It's a Jolly Holiday in June! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Yes

Universal Children's Day, promoted by the United Nations, occurs on November 20. Australia's Children's Week is in October. In New Zealand, children are honored as a taonga (Maori for "treasure") in March. In the USA, presidents have variously proclaimed the Children's Day on the second Sunday in June.

But International Children's Day on June 1 is celebrated by the most countries around the world. These include China, Mongolia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, most former Soviet republics, Vietnam, Myanmar, Bulgaria, the Baltic states, most former Yugoslavian states, Guinea-Bissau, and Ethiopia. It began as the International Day for Protection of Children on June 1, 1950, under the auspices of the Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF). During the Cold War, much of the "First World" viewed the WIDF as pro-Soviet, so that is why there is such disparity. (Many former East German residents still celebrate 'Kindertag' on June 1 rather than September 20, which had been West Germany's and is now reunited Germany's official children's day.)

Answer: Jefferson Davis

June 3 coincides with the birthday of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy during the U.S. Civil War. Kentucky, Louisiana, and Tennessee officially recognize June 3 as Jefferson Davis' birthday, but it isn't a paid holiday. Other Southern states have a Confederate Memorial Day on a different day (such as the last Monday in April in Alabama and Georgia) that *is* a paid holiday, with schools and state offices closed.

Answer: Flag Day

On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the official flag of the fledgeling USA. Flag Day is NOT a federal holiday, and by an Act of Congress the President must proclaim it every year on June 14 (or not proclaim it at his discretion). Cities and towns hold parades and other festivities on this day.

Flag Day's history is convoluted. Pennsylvania was the first State to observe Flag Day, thanks to the efforts of Benjamin Franklin's descendant Elizabeth Duane Gillespie, although Appleton, Wisconsin, claims to hold the oldest continuous National Flag Day parade (since 1950). Groups as different as the Benevolent Order of the Elks and the International Workers of the World also had roles to play in Flag Day's emergence in the early 20th century.

New York is an interesting case. In 1889, kindergarten teacher George Balch convinced the the New York State Board of Education to adopt 'Flag Day' on June 14. In 1894, the governor of New York directed that all public buildings display the Stars and Stripes on June 14. By statute, however, Flag Day in New York since sometime in the 20th century has been officially the second Sunday in June. Most New Yorkers don't seem to know that, however, and celebrate Flag Day on or around June 14 just like everybody else in the USA.

COINCIDENCE: Two years before Old Glory was adopted, Congress officially espoused "the American Continental Army" on June 14, 1775, so the date is also celebrated by the U.S. Army as Army Birthday.

Answer: National Yo-Yo Day

Donald W. Duncan (1892-1971) not only founded the Duncan Toy Company, maker of its iconic yo-yo, but also the Good Humor franchise and a parking meter manufacturer. The word 'yo-yo' was a trademark until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Duncan v. Royal Tops that the word had become genericized in the English language. Duncan did not invent the yo-yo, however, as it has been in existence for nearly three millennia.

At fifty inches (127cm) high and 31.5 inches (80cm) wide, and weighing in at 256 pounds, the world's largest wooden yo-yo sits on display at the National Yo-Yo Museum in downtown Chico, California. It has been demonstrated to actually work!

Answer: Portugal

El Dia de Portugal, de Camões e das Comunidades Portuguesas ("The Day of Portugal, Camões, and the Portuguese Communities") commemorates the death of poet Luís de Camões, a nationalist symbol and a literary icon compared to Shakespeare and Dante, on June 10, 1580.

It so happened that on his death King Philip II of Spain claimed the Portuguese throne. Portugal was then ruled by Spanish monarchs during the Iberian Union until 1640, when the Portuguese won the Guerra da Restauração ("Restoration War") and John of Bragança became King John IV of Portugal. Parades, pageants, concerts, and military exhibitions abound on this day, in Portugal and among Portuguese communities around the world. Each year a different city hosts the celebration; in 2016 it was both Lisbon and Paris, the first time two cities hosted at once.

Answer: World Environment Day

World Environment Day, declared way back in 1974, is run by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). A different nation each year has hosted WED celebrations to promote environmental awareness since the USA hosted the first one in 1974 in Spokane, Washington (during Expo '74). In 2016 it was Angola.

The World Health Organization (WHO) first declared World Elder Abuse Awareness day on June 15, 2006.

World Blood Donor Day (June 14), one of WHO's major global campaigns for public health (along with World AIDS Day and several others), began in 2004. It coincides with the birthday of Karl Landsteiner, who developed the modern systems of classifying blood.

Ratified by the UN in 2005, International Widows' Day (June 23) was the brainchild of the Loomba Foundation (of Lord Loomba of Gabon) to bring awareness and aid to the poverty and injustice that befall many women globally when their husbands die. It is held on June 23 the anniversary of when Lord Loomba's mother became a widow.

Answer: Madagascar

Madagascar was one of the last places on Earth to be inhabited, first by Indonesians, then Arabs and Persians, and then Africans at the turn of the Second Millennium (A.D. 1001). In 1896 the French conquered the native Malagasy people (a mixture of all who had settled before), who peacefully regained their independence in 1960.

Independence Day in Madagascar is a grand celebration, with lots of food, drink, and dancing. During 'Hira Grisy', performers in traditional costume sing and dance and tell folk-tales, and sometimes recite poetry.

(Did you pick Mauritius? Another African island nation famed for its unique fauna, Mauritius celebrates its independence from the UK on March 12.)

Answer: Juggling

The International Jugglers' Association (IJA) brings together jugglers all around the world in an annual festival to honor their skill and dexterity, and to spread fun and joy. In 2016, some nineteen events took place across seven countries as part of the celebration. Founded in 1947, the IJA also run youth workshops, competitions, and other events worldwide.

Juggling is an ancient art. Ancient Chinese warriors would intimidate their enemies by juggling swords before them. The earliest depiction of juggling is on an Egyptian tomb dating from c. 2000 B.C.!

Funabulism, by the way, is tight-rope walking, and legerdemain is sleight-of-hand (whereas juggling, like bareback riding, is no trick).

Answer: The 3rd Sunday

Many Western European countries have actually celebrated Fathers' Day on St. Joseph's Day (March 19) since medieval times. In the USA, as it was associated with Roman Catholicism (though Anglicans and Lutherans also observe it), the day was not civically recognized. After Ana Jarvis successfully promoted Mothers' Day in Grafton, West Virginia, the first Father's Day (in reply) took place in Falmont, West Virgina on July 5, 1908. Afterward, many people tried to establish a national Fathers' Day, including Jane Addams, until President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress in 1916 to pass a statute. Congress refused, fearing (presciently) that it would be commercialized. Calvin Coolidge tried again in the 1920s, and in 1966 Lyndon B. Johnson issued a proclamation (which has no force of law) designating the 3rd Sunday in June. Congress finally buckled under in 1972 and made the day a permanent national holiday, whereupon Richard Nixon signed it into law.

Of course, I use the word 'holiday' loosely as generally nothing is closed that wouldn't be, being on a Sunday, nor on the following Monday. Also note that in the States it is officially (though incorrectly) spelled "Father's Day" rather than "Fathers' Day".

Answer: Juneteenth

Juneteenth is the oldest holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the USA, particularly in Texas. Major General Gordon Granger landed troops in Galveston, and he announced the slaves' liberation on the balcony of Ashton Villa (an historic home). Although a very specific event, the holiday spread among newly freed slaves in the South and into the North as well. During the Jim Crow era (1890s-1960s), celebration of Juneteenth was largely quashed, but during Civil Rights movement of the 1950s-60s it began to be revived, and by the 1980s-90s it became an important holiday to the African-American community to celebrate freedom and progress and civil rights.

For a long time Juneteenth was observed in various states and municipalities, sometimes as a holiday and sometimes just ceremoniously (no schools or government offices closing). Then in 2021, Congress passed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law. Juneteenth became the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Day (1983). It is not celebrated as a "Monday holiday" like MLK Day or Columbus Day, however. The official holiday remains June 19th. If the date falls on a Saturday or Sunday, then the federal employees get the nearest Friday or Monday off (and the banks are closed that day as well).

Eat Your Vegetables Day is June 17. Kamehameha Day is observed only in the State of Hawaii, USA, on June 11, to honor the first King of a unified Hawai'i. Garfield Day (for the comic-strip cat, not the American President) is also on June 19, but that's a horse (or a cat) of a different color.

Answer: Overturning of anti-miscegenation laws (Loving v. Virginia)

In 1958, Richard Loving and Mildred married in Washington, D.C. After moving to Virginia, they found themselves before Judge Leon Bazile who announced: "Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, Malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix." And he sentenced them to jail, as Loving was white and Jeter was biracial (African-American and Native American), and miscegenation (mixed marriage) was illegal in Virginia. He suspended their sentence in exchange for banishment from the state for 25 years. The case was taken all the way to the Supreme Court, which upheld the couple's right to marry, regardless of race.

Ken Tanabe, an American with a Belgian mother and a Japanese father, founded Loving Day in 2004 as part of his MFA thesis project. The day not only honors this landmark case but also the ideas of equality, civil rights, the pursuit of happiness, and personal freedom of choice. Once Barack Obama, the first African-American President of the USA, took office, the movement to make it a federal holiday to salute mixed-race families gained momentum (but to little avail).

Answer: Bastille Day

Midsummer was originally a pagan holiday, referred to by some Neopagans as Litha, but Christianity co-opted it for the birth of St. John of the Baptist. It was June 24 rather than June 21 in Roman times, and of course the actual solstice takes place in modernity between June 19 and June 25, so Midsummer celebrations vary widely around the world, although many use the date June 21. Bonfires may be lit to acknowledge the annual cosmic event.

The first documented handshake was between an Assyrian and a Babylonian King. World Handshake Day (June 21), founded by Ivan Zupa following a tsunami, is all about spreading peace, love, and unity through this simple gesture.

World Music Day, or Fête de la Musique, was the 1982 brainchild of French Minister of Culture, Jack Lang. Based on French composer Maurice Fleuret's musings for "the music everywhere and the concert nowhere", it spread to over 700 cities across 120 nations, where professionals give free concerts in the streets.

June 21 is also International Yoga Day, World Humanist Day, Baby Boomers Recognition Day (USA), National Peaches and Cream Day (USA), and Go Skateboarding Day. What a busy day; good thing it's the longest day of the year!

(Bastille Day, or Fête de la Fédération, is celebrated in France on July 14.)

Answer: Canada Day

Celebrate Canada begins on June 21 with National Aboriginal Day, to honor the aboriginal and métis peoples (mixed First Nations and Euro-American) living in Canada. Governor General of Canada Roméo LeBlanc chose the day in 1996 to correspond with the Summer Solstice (of the North), a day of significance among First Nations. Next comes Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (June 24), also known as the National Holiday of Quebec, during which French Canadians take pride in their cultural heritage.

Then on June 27, Canadian Multiculturalism Day, Canada's cultural, racial, and religious diversity is celebrated with events from kite-flying to exhibits to concerts (Chinese, Indian, and Filipino are among the largest minorities in Canada).

It all hits a climax on Canada Day, which is July 1, the anniversary of the Constitution Act which united the colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and "the Canada province" (now Ontario and Quebec) into one nation.

Answer: Fiji - June 12

Australia, New Zealand, and the UK all belong to the Commonwealth of Nations. Although Fiji left the Commonwealth of Nations in 1987, the island country continued to celebrate the Queen's Birthday on June 12 until the practice was abolished in 2012.

Queen Elizabeth II was actually born on April 21, but her official birthday is designated by proclamation or by statute, as has been the tradition of British monarchs since 1748. The Queen's official birthday, therefore, is (usually) on the second Sunday of June. Australia, however, celebrates the Queen's Birthday on the second Monday in June -- except for the state of Western Australia (which moved Her Majesty to the autumn, either the last Monday in September or the first Monday in October.)

In New Zealand, there has been talk of replacing the Queen's Birthday with Maori Day or Sir Edmund Hillary Day, but little has come of it.

Answer: Feast of SS Peter and Paul

St. Peter is considered by Catholics to be the first pope, and St. Paul of course wrote most of the New Testament and was instrumental in spreading Christianity to the Gentiles. ('SS' is an abbreviation for 'Saints'.)

The Feast of SS Peter and Paul is a solemnity in the General Roman Calendar, and a holy day of obligation in many countries, including Wales and England (which means church attendance is mandatory), but NOT in the USA or Canada. This feast day is actually quite significant to the ecumenical movement in Christianity, for on this day the Pope (Roman Catholicism) and the Patriarch (Eastern Orthodoxy) hold a joint Mass.