Thread: International Women's Day.

http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/abroad/jt970402.htm



So, has any American, or any non-American (and non-russian)
ever heard of International Women's Day?
Or is it just something else that American's don't
know about or participate in?

Hi ! I'm from Russia and I have interested in it too. I did meet a ppl from Finland and ask they about this day. They are celebrate this holiday.

This holiday is definitely in the United States and has been observed for a long time. I remember being in school during this holiday and having discussions about the significance of the events leading to Women's Suffrage around the world (espcially in history class).

After reading the article about how it is celebrated in Russia, I would say that it passes differently in the United States. Mothers Day on the second Sunday of May (I think, my dad always reminds me ) is more the day when the men call up their mothers, grandmothers, and pretty much any other woman that has children, congratulates her, and/or gives her gifts.

The United Nations has a web page, http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/women/womday97.htm, that provides a good history of the holiday.

To summarize, the United States first celebrated the holiday (as the National Women's Day) on February 28, 1909. In 1910 the Social International met in Copenhagen (with women from 17 countries present) and approved a proposal for an International Women's Day. Their proposed holiday was first celebrated on March 19, 1911. Less than a week later the Triangle Factory Fire in New York took place, resulting in the subsequent observance of the holiday in the United States on March 19. Russian women observed the holiday in February of 1913. After the granting of Women's Suffrage to Russian women on March 8, 1917 (February 23 on the Julian calendar), the entire international community moved to observe the holiday on that day.

so Mother's day is actually Women's day? weird...

In the way that we celebrate it (gifts, congratulations, cleaning your room, making sure they are happy ), yes, but Mother's Day doesn't symbolize the civil liberties that women have gained in the past century the way Women's Day does. We still have Women's Day, its just not celebrated in the same way (the average family doesn't really do anything special, although many are aware of it). Its also not a national holiday (one for which the government closes) like Martin Luther King Day, for instance. I'm not sure of the origin of Mother's Day, the way I am about Women's Day, but it may be a creation of Hallmark :P.

To quote Jimmy James from Newsradio, "Mother's Day is a SCAM"

I only heard of it because my friend was on the phone with me when buying gifts for every female in his family. What's the specific name for it?

The way how 8th of March is celebrated in Russia combines both Mother’s and Valentine’s Days, but the stage for this holiday is much wider. It is celebrated at school and workplace, not just within the family circle. In last decades this holiday in Russia had nothing to do with feminism and women emancipation and all this history described in previous posts. Coworkers give presents or flowers to all female colleagues at work. I have pictures made in Moscow metro on such a day. Almost everybody carried a bouquet, men – to work and ladies – home. A trail of sexual harassment lawsuits, however, prevents something like that to happen here. Men do not dare give flowers to their female business or school associates any more. This is, probably, one of the reasons why this holiday is known in Europe and conveniently forgotten in the US.

Yes march 8th in russia. But not exactly like that in US. I don't see the mother's day the same as march 8th.

Originally Posted by Wintermute

http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/abroad/jt970402.htm



So, has any American, or any non-American (and non-russian)
ever heard of International Women's Day?
Or is it just something else that American's don't
know about or participate in?

Well I'm in Canada and I havent heard of it. I didn't hear of it in India or Kuwait either. Its probably just a European thing.

I believe it is not celebrated elsewhere the way it is in Russia. In Spain it is on the calendar but not a public holiday with stores/business closed and people giving gifts to women. I don't think it's a European thing, rather a way of celebrating it in Russia and perhaps as a woman I feel the spirit of it is not such a bad thing to have a day for women recognised publicly. And I don't mean to get into any feminist discussion...I mean it humbly it's nice to receive flowers and gifts being a woman...

I lived in china for a little more than a decade, and I can tell you march 8th is a pretty big holiday for the women (it's also called International Women's Day in chinese). I know the US doesn't celebrate it, at least not officially, tho.

http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/women/womday97.htm

In Japan, they have "Girl's day" and "Boy's day".