GLOBAL DAYS IN JUNE 2019
1ST JUNE - INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN'S DAY
The World Conference for the Well-being of Children in Geneva, Switzerland, declared this date to be International Children's Day in 1925. It is usually marked with speeches on children's rights and wellbeing, and other events involving or dedicated to children.
5TH JUNE - WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY
The theme this year is Time for Nature.
The foods we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink and the climate that makes our planet habitable all come from nature. Yet, these are exceptional times in which nature is sending us a message:
To care for ourselves we must care for nature. It’s time to wake up. To take notice. To raise our voices. It’s time to build back better for People and Planet. This World Environment Day, it’s Time for Nature.
Click here to find out more.
6TH TO 14TH JUNE - BIKE WEEK
Bike Week, delivered by Cycling UK, is an annual opportunity to promote cycling and show how cycling can easily be part of everyday life by encouraging everyday cycling for everyone.
Believe it or not, Bike Week first took place in 1923 – 96 years ago! It was, and always has been, a great opportunity to highlight the social, health and environmental benefits of cycling, with a core aim of getting people to give cycling a go all over the UK.
So although things are slightly different this year, make Bike Week 2020 the time you get out on your bike! Click here to find out more, or there is an activity booklet below.
8TH JUNE - WORLD OCEANS DAY
Today we have an opportunity to raise global awareness of the benefits humankind derives from the ocean and our individual and collective duty to use its resources sustainably. Future generations will also depend on the ocean for their livelihoods!
This is the United Nations day for celebrating the role of the oceans in our everyday life and inspiring action to protect the ocean and use marine resources sustainably, for the theme this year is: Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean.
Click here to find out more.
14TH JUNE - WORLD BLOOD DONOR DAY
This year, World Blood Donor Day will once again be celebrated around the world on 14 June. The event serves to thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood and also to raise awareness of the need for regular blood donations to ensure that all individuals and communities have access to affordable and timely supplies of safe and quality-assured blood and blood products, as an integral part of universal health coverage and a key component of effective health systems.
You can find out more about giving blood by clicking here.
15TH TO 21ST JUNE - REFUGEE WEEK
Refugee Week celebrates the contribution of refugees to the UK and promotes better understanding of why people seek sanctuary.
This year you are invited to explore the theme of Imagine. Because when things feel stuck; when the old ways of doing things are no longer working, that’s what we need to do.
‘To imagine’ means to picture something you can’t currently see. To step beyond the current moment, and perceive something different. Rather than being a flight away from reality, imagination is sometimes the best response to it – the only way to get us somewhere new.
Maybe you’ll imagine a future where we’ve found new ways to care for our planet, transcend borders or protect human life.
Or perhaps you’ll imagine what it’s like to have to leave your family behind, or what your hometown might look like to someone walking its streets for the first time.
Click here to find out more.
16TH JUNE - FEAST DAY OF ST. RICHARD OF CHICHESTER
St. Richard’s feast day is actually on 3rd April (the day he died), but because this usually falls within Lent or Eastertide, his day is celebrated on 16th June in the Anglican Church. St. Richard is the patron saint of Sussex. Since 2007, 16th June has also been celebrated as Sussex Day. Click here to find out more about St. Richard.
21ST JUNE - FATHER'S DAY
Father's Day is a special day honouring fathers and father figures and celebrating fatherhood. It is celebrated on the third Sunday in June in 52 countries around the world, and traditionally marked by the giving of small gifts and cards. It complements Mother's Day, although it does not have its roots in the Church, as Mothering Sunday does. What will you do for your dad this year?
20TH JUNE - SUMMER SOLSTICE
During our summer, the northern part of the Earth is tilted towards the sun so that we get more daylight and warmth. Today the tilt of the Earth's axis will be most inclined towards the sun and the sun will reach its highest point in the sky.
The sun rises at 04:43 and sets at 21:21 giving us more than 16½ hours of daylight - the longest day of the year. Many people traditionally go to ancient religious sites such as Stonehenge to watch the sun rise. Click here to see our Midsummer page and find out more.
24TH JUNE - MIDSUMMER'S DAY
The festival is primarily a Celtic fire festival, Litha, representing the middle of summer and the shortening of the days on their gradual march to winter. The reason that Midsummer is traditionally celebrated on 24th June, even though the longest day falls on the 20th or 21st is thought to be variation between the Julian and Gregorian calendars.
Midsummer’s Day is one of the four Quarter Days in the Legal Calendar. The other Quarter Days are Lady Day (March 25th), Michaelmas (29th September) and Christmas Day. Click here to find out more.
29TH JUNE - FEAST OF ST. PETER & ST. PAUL
This day in the church calendar is in honour of the apostles St Peter and St Paul, important leaders of the early Christian church, who died for their beliefs. Peter was crucified upside down, at his own request, as he did not think himself worthy of being crucified the same way as Jesus. The bible does not record how Paul died, but it is likely that he was beheaded in keeping with the Roman tradition at the time.
30TH JUNE - ARMED FORCES DAY
The aim of the day is to raise public awareness of the contribution made to our country by those who serve and have served in Her Majesty's Armed Forces and to show your support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community. Click here to find out more.