Children's Day
Next: June 1, 2027
A whole day that belongs to children.
The story
Where it comes from
China's Children's Day, known as Liu Yi or 'Six-One', falls on 1 June. The date was set in November 1949, when the Women's International Democratic Federation, meeting in Moscow with delegates from 35 countries, named 1 June International Children's Day, to stand up for every child's right to life, health and education. On 23 December 1949 China's new government wrote the date into its national holiday rules, and from 1950 the country's children have had 1 June as their own day.
How it's celebrated
Under China's national holiday rules, every child under 14 has the day off. In the days around it, schools put on dances and recitations, the China Children's Center in Beijing and other venues hold fairs and reading events, and many museums and parks let children in free. For many families it is simply a day out together.
Did you know
- Four Chinese delegates attended the 1949 Moscow meeting, among them the writer Ding Ling and Xu Guangping, the widow of Lu Xun.
- Children under 14 get a full day off, while Youth Day on 4 May gives young people over 14 half a day.
- Before 1950 China marked Children's Day on 4 April, a date proposed in 1931 by the China Child Welfare Association.
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