Celebrated every year on January 1, Global Family Day starts the new year with a positive message of unity to the world. Yes, believe it or not, we are all one! Cultures and religions across the world may be different but, the truth is, all of mankind is a large family that can survive and succeed only if united. And yes, this is a goal that can be achieved — all that is required is spreading the message of peace and unity.
History - Global Family Day, also known as World Peace Day, is celebrated every year to promote the concept of harmony and unity in the world. Furthermore, it emphasizes the idea of the world as a global village in which we are all family, regardless of citizenship, borders, or race. It all started in 1997 when the United Nations General Assembly launched the International Decade for the Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World — as of the first day of the new millennium. Linda Grover was a key figure in promoting this in the U.S. and other efforts to promote it included books such as “One Day in Peace - January 1, 2000”. This book revolved around the concept of a day in the future where there is only peace and no war. However, this was just the beginning of a new peaceful world and, in 1999, all U.N. member states received an invitation to formally dedicate the first day of that particular year to develop strategies towards peacebuilding. Seeing the positive impact of the day, Global Family Day was declared an annual event by the U.N. in 2001.
Significance- International Day of Families allows promoting awareness of issues relating to families and increase the knowledge regarding the social, economic, and demographic processes creating an effect on families. On September 25, 2015, the 193 member states of the United Nations unanimously adopted the Sustainable Development Goals. It is a set of 17 goals aiming towards eliminating poverty, discrimination, abuse, and preventable deaths, addressing environmental destruction, and ushering in an era of development for all people. Thus, family and family-oriented policies and programs are important for the achievement of many of these goals.
How celebrated - Celebrating Global Family Day is quite simple. The primary thing to be done on this Day is by gathering in families to share love and peace. Spend some time with your family and talk about things. Encourage people around you to spend and share time with their family members for a day. You can share your love with others by giving gifts and sharing meals. Make the world a better place to live in by making personal commitments to follow nonviolence. You are allowed to spread a message of peace among all sorts of people on this Day. Share your family day celebrations on social media using the hashtag #GlobalFamilyDay.