While mothers and fathers are often celebrated around the world, there is also a special day that celebrates children. El Día de los Niños (Children’s Day) is a celebration of children that takes place annually on April 30 in Mexico. The celebration emphasizes the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
Why celebrate Children’s Day? In the struggle to provide for their kids, parents may sometimes forget that confidence and creativity isn’t nurtured by fear and discipline. It’s a happy childhood that helps kids really succeed in their adult lives.
Where is Children’s Day celebrated? Today, 86 countries – or most of world’s nations – celebrate Children’s Day to publicly promote the idea that “children are our future”.
In Mexico, Children’s Day is celebrated on April 30. In Japan, May 5th is recognized as Children’s Day. In Canada, Egypt and Finland, November 20 is National Children’s Day. The date coincides with Universal Children’s Day, which was originally declared by the United Nations in 1954.
Día is a nationally recognized initiative that emphasizes the importance of literacy for all children from all backgrounds. It is a daily commitment to linking children and their families to diverse books, languages and cultures. The common goals of all Día programming are to:
- Celebrate children and connect them to the world of learning through books, stories and libraries.
- Nurture cognitive and literacy development in ways that honor and embrace a child’s home language and culture.
- Introduce families to community resources that provide opportunities for learning through multiple literacies.
- Recognize and respect culture, heritage and language as powerful tools for strengthening families and communities.
FMSL’ Spanish teachers Maria Reynosa, Cinthya Barajas, and Christina Economy have emphasized Día de los Niños with their students by reading Spanish books, learning about the celebration, making special fruit cups, and finishing with piñatas. We are so very lucky to have such wonderful teachers and such a wonderful community to be able to remember, recognize, and value childhood for it’s innocent beauty, fun, and creative confidence.
