The International Day of Peace, sometimes officially known as World Peace Day, is a United Nations-sanctioned holiday observed annually on 21 September.
Since 1982, the International Day of Peace has begun with the ringing of the Peace Bell at the United Nations headquarters, New York.
Giving peace a chance is the main focus on the International Day of Peace or World Peace Day, which is observed every year on September 21. This day seeks to remind people of all races and all nations to think about universal peace.
The UN in 1981 first named the third Tuesday of September as International Day of Peace. This day was also when the UN General Assembly held its opening sessions.
The date to celebrate International Day of Peace was eventually changed to September 21 starting 2002.
The day is dedicated to world peace, and specifically the absence of war and violence, such as might be occasioned by a temporary ceasefire in a combat zone for humanitarian aid access. The day was first celebrated in 1981 and is kept by many nations, political groups, military groups, and people.
Peace means so much more than an absence of war. More ordinary conflicts arise from disputes with family, colleagues and neighbours and these disturb our sense of peace. Making peace with one person today, even if it is just with yourself, is a fitting way to mark the day. Light a candle, reflect, forgive and enjoy being tranquil.
Parents, do you reward your children when they share toys and help each other? Learning how to solve disputes without aggression is a great way to enjoy peace day. A sponsored toddle can raise funds for peace charities and tire out the little ones. Bliss!
Peace needs building, not just celebrating. Make everyday your day of peace as you work towards harmony at home, school, work and in the community.
September 22nd is the birthday of both Bilbo Baggins and Frodo Baggins, two characters from J.R.R. Tolkiens popular Middle Earth books, The Hobbit and Lord Of The Rings respectively, in which Hobbits, typically between two and four feet tall and nothing like your usual hero, accomplish great feats and amazing acts of courage.
It is in honour of these characters and those acts that the day is celebrated with events, not unlike the birthday party described at the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring.
In the United States, Hobbit Day has gained some measure of legal dignity due to the elected officials who support the day and the goals of the American Tolkien Society. The Day has also attracted Bipartisan Support from places as the U.S. County Courthouse, to the White House, to the U.S. Capitol.
Hobbit Day is a fun opportunity for people around the world to celebrate two of the most famous fictional characters: Bilbo Baggins and Frodo Baggins. The characters are from two of the most popular books in the world: The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, both of which were written by J. R. R. Tolkien.
The Hobbit was published first, on the 21st of September in 1937. It was nominated for a number of different awards and received critical acclaim. It is considered a classic still today.
Famous British writer, C.S. Lewis, said the following about the book when reviewing it in The Times:
“The truth is that in this book a number of good things, never before united, have come together: a fund of humour, an understanding of children, and a happy fusion of the scholar’s with the poet’s grasp of mythology”
After this, J.R.R Tolkien delivered once more, creating The Lord of the Rings between 1937 and 1949. According to the books, Bilbo Baggins was born in 2890, which equates to 1290 based on our timeline. Frodo Baggins was then born 78 years later, in 2968, which equates to 1368.
It is fair to say that the reviews were a little bit more mixed at first for The Lord of the Rings. However, the acknowledgement has only grown and grown in terms of this literary achievement. The New York Herald Tribune said that the books were “destined to outlast our time” – what a prediction that was! The Sunday Telegraph described The Lord of the Rings as “among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century.”
It is quite clear to see that these books are two true masterpieces, and so it is only right that we have Hobbit Day in order to pay honor to two of the most adored characters from the books.
A separate event to Tolkien Week (although the Week will always fall over Hobbit Day, running Sunday to Saturday), Hobbit Day is perhaps the oldest running day celebrated by fans. There is some debate on the date that Hobbit Day should be celebrated on, due to the differences in the Gregorian and Shire calendars, but today has become generally accepted as Hobbit Day.
Go on an adventure today! But remember, never laugh at live dragons!
Did you know that there are roughly 72 million deaf people around the world? This is a statistic from the World Federation of the Deaf. Collectively, these people use over 300 different sign languages. A lot of people do not realize that sign languages are natural fully-fledged languages.
While they may be different structurally to the spoken language, they should be given just as much credit and importance. There is also an international sign language. This is used by deaf people when they are socializing and traveling, as well as when they are in international meetings.
It is a pidgin type of sign language, which is not as complicated as natural sign languages. International Day of Sign Languages celebrates all of these amazing sign languages, paying homage to the incredible difference they have made to deaf people all around the world and increasing awareness about them.
Sign languages are languages that convey meaning visually. It is not clear how many of these languages exist around the world. Generally, each country has its own native sign language. In fact, some countries have more than one.
These languages have been used throughout history by groups of deaf people. In fact, one of the earliest written records of a sign language was in Plato’s Cratylus, from 15th century BC.
There is not a lot that is known about historical sign languages pre the 19th century. The information is limited to fingerspelling systems, known as manual alphabets. These were invented so that words could be transferred from the spoken language to a sign language. The first manual alphabet is thought to have been developed by Pedro Ponce de Leon.
The first school for deaf children was founded in Paris by Abbé de l’Épée. This was in 1755, and the most famous graduate from here is arguably Laurent Clerc. He went to the U.S. and set up the American School for the Deaf in 1817 with Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet. The school can be found in West Hartford, Connecticut and it is actually the oldest permanent school for the deaf in the US.
The correlation between spoken languages and sign languages is complicated and differs depending on the country more than the language spoken. For example, English is the dominant language in New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Canada, and the US. However, American Sign Language (ASL), which is used in the United States and English-speaking Canada, is actually derived from the French Sign Language. It has no relation to the New Zealand, Australian, and British Sign Language. At international events, such as the meetings of the World Federation of the Deaf and Deaflympics, International Sign is used. This used to be known as Gestuno.
International Day of Sign Languages (IDSL) is celebrated annually across the world on 23 September every year along with International Week of the Deaf. The choice of 23 September is the same date that the World Federation of the Deaf was established in 1951.
Now, how do I say “Have a great day!” in Sign Language?!
I remember a fascinating linguistics lecture at varsity on sign language. It was on the topic of language being an instinctual thing in humans and one of the studies was on a child who was born deaf in an isolated village. His parents learnt sign language and taught it to him in order to communicate. The parents’ sign language was not fluent, since they’d had to awkwardly learn it before teaching their child. Despite this the child grew up to “speak” sign language fluently - just as fluent as any other deaf person who learnt sign language from fluent signers at a school. This is very similar to cases where the children of immigrants speak the language of the new country fluently - the notable difference is that while hearing children will hear native speakers of the language - this boy only had the broken signing of his parents to build upon.
That reminds me of an experiment I tried to get someone to do for me, but they didn’t seem keen…
You know how people talk to plants, and there’s people who attest to it helping the plants grow? I’ve always thought maybe, if it is true, that it is the tone of your voice making good waves in the air that do benefit their growth.
Anyways, someone was saying they need to practice their sign language, so I asked them to sign to their plants. I am curious to see if it is maybe the love you’re communicating to the plants, and not the sound waves, that benefits their growth.
Actually, now that the new season is starting, maybe I should learn a few loving signs… If you want something done, do it yourself
I can fully agree and attest to this, I believe there are key hand gestures that are instinctual. For example, I tried signing with my son while he was still a baby and a lot of the signs they (as babies) use in their simplest form do mean certain things. There are instinctual signs for basic needs. People think babies can’t talk or comprehend these things, but if you take the time to watch and understand these things you’ll begin to learn what your crying child wants or what the problem is.
From the lowly comma to the flamboyant ampersand, National Punctuation Day on September 24 celebrates the punctuation that makes our words legible and gets our point across. “Let’s eat, Grandma!” or “Let’s eat Grandma!” — it’s clear that punctuation saves lives.
Though you might not have consciously considered punctuation since elementary school, you likely use it every day. Every year, the creator of the holiday sets a punctuation challenge, and punctuation quizzes and games can be found all over. Visit the official Punctuation Day website, linked in Know More, for this year’s challenges.
Minding your p’s and q’s, dotting your i’s, crossing your t’s, and knowing the difference between a colon and a semicolon was not always necessary to communicate. While today we take for granted the little dots, slashes, and spaces that turn a string of unintelligible letters into a compelling story, ancient cultures had to make do without. Since most early languages were purely verbal, punctuation was not necessary.
The earliest-known document featuring punctuation is the Mesha Stele from 900 B.C. The next civilization to start to develop rudimentary punctuation were the Greeks, in 200 B.C. Though they had previously written in ‘scriptura continua,’ or unending strings of text unmarred by punctuation marks, people soon started to adopt the system of punctuation created by Aristophanes of Byzantium. This included a single punctuation mark positioned differently to indicate pauses in speeches.
Though punctuation had already been adopted by the Greeks, it wasn’t until the Bible began to be printed en masse that punctuation spread to other civilizations. Bible printing was widespread between 400 and 800 A.D., and punctuation was necessary so that those who read the text aloud knew where to pause and place emphasis. In the 1400s, a huge shift came with the printing press, which spurred the need for a more unified punctuation system.
While punctuation as a single system hasn’t changed too much since the old days, marks and symbols have gradually gained and lost meaning. One important shift occurred in the late 20th century with the life-changing arrival of computers. Suddenly, symbols like ‘#’ and ‘@’ took on whole new, tech-specific meanings! Additionally, texting and chatting online requires knowledge of a wholly different, somewhat colloquial body of punctuation rules.
Punctuation Day was established by Jeff Rubin, founder of the day and organizer of www.nationalpunctuationday.com. Punctuation can be tricky for some people, those who struggle to know when it’s appropriate to use a colon, or a set of brackets, or even an ellipsis. You thought we were going to talk about the period, the comma, and the semi-colon?
Of course we are, but these are commonly known-about forms of punctuation, and not everyone knows that the world of grammatical structure spreads beyond these commonly used (though commonly misunderstood) forms.
Punctuation Day was established to help reinforce these lessons we learned in elementary school, and to reinforce their use and to show just how important they can be to ensure that what you write is properly interpreted as what you mean.
Let me punctuate this post by wishing you all a Happy Heritage Friday! Don’t braai or eat Grandma please!
On this day, South Africans are encouraged to celebrate their culture and the diversity of their beliefs and traditions, in the wider context of a nation that belongs to all its people.
So pretty much everyone has a braai. So much so that today has become known as National Braai Day even more than National Heritage Day. Cos we lekker cultured like that, ne bruh?!
It does not matter where you come from, where you live, or how much money you have, one thing that we all have in common is dreams! We all have aspirations and goals for a better tomorrow. The trouble is that there are a lot of hurdles and barriers that stand in the way when it comes to making our dreams a reality.
Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. - Harriet Tubman -
World Dream Day has been established for the purpose of encouraging individuals, communities, businesses, schools, and families to take some time to concentrate on their dreams and make an effort to turn them into a reality. You will find a lot of exciting resources and inspirational tools online to empower people to embark on the journey to make their dreams more than just a figment of their imagination. It’s time to go out there and get what we really want in our lives!
Dream Day is a vital day in terms of honoring the role that dreams play in all of our lives. Even more importantly, it is a day whereby we all inspire one and other, helping our loved ones, peers, and even strangers to put a plan in action to make positive changes in their lives and the wider world.
There are a number of different things that we can all do in order to put the wheels in motion and start achieving our dreams. The first step is finding something you want to believe in and being inspired. You may feel lost at the moment. You may not know what your dreams are. This is okay. Don’t put pressure on yourself. Dreams don’t have to be about glory or fame to be considered significant. It is all about what matters to you. What gives you a sense of purpose? What do you want from your life? You need to look deep inside and figure out what fulfills you. Be honest with yourself. Don’t feel like you need to pick a certain dream for the sake of someone else. This is personal to you.
One thing that tends to stop most people from achieving their dreams is fear. They are scared of the challenges that lie ahead. They are worried that they will fail on their quest to achieve their goals. It is important to try and adopt a healthy mindset when it comes to embracing the unknown, rather than simply running away from it.
Once you have decided on your goals and you feel focused, you should pursue your passions actively and take action. Do not allow your visions and dreams to exist passively as mere ideas. You need to concentrate and take action. One step at a time! In order to make big things happen, you do not need to make large decisions. Instead, you can divide this up into smaller goals, which can be just as fulfilling.
Also, don’t be disheartened if you lose your way a little bit. The path to success is not always easy. Things may go off track and you may make mistakes along the way. You know what they say; the things worth having in life do not come easy. So, you need to persevere, and if you find yourself struggling, take a deep breath and even have a little break! Don’t be so hard on yourself.
Keep dreaming, keep making those dreams reality! Happy Saturday.
Almost every country around the world will have at least one river flowing through it. There are probably a number of other important waterways as well. To ensure that these important bodies of water are celebrated and appreciated as they should be, World Rivers Day aims to remind people about just how important all of the waterways around the globe are to us.
The very first Rivers Day was celebrated in 2005 and since then it has been gaining in popularity with many events being organized around the world. In this same year, the United Nations also launched its Water for Life Decade, with the aim of increasing the awareness of the need for taking better care of the world’s waters.
World Rivers Day was launched alongside this new initiative, all thanks to a proposal that was put forward by Mark Angelo, who was already an international river advocate.
Rivers Day is all about celebrating the waterways of the world. It is a day that highlights the importance of rivers, aiming to heighten awareness and encourage people to preserve our important and beautiful rivers.
There are a number of different things that we can all do in order to protect our rivers. This includes using earth-friendly body products and biodegradable cleaning products.
After all, these chemicals all get washed down the drain, which means they end up going back into our rivers. Making a change like this can make a massive difference. Other tips include turning your tap off while you are brushing your teeth, timing your showers, and keeping a full load when you are using your dishwasher or your washing machine. Small changes like this can go a very long way.
Take the lazy river route this September Sunday. Have a great day!
Travel has been said to broaden the mind, exploring the world and seeing the broad vistas and cultures that the people of the world offer. Tourism can describe travel for pleasure both foreign and domestic, and has been happening as long as long as mankind.
Since 1980, the United Nations World Tourism Organization has celebrated World Tourism Day as international observances on September 27. This date was chosen as on that day in 1970, the Statutes of the UNWTO were adopted. The adoption of these Statutes is considered a milestone in global tourism.
Tourism Day is your opportunity to broad your own world a little, find a location you’ve always wanted to make time to visit, and finally, get around to making time to do it. So find your inner traveler and get out there and experience the places you’ve always wanted to see.
Despite challenges, such as pandemics, natural disasters, and worldwide economics crises, the tourist sector has experienced virtually uninterrupted growth.
Tourism Day has been designed to pay tribute to this industry, encourage people to travel, and honor those who do such a good job of working in the tourism sector and enabling us to all fulfil our goals of visiting different places around the world.
Every year, there is a different theme for Tourism Day. For example, in 2019, the theme was Tourism and Jobs – A Better Future For All. This encourages people to focus on job creation within the tourism sector.
The United Nations wanted to promote the creation of new policies to address the existing mismatch between the tourism skills that are being taught and the skills that are actually needed, as well as to incorporate and reflect the continual advances in technology.
The UN also wanted to create better and more jobs, particularly for youth and women. Because of this, we would definitely recommend finding out what the theme is for Tourism Day. This can give you inspiration for the most appropriate way to celebrate and observe Tourism Day and to do your bit for the cause.
Good morning! 
International Day of Peace 
