Who Celebrated International Women's Day Today? (March 8, 2009)
@danishcanadian (28954)
Canada
March 8, 2009 10:34pm CST
Well it's 100 years since the first International Women's Day, a holiday which I really think needs more attention in North America. My American husband told me it's hardly recognized in the USA. It's not as big in Canada as it is in Russia and other parts of the world, but we do celebrate it here. I was so proud of my friend Gene Stevens (program director for AM 740....am740.ca on the net) for featuring female artists on his Vintage Audio Favourites program this afternoon. He managed to find an old recording by Adah Jones from 1909 (no that was not a typo I meant 1 9 0 9 as in 100 years ago today) and played famous female recordings right up to the 1950s. I love his show, and I love AM 740. After that my husband and i went out for lattes at The Second Cup, and we just spent the day together enjoying eachother's company. I think it's wonderful to have a day to respect and appreciate GENDER EQUALITY.
So, how do you celebrate where you are? Did you personally celebrate?
4 people like this
6 responses
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
9 Mar 09
this year is the first time i ever heard of womens day.. and i didnt hear about it till today lol.. so no i didnt celebrate it this year but who knows on the future
1 person likes this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
17 Mar 09
no hon, I didn't celebrate it, I had had intentions of writing an article on it and I just did not get around to it.
@idowrite72 (2213)
• United States
9 Mar 09
I have to admit that I didn't know that there was such a holiday and I will tell you that I spent most of the day babysitting with 3 of my granddaughters. Well, not most of the day, but the part of the day that I was awake! I babysat last night for a grandson, late into the night and into the morning and didn't go to bed until early this morning, so I slept late, spent a couple hours on the computer, and then went to watch the girls before coming home to the computer once again. That was MY day.
@Vladilyich1 (1454)
• Canada
9 Mar 09
International Women's Day celebrated it's 100th birthday this year. Begun in 1909 in America (which has totally forgotten there is such a day), it originally was somewhat political in nature, celebrating the advances of women in the home and workplace. It moved from America to Denmark with the internatiional women's conference in Copenhagen in 1910. From there, it spread across Europe and is still especially celebrated in the countries of the Former Soviet Union and Asia. In Russia, it is a national holiday where businesses will close.
It's currently actively celebrated in Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh,Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, India, Italy, Israel, Laos, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Sweden, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Zambia.
Demonstrations marking International Women's Day in Russia proved to be the first stage of the Russian Revolution of 1917.
Following the October Revolution, the Bolshevik feminist Alexandra Kollontai persuaded Lenin to make it an official holiday in the Soviet Union, and it was established, but was a working day until 1965. On May 8, 1965 by the decree of the USSR Presidium of the Supreme Soviet International Women's Day was declared as a non working day in the USSR "in commemoration of the outstanding merits of Soviet women in communistic construction, in the defense of their Motherland during the Great Patriotic War, in their heroism and selflessness at the front and in the rear, and also marking the great contribution of women to strengthening friendship between peoples, and the struggle for peace. But still, women's day must be celebrated as are other holidays."
