Taiwan Children's Day
Next: April 4, 2027
A day that belongs to children.
The story
Where it comes from
Children's Day on 4 April goes back to 1931, when a child-welfare society in Shanghai, the 中華慈幼協會, asked the government to set aside a day for children, and its proposal was approved. The society chose 4 April because it fell in mild spring weather in both north and south, and because its doubled number echoed traditional double-number festivals such as the Double Third and the Double Ninth. Taiwan formally fixed 4 April as Children's Day in 1982, and since 2011 it has been a day off for everyone.
How it's celebrated
Families spend the day out together, and zoos, museums and theme parks across Taiwan offer children free or cheaper entry, from Taipei Zoo to the National Museum of Natural Science in Taichung. Because it sits right next to Tomb Sweeping Day, the two holidays together usually make a long spring weekend, one for children and one for honouring ancestors.
Did you know
- From 1991, Children's Day and Women's Day shared one combined day off, for children and women only, which is why many people in Taiwan still speak of a 'Women and Children's Day' (婦幼節).
- When Children's Day and Tomb Sweeping Day fall on the same date, the Children's Day holiday moves to the working day before, or to the Friday if 4 April is a Thursday.
- In its 1931 proposal, the Shanghai society pointed to Japan, where girls had their own day on 3 March and boys on 5 May.
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