Comrade, remember when you were a child, and you used to ask the adults in your life: "There's a Mother's Day, and there's a Father's Day, how come there's no Children's Day?"
And do you remember what they used to tell us? "Every day is Children's Day!" they said. And then they laughed and changed the subject.
Well, it turns out, Comrade, that this was just another example of capitalist propaganda infiltrating every aspect of our childhood. Because there really is an identifiable Children's Day, it's just that the capitalist countries have always refused to recognize it.
In 1925, International Children's Day was first proclaimed in Geneva during the World Conference on Child Welfare. Since 1950, it is celebrated on June 1 in most Communist and post-Communist countries.[1]
Well, there you have it! And happy Children's Day to all the children here in Vietnam!
PS--There's also a Children's Day in Japan, which is on May 5. I don't believe the Japanese Children's Day has any connection to International Communism though. In Japan, Children's Day is part of the infamous "Golden Week" string of public holidays, and so my memory of Japan is that the individual holidays that make up Golden Week kind of get forgotten about in the mad rush to go out and make the most of the week-long public holiday.
My memories must be pretty bad or not a lot of things happen during this day, if not to say nothing happen at all. Maybe there are more kids oriented TV programmes (not like I could have enjoyed them, as well as kids of my age at that time who prefer watching chinese wuxias on TV but I lived in a rural place and only got access to VTVs - national channels from Hanoi - still). Not having seen a hanging banner today I wouldn't have even remembered it.
ReplyDeleteThere's another occasion that is also considered to be a day for children which is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_Festival. And kids get to play more in that day. If one's parents are generous they may get you a lantern so you can place a candle inside it bringing them with your young family members and/or friends going around the rural town. I still remember myself awkwardly standing behind with the parents by the motorcycles parking lot instead of joining the other kids playing games due to shyness, in a public games occasion held by local people's committee, mainly clapping and such. My mom also bought "bánh trung thu" (Mid-Autumn Cake would be a translation?) every time this day comes.
Kinda weird the officially acknowledged day offers kids much less than one traditional day.
Ah, interesting. I had thought this day was when kids got all kinds of present and treats. Interesting that it's just another empty holiday.
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