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The expression “A book is the best gift” has firmly entered our daily life. And if so, then the best gift should have its own memorable calendar day. It is even better if this date has an international status.
We tell you what the International Book Giving Day 2023 is like, when it is celebrated, what is the history of this calendar date and what traditions are associated with it.
When is International Book Giving Day 2023?
International Book Giving Day 14 February, in 2023, celebrations will be held in more than 40 countries around the world. The world of books is unique and diverse, so it is unrealistic to pay tribute to book wealth in one single day. In Our Country, this day is preceded by various scientific and educational events aimed mainly at teenage and youth audiences. Promotions dedicated to the date start, as a rule, a week before the holiday itself. The leading libraries of the country, social movements and organizations take part in the February events aimed at popularizing book reading among the population.
history of the holiday
International Book Giving Day 2023 is a modern and rather young holiday. The idea of this date was born in 2012 by an English writer, mother of two children, Emma Perry. She became the organizer and coordinator of the International Day. Emma Perry devoted her entire life to popularizing children’s literature. In addition to writing books, Emma maintains her own thematic website, where she communicates and gives advice to all parents who contact her. Perry’s initiative found support not only among familiar parents and teachers in England, but also among writers, publishers, representatives of cultural and charitable organizations around the world.
Actions in Our Country dedicated to the International Book Giving Day have their own little history. Maxim Averin, the main theater and film actor, director, TV presenter, Honored Artist of the Federation, has been the ambassador of the annual charity event “Give books with love” since 2017.
Literally all regions of the Federation have joined the Give a Book with Love campaign through the website of the Give a Child a Book project. More than a million books were handed over to needy cultural and educational institutions during the action. The number of participants in the action reached four thousand. Another direction of the project is to help small local libraries affected by natural disasters.
Holiday traditions
politician and public figure, president of the Book Union Sergey Stepashin says that International Book Giving Day “reminds us that expressing love for someone is so easy – you need to give him a kind, good book that will tell about your feelings and bring real joy” . Also, the Book Union is encouraged to celebrate this day with gifts in the form of good, high-quality literature to your family and friends, talk about the date in all social networks, talk about what you have read and upload photos of your favorite books.
On this day, there are more informal traditions that are characteristic of the young holiday. For example, leave a read book somewhere in a public place (clinic, transport, cafe). On this day, you can also give a book on the street to a surprised passerby or donate your books to a district or city library.
The nascent traditions of International Book Giving Day can be remembered whenever you are about to take out old books to the landing or even to the trash in the yard. Since the date of the Book Giving Day surprisingly coincides with the more popular date – Valentine’s Day – you can jokingly consider February 14th to be the Day of all lovers of the book.