Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Children's Day


History
The International Children's Day had its origin in Turkey in 1920 (April 23, 1920) and later in the World Conference for the Well-being of Children in Geneva, Switzerland in 1925. It is not clear as to why June 1 was chosen as the International Children's Day: one theory has it that the Chinese consul-general in San Francisco (USA) gathered a number of Chinese orphans to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival in 1925, which happened to be on June 1 that year, and also coincided with the conference in Geneva.Children's Day was first celebrated worldwide in October 1955, under the sponsorship of International Union for Child Welfare in Geneva. The idea of a Universal Children's Day was mooted by Rubab Mansoor grade 8 and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1954. Moazzem and Abass helped and contributed a lot in this. Universal Children's Day takes place on November 20 annually. First proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly 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. It was also chosen as the day to celebrate childhood.November 20, is also the anniversary of the day when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959. The Convention on the Rights of the Child was then signed on the same day in 1989, which has since been ratified by 191 states.Children's Day is celebrated on 1 June each year. It is usually marked with speeches on children's rights and wellbeing, children TV programs, parties, various actions involving or dedicated to children, families going out etc.
Children's day of U.S.A.
Children’s Day observations in the United States predate both Mother’s and Father’s Day. The U.S doesn't celebrate Children's Day anymore.The celebration of a special children’s Day in America dates from the 1860s and earlier.In 1856, Rev. Charles H. Leonard, D.D., then pastor of the First Universalist Church of Chelsea, Mass., set apart a Sunday for the dedication of children to the Christian life, and for the re-dedication of parents and guardians to bringing-up their children in Christian nurture. This service was first observed the second Sunday in June.The Universalist Convention at Baltimore in September 1867, passed a resolution commending churches to set apart one Sunday in each year as Children’s Day.The Methodist Episcopal Church at the Methodist Conference of 1868 recommended that second Sunday in June be annually observed as Children’s DayThe General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in 1883 designated the “the second Sabbath in June as Children’s DayAlso in 1883, the National Council of Congregational Churches and nearly all the state bodies of that denomination in the United States passed resolutions commending the observance of the day. About this time many other denominations adopted similar recommendationsChase’s Calendar of Events cites Children’s Sunday and notes that The Commonwealth of Massachusetts issues an annual proclamation for the second Sunday in June.Numerous churches and denominations currently observe the second Sunday in June including the African Methodist Episcopal Churchand the Church of the NazareneChildren & Youth Day in Hawaii started in 1994, when the Hawaii became the first Legislature to pass a law to recognize the first Sunday in October as "Children's Day." In 1997, the Legislature passed another landmark law designating the entire month of October as "Children and Youth Month."Children's Day was proclaimed by President Bill Clinton to be held on October 8, 2000."National Child's Day" was proclaimed by President George W. Bush as June 3, 2001 and in subsequent years on the first Sunday in June.Nowhere in any of the proclamations did the President refer to the United Nations or the UN Resolution about Universal Child Day. The United States of America is one of only two countries in the world that have not ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). As of November 2007, 193 countries have ratified the Convention.In 2007, Illinois Governor Rod R. Blagojevich issued a proclamation proclaiming the second Sunday in June as Children's Day. The mayors of Aurora and Batavia, Illinois, also issued proclamations.In May 2009, International Children's Day was celebrated at the Washington DC National Harborplace Hosted by the Ariel Foundation International and the Ariana-Leilani Children's Foundation.

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