World Olive Tree Day
Next: November 26, 2026
The tree that means peace.
The story
Where it comes from
World Olive Tree Day was proclaimed by UNESCO's General Conference at its 40th session in 2019, on a proposal from Lebanon and Tunisia. UNESCO describes the olive tree as a symbol of peace, wisdom and harmony, and recognises the social, cultural, economic and environmental importance of growing it. The day exists to protect the tree and the heritage landscapes around it, a task UNESCO calls more urgent as the world adapts to climate change.
How it's celebrated
UNESCO encourages discussions, conferences, workshops, cultural events, lectures and exhibitions about the olive and the landscapes it shapes. Olive-growing regions use the day to talk about heritage groves and a changing climate. At home it is a day to taste a good olive oil, plant a sapling if your climate allows, or offer someone an olive branch, a sign of peace since ancient Greece.
Did you know
- The UN emblem, adopted in 1946, places a map of the world inside a wreath of olive branches, a symbol of peace.
- At the ancient Olympic Games the only prize was the kotinos, a wreath cut from the wild olive that grew beside the Temple of Zeus at Olympia.
- Japan's olives grow mainly on Shodoshima in the Seto Inland Sea, where trial planting began in 1908 and which now produces about 90 per cent of the country's crop.
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