several agencies also host public outreach events to educate the public about their roles and responsibilities. For example, the World Customs Organization (WCO) designated January 26 as International Customs Day to honor the first Customs Cooperation Council (CCC) meeting in Brussels, Belgium, in 1953. Seventeen different European countries were represented here. The CCC was renamed the World Customs Organization in 1994, and its membership has grown to include customs agencies from 179 different countries.
World Art Day
In 2019, the 40th session of UNESCO’s General Conference declared April 2 World Art Day, a holiday celebrating the spread, appreciation, and creation of visual and performing arts.
The arts play a vital role in the dissemination of information and the promotion of inquiry and discussion among people all over the world. These characteristics are inherent to art and will remain as long as we foster communities that value and preserve the creative process. Moreover, improving our artistic prowess strengthens our ability to create a more just and peaceful world.
World Art Day is celebrated annually on April 15 to emphasize the importance of artists to sustainable development, increase appreciation for the diversity of artistic expression, and strengthen the bonds between art and society. In addition, culture may pave the path for inclusive and fair education. Thus, this is also an opportunity to highlight arts education in schools.
UNESCO urges everyone to participate in the many discussions, conferences, seminars, cultural events, and presentations or exhibitions planned in honor of World Art Day.
World Day of the Sick
Today, people worldwide pause to thank God for the health professionals who dedicate their lives to easing the suffering of the sick and to pray for those who are ill. Today, religious groups worldwide focus on helping those who are ill in material and spiritual ways. Businesses, schools, and government buildings are all open as usual on World Day of the Sick because it is not a federal holiday.
Initiated in 1992 by Pope John Paul II, the day serves as a reminder to pray for the sick and those who tend to them. The Pope’s diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease the previous year, in 1990, is widely believed to have inspired the choice.
On February 11, 1993, the first World Day of the Sick was held. In celebration of the alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary to a little girl named Bernadette Soubirous in and around the town of Lourdes, France, on February 11, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. Eventually, the Catholic Church recognized Bernadette as a saint. On this day in 2013, Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation from the papacy. His health, he said, was the deciding factor.
April Fool’s Day
In many parts of the world, April 1 is an annual day for pranks. For example, children may play one of the easiest April Fools’ Day jokes by telling each other that their shoelaces are undone and then yelling “April Fools!” when the targets look down at their feet. The following are examples of media-disseminated April Fool’s Day jokes:
The British grocery retailer Tesco advertised a GMO ‘whistling carrot’ in 2002 in the newspaper The Sun. The commercial claimed that the carrots were intended to grow with tapering air openings on their side. The ad states that the whistles will come from these holes when the carrot is cooked.
In the early sixties, the news reported that viewers might instantly enjoy color reception by pulling a nylon stocking over the television screen.
In 1934, a photograph depicting a man soaring through the air on a gadget propelled only by his breath was published in numerous American newspapers, including The New York Times. Articles in the package gushed over the revolutionary new device it accompanied.
The origin of April Fool’s Day is a topic of much speculation. One theory attributes the phenomenon to the simultaneous spread of the Julian and Gregorian calendars. However, since ancient times, New Year’s Day has been observed around the vernal equinox in several parts of Europe.
Those who failed to adapt to the new norms were the targets of many jokes at their expense. Pranksters might, for instance, covertly attach paper fish to their backs as a practical joke. French speakers who fell for this joke were dubbed “April Fish” (Poisson d’Avril).
The biblical figure Noah is sometimes cited as the original “April Fool” in another theory about the holiday’s beginnings. On April 1, legend has it that he sent the dove searching for land before the tide had fully receded.
According to an alternate narrative, Jesus was shuttled between Pontius Pilate and Herod on this day. An old expression that means “sending a man from Pilate to Herod” describes sending someone on a mission doomed to fail.
Pranks and practical jokes have been around since Roman times. Around the time of the March equinox, ancient Romans and Celts observed a festival of slapstick and pranks.
The Roman mythology states that Pluto kidnapped Proserpina and took her to the underworld. Ceres, her mother, heard her daughter’s voice echo and looked everywhere for her, but she was nowhere to be found. Some people think that this failed search inspired “fool’s errands,” a type of practical joke in which someone is sent on a mission to accomplish something that doesn’t exist. The town of Gotham, Nottinghamshire, is associated with April 1 in the British tradition. The tale claims that each path the king stepped on in the 13th century automatically became public. When the people of Gotham discovered that King John intended to pass through their town, they refused him access because they didn’t want to risk losing their main thoroughfare. The news reached the monarch, who promptly dispatched troops to the city. However, when the troops got to Gotham, they saw a city full of knaves occupied in idiotic pursuits like drowning fish. The king concluded that this stupidity was not worth punishing the city.
World Heart Day
World Heart Day is an annual international awareness day on September 29, organized by the World Heart Foundation to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease. The day’s goal is to raise awareness of the importance of cardiovascular disease prevention. Fun runs, public discussions, concerts, and sporting events are just some of the ways that governments and NGOs alike celebrate and promote World Heart Day. The World Heart Federation has coordinated campaigns in over a hundred nations.
Cardiovascular illnesses are expected to remain the leading cause of mortality worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. In 2005, cardiovascular disease was responsible for approximately 17.5 million fatalities, or 30% of all deaths worldwide. Increased blood pressure, cholesterol, or glucose levels are all potential risk factors for cardiovascular disease and stroke.
- Smoking.
- Low vegetable and fruit consumption.
- Obesity.
Stroke and heart disease are the major causes of death worldwide, and World Heart Day was established to raise awareness of this fact. The World Health Organization (WHO) and other groups work with the World Heart Federation to promote the message that reducing the critical risk factors for heart disease and stroke—smoking, poor nutrition, and lack of exercise—could save at least 80% of premature deaths from these diseases. The first annual World Heart Day was celebrated on the last Sunday of September 1999.
World Cancer Day
Today, people from all walks of life, as well as corporations, governments, and nonprofits, come together to educate the public about cancer and the various ways it can manifest. Among the many events and activities available are:
Ads and articles on TV, radio, the internet, and print media highlight efforts to combat cancer.
A nationwide effort should be aimed at parents to help them reduce their children’s exposure to cancer.
Fundraising breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for cancer research and other anti-cancer initiatives. Keynote speakers and video presentations are standard features of these gatherings.
Cancer awareness, prevention, risk reduction, treatment information packs, fact sheets, books, posters, and other items are available at public information booths.
Some nations use World Cancer Day to raise awareness about various forms of the disease, including breast cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, and childhood cancer. Awareness and prevention of harm are significant themes.
On this day, the UN, WHO, and associated health authorities collaborate with groups like the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) to raise awareness about cancer and encourage action to reduce its prevalence worldwide. The importance of cancer prevention and improving cancer patients’ quality of life has been consistent throughout the years. While every country observes World Cancer Day on February 4, it is not a national holiday.
According to the World Health Organization, 84 million people will die from cancer between 2005 and 2015 if nothing is done to prevent it. Cancer strikes low- and middle-income nations more severely than those with more resources. The increasing prevalence of cancer worldwide demands immediate attention and the development of efficient prevention strategies.
In response to the Charter of Paris, approved at the World Summit Against Cancer for the New Millennium on February 4, 2000, World Cancer Day is celebrated annually on February 4. It urged researchers, healthcare providers, patients, governments, corporate partners, and the media to band together in the battle against cancer.
February 4 is celebrated annually as World Cancer Day, thanks to the Charter of Paris. World Cancer Day is organized internationally by UICC. It has a wide range of partners and organizations backing it up, including the WHO and the IAEA, on the global stage. In 2006, UICC established the first-ever World Cancer Day.
Various cancer-specific icons are used to raise awareness and funds for research. For example, the pink ribbon is widely recognized as representing the fight against breast cancer, while the orange ribbon represents the fight against childhood cancer. The daffodil is another emblem of hope, representing the American Cancer Society’s vision of a world in which cancer is eradicated as a major cause of death.
