Why is Children's Day Celebrated

Children's Day is a day that commemorates the rights of the child. It is celebrated every year all over the world and in different parts of the world it is celebrated on a different day. What is the history of Children's Day and why do we celebrate it in the first place?

For the first time, Children's Day was officially declared a national holiday on April 23, 1920 in Turkey during the Civil War. On the same day, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey was established. Its founder and later the first president of the newly formed Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, dedicated this day to all the children of the world to emphasize that they are the future of humanity.^[1]

International Children's Day was first proclaimed on June 1, 1925 in Geneva, Switzerland, during the World Conference on the Welfare of Children. However, the announcement did not meet with sufficient response. Twenty-four years later, in Paris, the International Democratic Federation of Women declared Day for the Protection of Children and set a date for the celebrations for 1 June. This day was celebrated the following year by several countries, especially communists, and are still celebrated in this form to this day.^[2]

The UN declared World Children's Day in 1954 and recommended that all states unify the date of the celebrations. The date was set for November 20. On this day, the UN adopted the Declaration on the Rights of the Child in 1959 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989.^[3]

Some states have decided to follow the UN recommendation and celebrate Children's Day on November 20, some states have already celebrated June 1 and have continued with that date. Some countries, such as Slovenia, celebrate both days. However, many states celebrate Children's Day in a bunch of different days.^[4]

Children are a very vulnerable group in our society. The reasons for starting a children's day can be joyful, but also sad. Children suffer in war conflicts, modern-day slavery, famine, domestic violence, abductions, dangers on the Internet, bullying. On the other hand, they are our future and deserve to be heard. They deserve the whole world to look at them for at least one day a year and think about how to make their lives one step more pleasant and joyful.