3.8 International Women's Day is a festival for women all over the world. This day has been recognized by the United Nations and designated as a legal holiday in many countries. Women from all corners of the country can celebrate their festivals at the same time on this day, although they are divided by different national boundaries, races, languages, cultures, economies and politics. Let's look back on the struggle for equality, justice, peace and development 90 years ago.
International Women's Day is a witness that women create history, and the road for women to strive for equality with men is very long. In ancient Greece, Li Sist Ratt led women's struggle to stop the war; During the French Revolution, women in Paris shouted "freedom, equality and fraternity" and took to the streets of Versailles to fight for the right to vote.
On this day, regardless of nationality, race, language, culture, economy and political differences, women on all continents care about women's human rights. In recent decades, four global conferences of the United Nations have strengthened the international women's movement. With the development of the international women's movement, Women's Day has a global significance. These developments have made International Women's Day a day of unity and concerted efforts, demanding the restoration of women's rights and women's right to participate in political, economic and social life.
The origin of March 8 women's day
As for the origin of International Women's Day, most of the written records are as follows:1On March 8, 909, women workers in Chicago, USA held a grand demonstration to fight for equal rights in politics and economy. The following year, Clara Zetkin proposed to designate this day as International Women's Day at the Second International Socialist Women's Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. Thus, International Women's Day was born. In fact, the establishment of International Women's Day and the choice of celebration date are not only related to a specific historical event.
On March 8th, 1908, 1500 women marched in new york, demanding shorter working hours, higher pay, voting rights and prohibition of child labor. Their slogan is "bread and roses". Bread symbolizes economic security, while roses symbolize a better quality of life. In May, the American Socialist Party decided to take the last Sunday in February as the National Women's Day.
19 10, German sociologist Tsetkin suggested setting up a day as "International Women's Day" to commemorate the strike of American garment workers. The International Conference of Women Sociologists held in Copenhagen accepted this proposal, but no specific date was set.
19 17, Russian women called for a strike on February 23, demanding "bread and peace" to protest against the harsh working environment and food shortage. Julian calendar used in Russia is the last Sunday of every month, and the Gregorian calendar widely used in Europe is March 8.
How do other countries celebrate women's day
In Armenia, International Women's Day was abandoned after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Instead, it is the official festival of "Beauty and Motherhood" on April 7th, a national festival. This new festival was quickly welcomed by Armenians, because it is one of the main festivals to commemorate the Armenian church and deliver good news. However, people still celebrate International Women's Day on March 8th. The thematic public discussion in Armenia led to the recognition of the so-called "Women's Month", that is, the period from March 8 to April 7 of the two "Women's Days".
In Italy, to celebrate this day, men will give women yellow mimosa. Teresa Matei chose mimosa as the symbol of Italian International Women's Day because she felt that violets and lilies in the valley were too rare and expensive on this day, and they were effectively used as symbols of France. On March 8th, yellow mimosa and chocolate were also one of the most common gifts in Russia and Albania.
In many countries, such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Colombia, Estonia, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Russia and so on. Women will also receive gifts from their employers. Primary and secondary school students often bring gifts to female teachers. In countries like Portugal and Italy, women usually celebrate "women-only" dinners and parties on the evening of March 8.
Despite many cultural and religious restrictions, women working in the formal and informal sectors in Pakistan celebrate International Women's Day every year to commemorate their struggle for their legal rights. Some women use International Women's Day to help the feminist movement in society. For example, in Poland, every International Women's Day reports large-scale demonstrations of women's rights in big cities.