Spring has barely begun, but you can already plan a mini-vacation – International Women’s Day in Our Country has traditionally been declared a non-working day, which means we are waiting for a longer weekend than the usual two days.
The way we relax on March 8 depends on the day of the week on which the holiday fell. In 2023, we will have a day off in the middle of the week: the 8th falls on Wednesday. And the day before – March 7 – will be working, albeit shortened.
However, such a schedule of holidays applies only to those of our compatriots who work five days a week. If you have a different schedule, you need to clarify information about additional days off directly with the employer.
Why March 8 is a non-working day
The holiday appeared in the struggle of women for emancipation and the right to vote. The women of New York were the first to make such demands in 1908. It was … yes, exactly on March 8th. After that, the next year, the United States of America declared a national women’s day – it is true, it was celebrated on different days: as a rule, it was the last Sunday of February. Already from this country, the ideas of feminism spread further to the west, to the countries of Europe.
In 1910, at an international conference in Copenhagen, political activist Clara Zetkin proposed the establishment of International Women’s Day. To be, so to speak, an official and legal reason to organize rallies and marches, drawing public attention to the problems of women.
The echo of new trends soon reached the Soviet Union. Here, March 8 became an official holiday in 1921, it was “brought” by the fiery revolutionary Alexandra Kollontai.
March 8 was declared a non-working day in 1966 by decree of Leonid Brezhnev. There is a legend about how this decision was made. The central figure in it is Valentin Alexandrov, the man who wrote solemn speeches for members of the Politburo. In 1965, he worked on Brezhnev’s report on the 20th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, in particular, on a fragment that described the military merits and exploits of the women of the Soviet Union. No matter how hard he tried, Brezhnev repeatedly returned his speech to him with the words: “It’s not that. We need even more, we need to show how much the Party values Soviet women.” They say that at that moment his wife came to the aid of Valentin with the words: “Your party would have done much better if, instead of stupid words, women’s lives had improved.”
Then Alexandrov came up with a solution, adding to the speech, in addition to compliments, a proposal to make March 8 a day off – so every woman would receive her own gift. Brezhnev reacted favorably to the idea, and a year later, in 1966, for the first time, International Women’s Day became an additional day off for all working Soviet citizens.
Interesting Facts
- Despite its European roots, for most of the 1970th century, International Women’s Day was celebrated mainly in socialist countries. Only in the 8s, at the suggestion of the UN, March XNUMX began to be considered a holiday in most countries, regardless of their social system.
- In Laos, March 8 is a public holiday for women only. And in China, March 8 is not considered a day off, although, again, only women on this day have the right to work a few hours less.
- In Tajikistan, International Women’s Day in 2009 was renamed Mother’s Day.
- In 1971, women received the biggest congratulations possible: a huge figure eight on the surface of the moon was “painted” with wheels by a Soviet lunar rover. The number is still there: due to the lack of precipitation and erosion, it can last almost forever.
- In addition to International Women’s Day, Girls’ Day is also celebrated annually on October 11 all over the world.
- Funny coincidence: February 23, according to the old style, falls on March 8.
- The male analogue of International Women’s Day is not Defender of the Fatherland Day at all, but World Men’s Day. It is celebrated on the first Saturday in November.