WikiDwarf: Mountain Day

2022-12-11T15:46:32Z

Mountain Day

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{{Short description|Name for various local and national holidays}}
'''Mountain Day''' refers to three different and unrelated events: (1) Mountain Day, a student celebration in some colleges in the United States in which classes are cancelled without prior notice, and the student body heads to the mountains or a park, (2) International Mountain Day, held each year on 11 December, which was established by the UN General Assembly in 2003 to encourage [[sustainable development]] in mountains, and (3) Mountain Day, a national holiday in Japan as of 2016.In 2023 mountain day will happen on August 11th.

==Mountain Day in the United States==

Mountain Day dates back to at least 1838, when the students of [[Mount Holyoke College#Mount Holyoke College|Mount Holyoke College]] headed off to [[Mount Holyoke]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.mtholyoke.edu/offices/comm/csj/961004/mtday.html| title=Heading for the Hills on Mountain Day: It's Been a Mount Holyoke Tradition Since 1838| publisher=mtholyoke.edu| access-date=2006-09-01| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060304210709/http://www.mtholyoke.edu/offices/comm/csj/961004/mtday.html| archive-date=2006-03-04}}</ref> [[Smith College]] declared its Mountain Day in 1877.<ref>[http://media.www.smithsophian.com/media/storage/paper587/news/2009/10/08/News/Mountain.Day.Builds.On.A.History.Of.Changing.Customs-3795836.shtml Mountain Day Builds on a History of Changing Customs]</ref> [[Juniata College]] established its Mountain Day in 1896,<ref>{{Cite web|title = Mountain Day|url = http://legacy.juniata.edu/life/traditions/mountainday.html|website = [[Juniata College]] - Campus Life - Campus Traditions|access-date = 2015-10-24}}</ref> and [[Williams College]] students have been climbing [[Mount Greylock]], the highest mountain in Massachusetts, to celebrate Mountain Day since the 1800s.<ref>[http://archives.williams.edu/williamshistory/mountain-day.php "Williams College Mountain Day"] [[Williams College]]. Retrieved March 6, 2008.</ref> [[Colby-Sawyer College]]'s Mountain Day is stated to have started in the 1850s, although the first account of it in the student newspaper is not listed until June 1893.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://haystack.colby-sawyer.edu/items/show/10239| title=Colby Academy Voice}}</ref> [[Elmira College]] instituted Mountain Day in 1918.<ref>[https://www.elmira.edu/student/Share_tradition/Traditions/Mountain_Day.html Mountain Day]</ref>

[[Hollins University]] has a similar tradition called Tinker Day on which people don costumes and hike Tinker Mountain.<ref>[https://www.hollins.edu/on-campus/student-life/traditions/ Traditions]</ref>

==International Mountain Day==
[[December 11]], "International Mountain Day", was [[list of minor secular observances#December|designated]] by the [[United Nations General Assembly]] in 2003. The General Assembly "encouraged the international community to organize events at all levels on that day to highlight the importance of sustainable mountain development."<ref>[https://www.un.org/en/events/mountainday/ International Mountain Day, 11 December]</ref>

International Mountain Day is observed every year with a different theme relevant to [[sustainable development|sustainable]] mountain development. [[Food and Agriculture Organization|FAO]] is the U.N. organization mandated to lead observance of International Mountain Day.

The theme for International Mountain Day 2010 was "Mountain minorities and [[indigenous peoples]]." It aims to [[consciousness raising|raise awareness]] about indigenous peoples and [[minority group|minorities]] who live in mountain environments and the relevance of their [[cultural heritage]], traditions and customs.<ref>[http://www.fao.org/mnts/intl_mountain_day_en.asp International Mountain Day 2010]</ref>

On International Mountain Day 2018, Josué Lorca, president of [[List of national parks of Venezuela|Venezuela’s National Parks Institute]], traveled to the mountains of the [[Sierra Nevada de Mérida]], to announce measures intended to lengthen the life of [[Pico Humboldt|Venezuela's last remaining glacier]].<ref name="Gutiérrez">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/01/last-glacier-venezuela/579613/|title=Watching Venezuela's Last Glacier Disappear|last=Rodríguez|first=Jeanfreddy Gutiérrez and María Fernanda|date=2019-01-15|work=The Atlantic|access-date=2019-01-27|issn=1072-7825}}</ref>

== Mountain Day in Japan ==
In May 2014, it was announced that Mountain Day will be celebrated as a public holiday every August 11, beginning in 2016. Supporters of the holiday included legislator [[Seishiro Etō|Seishiro Eto]] and the Japanese Alpine Club.<ref>{{Cite news
| last = Warnock
| first = Eleanor
|author2=Eric Pfanner
| title = Lawmaker Discusses Significance of Mountain Day - Japan Real Time
| work = [[Wall Street Journal]]
| access-date = 2014-05-25
| date = 2014-05-22
| url = https://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2014/05/22/lawmaker-discusses-significance-of-mountain-day/
}}</ref> The legislation states that the holiday is to provide "opportunities to get familiar with mountains and appreciate blessings from mountains."<ref>{{Cite news
| title = Mountain Day created as newest official public holiday
| work = [[The Japan Times]]
| access-date =
| date = 2017-03-27
| url = http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/05/23/national/mountain-day-created-as-newest-official-public-holiday/
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news
| title = Mountain Day becomes Japan's newest public holiday
| work = [[BBC News]]
| access-date =
| date = 2016-08-11
| url = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37030868
}}</ref>

As special arrangement for the [[2020 Summer Olympics]], the 2020 date for Mountain Day was moved to August 10. With the Olympics and Paralympics [[COVID-19 pandemic in Japan|postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic]], the government left this change in place for 2020 and passed an amendment to the Olympic and Paralympic Special Measures Act to make a corresponding change to the holiday in 2021, moving it to August 9.<ref name="2021 changes">{{cite web | url=https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h00738/ | title=Japan's National Holidays in 2021 | website=nippon.com | date=2020-06-10 | access-date=2020-07-14}}</ref><ref name="Jiji 2021 holiday movement">{{cite web | url=https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2020040101071&g=pol | title=五輪祝日、来年も移動特措法改正へ―政府・与党 | publisher=時事通信社 | language=Japanese | date=2020-04-01 | access-date=2020-05-21}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Outfly]], [[Wartburg College]] fall holiday
* [[Leaf peeping]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.un.org/en/observances/mountain-day International Mountain Day, 11 December], official UN page
* [http://www.fao.org/mnts/intl_mountain_day_en.asp International Mountain Day 2010]

[[Category:Public holidays in the United States]]
[[Category:Student culture]]
[[Category:Student culture in the United States]]
[[Category:Recurring events established in 1834]]
[[Category:Outdoor recreation]]
[[Category:Environmental awareness days]]
[[Category:Mountains]]
[[Category:August observances]]
[[Category:December observances]]

Mountain Day - Revision history

WikiDwarf: Mountain Day