We all know that January 1 is New Years Day, but did you know that Jan 1 is also Global Family Day – “One Day of Peace and Sharing for all faiths, cultures, races, nationalities and economic classes”?
Global Family Day (GFD) was first celebrated, with the dawn of the new millenium, between Israeli and Palestinian families in the refugee camp of Nablus. Later, when it was noticed that the century had begun remarkably calmly despite widespread apprehension (fears of terrorism, the “Millenium Bug” and the like), the United States Congress unanimously voted to establish January 1 as a special time of peace and sharing. In 2001 the United Nations General Assembly passed UnRes. 56/2 recognising GFD and encouraged all its Member states to observe the holiday. It’ll be interesting to see, with tensions running high in the Middle East, what impact GFD will have this year.
So Happy New Year and Happy Global Family Day! Peace out.
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