National and International Important Days In August

National and International Important Days In August

August is the eighth month of the year and many important days and festivals are celebrated in this month. The main event of this month is Independence Day of India celebrated on 15th August every year, this month also wraps up the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere and is the monsoon season in India. The First Week of August is World Breastfeeding Week while Raksha Bandhan and Janmashtami are two important festivals celebrated this month.

1st Week of August – World Breastfeeding Week

World Breastfeeding Week (WBE) is celebrated from August 1 – 7 across the globe to encourage breastfeeding and promote healthy practices from the earliest stages of life. World Breastfeeding Week commemorates the Innocenti Declaration made by WHO and UNICEF policy-makers in August 1990 to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.

1 August – National Mountain Climbing Day

Mountain Climbing Day is observed on 1st August every year. It was in 2015, the two mountaineers Bobby Mathews and Josh Madigan completed the 46th peak of New York state’s mountain i.e. Adirondack Mountains (the white face mountain). So, this day is celebrated to honor them.

6 August – Hiroshima Day

On this day in 1945, the US had dropped the first of its two atomic bombs on Japanese cities — the first, in Hiroshima on 6th August, killed more than 70,000 people instantly. Hiroshima Day is a reminder of the price innocent civilians pay for war and why countries need to push for anti-war and disarmament policies. While the bombings effectively ended World War II by bringing about the surrender of Japan, this came at a terrible price. Hiroshima Day is a focus for anti-war and anti-nuclear discussions and demonstrations around the world.

7 August – National Handloom Day

August 7 was chosen as the National Handloom Day to commemorate the Swadeshi Movement which was launched on the same date in 1905. It was on August 7, 1905, that the formal proclamation of the Swadeshi Movement was made in a meeting at the Calcutta Townhall. The movement involved boycotting British products and the revival of domestic products and production processes. Honoring handloom weavers on this day will not only provide an impetus to India’s handloom industry but would also serve to promote handloom as a genuine international product of good quality.

9 August – Quit India Day

The Quit India Movement, also known as ‘Bharat Chodo Andolan’, ‘August Movement’, and ‘August Kranti’ was launched by Mahatama Gandhi at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) on August 8, 1942. The movement started the next day, i.e. August 9, 1942, and is celebrated as the Quit India Movement Day.

9 August – Intl. Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples

The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is observed on August 9 each year to promote and protect the rights of the world’s indigenous population. This event also recognizes the achievements and contributions that indigenous people make to improve world issues such as environmental protection. It was first pronounced by the General Assembly of the United Nations in December 1994, marking the day of the first meeting of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, in 1982.

9 August – Nagasaki Day

Three days after dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the United States on August 9, 1945, dropped another one on Nagasaki, Japan. At least 74,000 men, women, and children were killed by a second atomic blast. The atomic bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima forced Japan to surrender, thus ending World War II. Today Nagasaki Day is being observed across the world to promote peace and create awareness about the threat of nuclear weapons.

11 August – National Son and Daughter’s Day

August 11, marks National Son’s and Daughter’s Day. With companies going on a marketing overdrive on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, there is quite a buzz on social media every year on these two days, but National Son’s and Daughter’s Day remains lesser-known. Parents, on this day, are known to cook for children, spend time, play, and sing with them. If the children are away, parents are known to call them and talk to them, or buy flowers for them, and think about them.

12 August – International Youth day

The International Youth Day is the special day set apart by the United Nations (UN), every 12th day of August of each year, to celebrate youth. The youth have a key role to play in the development and progress of any society. Youth are often considered to represent the future, as they bring new ideas and energy to the pool of knowledge currently in existence. The power and promise of young people in our world is truly something to celebrate.

12 August – World Elephant Day

August 12 is World Elephant Day, celebrated to honor the iconic animals, to spread awareness about the critical threats elephants are facing, and to support solutions that will help ensure their survival. The goal of celebrating this day is to raise awareness about the plight of African and Asian elephants and the threats they face.

13 August – International Left-Handers Day

August 13th is International Left-Handers Day! The day was founded in 1992 in the United Kingdom. It’s a time to celebrate lefties and to remind people that it’s not always easy to be left-handed in a right-handed world.

13 August – World Organ Donation Day

August is National Organ Donor Awareness Month and August 13 is marked as World Organ Donation Day. Thousands of people die every year in India due to organ failure, and if such patients get a healthy organ transplant on time, their lives can be saved.

14 August – Independence Day of Pakistan

Independence Day of Pakistan is a national holiday of Pakistan and is observed annually on 14th August. It commemorates the day when Pakistan achieved independence and was declared a sovereign nation following the end of the British Raj in 1947. Independence happened at midnight between 14 August and 15 August 1947, which is why the tradition in Pakistan has been to celebrate the 14 August whereas India Independence Day is 15 August.

15 August – Independence Day of India

15th August is celebrated as Independence Day of India, since India got freedom on 15th August 1947 from the British government. This day is dedicated to cherishing the end of British rule in India as we remember our freedom fighters and salute them for their sacrifice, India got Independence after the separation of India into two nations.

19 August – World Photography Day

World photography day is celebrated every year on August 19 with great enthusiasm all over the world. It was on this day, in 1839, the French government bought the patent for the Daguerreotype and released it “free to the world”.

19 August – World Humanitarian Day

World Humanitarian Day (WHD) is held every year on 19 August to pay tribute to aid workers who risk their lives in humanitarian service, and to rally support for people affected by crises around the world.

20 August – Sadbhavana Diwas (Birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi)

Sadbhavana Diwas or Harmony Day is celebrated on 20 August to commemorate the birth anniversary of the Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi. Having good feelings for others was the only mission of the government of Rajiv Gandhi. His several economic and social works clearly show his dream.

20 August – Akshay Urja Diwas

Akshay Urja Diwas is an awareness campaign about the developments of renewable energy in India, celebrated on August 20 every year since 2004. The Indian Ministry for New & Renewable Energy initiated Akshay Urja Day (Diwas) in 2004.

20 August – World Mosquito Day

World Mosquito Day is observed on 20 August worldwide. On this day in 1897, the link between mosquitoes and the transmission of malaria was discovered by British doctor Sir Ronald Ross. Ross also identified that the female Anopheles mosquito transmits the disease. In 1902, Ross was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for his discovery.

21 August – World Senior Citizen’s Day

August 21 is observed as World Senior Citizen’s Day. It was declared as Senior Citizen Day in 1988 by Ronald Reagan the president of the USA. A day to recognize and celebrate older adults for all they’ve done to make our society better. This day reminds the government of its duties for the welfare of the senior citizens.

23 August – International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition

International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition is observed on 23 August by UNESCO every year. The day is observed to memorialize the transatlantic slave trade and the date of the Haiti Uprising in 1791, which opened the door to freedom.

26 August – Women’s Equality Day

Women’s Equality Day is celebrated annually on 26th August to commemorate the adoption of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which guaranteed all women the right to vote in the United States and to honor the hard-fought victory of the women’s suffrage movement.

29 August – National Sports Day (Birth anniversary of Dhyanchand)

National Sports Day is celebrated every year in India on August 29 since 2012 to commemorate the birth anniversary of hockey legend Dhyan Chand. The main objective of National Sports Day is to spread awareness of the importance of sports and daily activities in every individual’s life.

30 August – Small Industry Day

Small Industry Day is celebrated on 30th August annually, when we pay homage to the small and medium industries that create opportunities for employment, aid the development of rural and semi-urban areas, and could prevent migration towards the bigger cities in search of livelihood opportunities.

30 August – International Day of the victims of enforced Disappearances

United Nations(UN)’s International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances is annually observed on 30th August to create and raise awareness that enforced disappearance is a crime and it should not be used as a tool to deal with the situations of conflicts.

1st Friday of August – International Beer Day

The beer holiday began in 2008 and has since been held each year on the first Friday of August. International Beer Day brings together beer fans to sip on a cold glass of their favorite brew.

1st Sunday of August – Friendship Day

The first Sunday of August was declared as a holiday in the US in honor of friends by a Proclamation made by US Congress in 1935. Friendship Day is dedicated to all of your friendships, old and new. The traditional celebrations include meeting with friends and exchanging cards, flowers and gifts. Many social and cultural organizations also celebrate Friendship Day by hosting programs and get-togethers.

1st Sunday of August – International Forgiveness Day

International Forgiveness Day is always been observed annually on the first Sunday of August. The main objective to celebrate this day is to help people get rid of the guilt, and pain in their lives because of not being able to forgive other people or ask for forgiveness.

Shraavana Poornima (August) – World Sanskrit Day

World Sanskrit Day or Sanskrit Diwas is celebrated on Shraavana Poornima, which is the Poornima day that is on full moon day in the month of Shraavana in the Hindu calendar. The day is celebrated to spread awareness, and the importance of the Sanskrit language (Indo- Aryan Language).

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Simmi Kamboj

Simmi Kamboj is the Founder and Administrator of Ritiriwaz, your one-stop guide to Indian Culture and Tradition. She had a passion for writing about India's lifestyle, culture, tradition, travel, and is trying to cover all Indian Cultural aspects of Daily Life.