Children's Day is to celebrate "childhood".
On Children’s Day tribute is payed to all children in the world.
Children are loved by one and all. They win over our hearts with their
angelic eyes and innocent smiles. It makes one realise that maybe that’s
the way God wanted us to be.
India's first prime minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, was born on
November 14. After his death in 1964, his birthday has been celebrated
as children's Day in India.Children's Day is not just a day to let the
future generation have its say. It is a day to remember a leader who, in
his quiet but determined way, laid the foundation to convert a nascent
nation into a world power.
But why Children's Day? Apart from being known for his skills as a
statesman, Nehru was also immensely fond of children. The more popular
and famous of Nehru's pictures show him with children.
In all the photographs Nehru's joy at being with children is apparent.
When he is not sharing pleasantries
with them, the expression of intense concentration as he listens
to them reveals his commitment and attitude to children. Children to
Nehru were little adults in the making.Nehru, to children, is never the
Indian political leader and prime minister. He is always Chacha Nehru -
Nehru Uncle.
Children's Day is celebrated all over India, especially at the school
level. There are also community activities with stress on children's
involvement.
The story also goes that he started to wear a rose on his jacket after
a child pinned one on it.The national children's centre, Jawahar Bal
Bhavan, is also named after Jawaharlal Nehru. Children's Day is
literally that. It is the day when children all over the country are
pampered with goodies. From the schoolchild's point of view, the best
thing perhaps is that it is a special day at school - they need not wear
uniforms and are given sweets.
Celebrations:
Most schools have cultural programmes for the day, with the students
managing it all. All over the country, various cultural, social, and
even corporate, institutions conduct competitions for children.
Children's Day is a day for children to engage in fun and frolic.
Schools celebrate this day by organising cultural programmes.Teachers of
the school perform songs and dances for their students. Various
competitions like quizzes, fancy dress competitions, elocutions are
organised on this day. Children are also treated to a movie and
lunch.Television networks have in the recent years started to air
special programmes all day long for kids on November 14, making this day
a special treat.
Children's Day in Japan:
National Children's Day in Japan is known as Kodomo no Hi. It is
celebrtaed on May5. The family celebrates the festival with Kashiwamochi
(rice cakes filled with red beans and wrapped with oak leaves) and
Chimaki (rice cakes wrapped with bamboo leaves). According to the
Kodansha encyclopedia, the origin of the festival was from China in 839.
On May 5, Chinese people hang medical herbs from the eaves of the roof
in order to repel disease. When the custom came to Japan, people used
Shobu (irises) instead since irises were believed to repel evil spirits.
During twelveth century, the custom was influenced by the warrior class.
Since another meaning of Shobu is victory or defeat, the practice of
giving little boys kites with pictures of warriors on them were spread
in Japan. In the Edo period (1600-1868), streamers with pictures of carp
were presented to boys. Recently, many families live in apartments not
houses. They display samll carp streamers or Kabuto at their homes
because of limited space.