International Men's Day

On November 19, more than 60 countries around the world celebrate International Men's Day. The holiday was celebrated for the first time in Trinidad and Tobago in 1999, and every year the number of countries that have joined, ready to honor the strong half of humanity, is only growing. Dr. Teeluksingh from the University of the West Indies put forward a proposal to create a special international men's day in order to draw attention to the problems of men and increase the role of social status in the family and society. He chose his father's birthday, November 19, as the intended date, since his father, in his opinion, was an example worthy of emulation. The UN and UNESCO came out in support of Thilucksingh's idea. Attempts to assign men a specific day of the year have arisen before, since the 1960s. American professor Thomas Oaster, who headed the Center for Men's Studies at one of the US universities, initiated a proposal, by analogy with March 8, to equate February 23 with the full day of all men, and not just defenders of the Fatherland. His idea was supported, and in 1994, February 23 was celebrated on a grand scale in the USA, Australia and Malta, but the following year attempts to continue the new tradition came to naught. Only Malta remained the only country where the holiday existed until 1999, and then it joined the common one on November 19. International Men's Day was created to draw attention to the problems of the health of the male population of the planet, social equality in families, emotional well-being and strong state of mind, ethnic and religious differences, etc. Unlike March 8, November 19 is almost always thematic in nature, annually specializing in a specific issue, however, this is a completely optional condition for celebration, it is just a suggestion. Each country is free to celebrate at its own discretion, choose its own theme or abandon it altogether. On this day, the organizers of the holiday hold various events. Street parades, concerts, feasts, seminars dedicated to the problems of men in society and family. The media are actively involved in attracting attention to this holiday. On November 19, warm words are heard for men, regardless of age, social status, professional and other skills, religion, skin color, etc. Educational institutions around the world hold special events dedicated to the stronger half of humanity. Clubs, seminars, classes, thematic exhibitions of drawings and crafts, creative essay and poem competitions. The role of men in society and family is one of the important topics for humanity. Therefore, representatives of the stronger sex receive well-deserved congratulations on November 19.