Global family day is celebrated each year on the 1st of January. It promotes the message of unity to the entire world and it enables us to start our year with positive energy. We may have different religions and cultures all around the world but we all are one large family if we stay united. Now, you may think how can you achieve unity on such a large scale? This is certainly possible. All you have to do is spread the message of unity and peace.
HISTORY OF GLOBAL FAMILY DAY
Global family day is also referred to as world peace day and this day is celebrated each year to promote the message of harmony and faith among the people. This day highlights the importance of unity and it makes us understand that our world is like a global village where all of us are members of one family, irrespective of race, religion, or culture.
Global family day dates back to 1997 when the International decade for the culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World was launched by the general assembly of the United Nations. This was referred to as the first day of the new millennium. There is a person who promoted this day more than anyone else and that person is Linda Grover. Certain other efforts were also made to emphasize this day and these efforts included books like “One day in peace – January 1, 2000”. The entire concept of this book is that there will only be peace in the future and no trace of war.
Global family day is considered to be the beginning of a new era of peace and unity. In 1999, all the members of the United Nations were formally invited on the first day of this year to discuss peace-building strategies. This day proved to be extremely beneficial and it had quite a positive impact, so, in 2001, the United Nations named this day global family day and declared it an annual event.
Reasons to celebrate global family day
Global family day holds an immense amount of importance. There are a large number of reasons to celebrate the global family day. However, the most prominent ones are mentioned below.
1. It is the best time to make family resolutions
Generally, people usually gather around the famous places of the city to celebrate the onset of a new year. It’s a tradition to make new year resolutions – resolutions that they will follow the entire year. It is the time when people welcome new beginnings with open arms and let go of the bad memories of their past. People usually make new year resolutions regarding their health and fitness (which is a great thing, might I add). But, it can also be a great opportunity to make resolutions regarding promoting peace and harmony among people to have a better future.
2. You learn a lot from your family
Undoubtedly, you learn a lot of things from your family members. I had a friend whose father would always say, “Family unit is like a university. One unit can tell you all about guidance and leadership. You not only get mutual support from your family but it also prepares you for the battles you may face in adulthood.” Your family trains you for life. So, why not celebrate one day that is dedicated to family?
3. Family is all that we’ve got
The global family day recognizes the importance of a family. Different cultures, religions, and races intermingle and become one community. We all are a part of one big global family. So, if you want to truly celebrate the global family day, start with your own first. This may turn out to be your first step towards living in unity and harmony. Thus, global family day is a day when you celebrate peace and acknowledge that your family is everything. How can we not talk about family when a family’s all that we’ve got?
So, on global family day, we will celebrate by making new year resolutions, sharing food with our loved ones, and doing something peaceful that proves to be beneficial not only to us but to our planet as well. To make your own life peaceful, you can take some time out and just relax. Go on a vacation, laugh your heart out, and truly connect with others. As for the planet, send out positive vibes, healing thoughts, and positive energy, always.
5 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT PEACE
Now that we’ve covered all about the global family day or world peace day, let’s take a look at some of the very interesting facts about peace.
1. The nonviolent protests
The promotion of peace has been with us since the beginning of time. We all have heard the great tales of Martin Luther King and we all are familiar with the fact that he always protested in peace. Martin Luther King was a civil rights leader who always fought for the rights of the black people. He could’ve held violent protests to get his message across to the upper organization. Instead, he opted for a peaceful way out and, at last, got what he wanted. All because of peace.
2. Humongous spending on war
War brings destruction not only for the people but also messes up the financial condition of the country. Yearly, $1.8 trillion is spent on arms all around the world, whereas only $50 billion is spent on the peacekeeping system of the United Nations.
3. The Global Peace Index
Every country is advised to promote peace instead of war or terror. However, there is one country that scored the first position in being the most peaceful country in the entire world. That country is Iceland according to the results of 2020.
4. The war zone
Where Iceland is the most peaceful country in the world, we also have one country that reeks of terror. Afghanistan has 163rd position in the global peace index.
5. Working towards a better future
The main goal of global family day and all the member states of the United Nations is that there shouldn’t remain any war zone in the entire globe. Therefore, 184 organizations in the United States are working towards a better future by creating significant peace-building strategies that can not only help us but for future generations as well.
FAQS ABOUT GLOBAL FAMILY DAY
What is a global family?
We are talking a lot about ‘global family’ but what does it truly mean? A global family is a concept of a global village where people from different religions and cultures unite and become a part of one large family. The world sees the global village as one community.
How to celebrate global family day?
Global family day is the easiest day to celebrate. All you have to do is gather up your family and friends and share peace and love. We know you’ve got a busy routine and you seldom find time to spend with your family. However, this day provides you with an opportunity to sit with your family members and talk about various things. You can also encourage people to spend time with their friends and families, even if it’s for just a day. One way to share your love with others is by giving them gifts. You can also prepare some meals and share with them. Words can excessively impact a human’s mind. So, you can also make various commitments to follow peace and non-violence. There’s no obligation on you to share the message of unity and peace among your family and friends. You can share it with as many people as you like. This is where social media comes into play. You can share your celebrations in the form of pictures and videos with the hashtag #GlobalFamilyDay.
Why do we celebrate Global Family Day?
We all have been the victims of war or violence. We all know how it can truly disrupt the peace of mind and well-being of a human. The only thing that can get rid of war and violence is peace. Unity and peace are the things that can make us understand the importance of life. War can only promote terror among people while peace brings warmth to their hearts. So, we needed a day to promote peace among people. That is why Global Family Day came into being and the sole purpose of creating this day was to promote world peace.
How do we celebrate Global Family Day?
People from all around the world are invited to take part in this day and work actively towards the betterment of the entire globe. There are a large number of ways through which you can celebrate the global family day. These include:
- You can take part in the events conducted by the organizations and highlight the significance of world unity.
- You can conduct various gatherings of your own where you can talk about peace and how people can make the world a better place.
- You can make various social media posts to influence people. You can also use certain hashtags such as #Globalfamilyday, #WorldPeaceDay, etc.
HOW TO OBSERVE GLOBAL FAMILY DAY?
There are three ways through which you can observe the global family day.
1. You can arrange an informative webinar for your people
The best way to observe world peace day is by conducting several webinars on the importance of peace, each of which is one hour long. You can contact certain intellectual academics who know all about war, terror, violence, unity, and peace. The webinar may include the reasons why we should all focus on bringing peace in the community rather than opting for violence at every step of the way. These webinars can help our future generations in making effective peace-building strategies.
2. Petition to put an end to conflicts or wars
The second way to observe global family day is by creating a petition on the internet. The agenda of the petition would be to put an end to the ever-growing conflicts or wars among people. For this, you will only need the internet. You can pick up a specific conflict and thoroughly research it. You can search the reasons behind the conflicts and the chaos they might have created. Once you’ve gathered all the information, you can ask people to sign a petition to end it. If your petition is signed by a large group of people, it means that people want to live in peace and harmony. It will allow people to take a stand against such atrocities.
3. Learn peace-building
You can’t promote peace-building if you don’t understand it yourself. So, we suggest you watch a movie or a documentary on peace-building to get a clear view. You can also look up peace-building on the internet and analyze different opinions of people. If you want to learn peace-building wholeheartedly, take some time out, go to a library, and read a couple of books. In this way, you’ll understand peace-building and convey your message in a better way.
Want to read about other important days in the month of January? Then click here.
Or if you want to read about important days of other months of the year, then check out “Important Days of the Year” category.
