Celebrating Mexico’s Little Ones on Children’s Day
The time has come to celebrate the little ones in the home! On April 30, Children’s Day is celebrated in Mexico, although the date is brought forward to other countries in the world.
This commemoration is used to reaffirm the rights of minors to preserve their development and well-being. According to data from the Institute National Statistics and Geography (Inegi), in Mexico, there are more than 25.2 million children under 12 years of age, who are considered infants in the General Law on the Rights of Girls, Boys and Adolescents.
Rights of Children in Mexico
Some of the rights that this population has are to life, to identity, to live in a family, to be free from violence, and to live in conditions of well-being that achieve a healthy integral development.
World Children’s Day
World Children’s Day recognized by the United Nations Children’s Fund ( Unicef) is on November 20 of each year. This date was established because it is when the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
History of Children’s Day in Mexico
Children’s Day has been celebrated in Mexico since before Unicef recognized a day to celebrate the world’s children. In 1924, during the presidency of Álvaro Obregón and the management of José Vasconcelos in the Ministry of Public Education, it was decreed to celebrate the children of Mexico every April 30 starting in 1925.
The objective of the celebration was to reaffirm their rights to achieve their full development. The CNDH points out that Vasconcelos affirmed that each school should be a palace with a soul “so that poor, barefoot and hungry children could live in palaces the best hours of their lives.”
In the decree establishing the commemorative day, the Then President Obregón instructed the institutions to foster fraternity for children and promote the well-being of minors.
Celebrations of Children’s Day in Mexico
Although it is not an official holiday marked in the Federal Labor Law, many schools suspend classes or organize activities to celebrate Children’s Day. Fairs, festivals, and concerts are also organized in different areas of the country so that children have a great time.
Children’s Day Celebration in Other Countries
In other countries of the world, minors are celebrated on November 20, as it is the date on which The UN General Assembly approved the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.
United States Celebrates Children’s Day
The United States does not share a date with Mexico or with the rest of the countries that commemorate World Children’s Day determined by UNICEF. In the American Union, children are celebrated on the second Sunday of June, since almost a century before the international celebration for children was born.
In 1856, a reverend from Massachusetts began organizing special services for children on the second Sunday of June each year. The objective was to honor the Christian life of infants. The reverend’s initiative was later discussed at a convention in Baltimore with churches from all over the United States, and the celebration spread to the entire country.
However, it was not until 1982 that President Ronald Reagan recognized Children’s Day as an official holiday, although he set it for June 8. The date changed to June under George HW Bush.