World Donkey Day

 

On May 8, we celebrate World Donkey Day, dedicated to raising awareness about the plight of these remarkable animals and recognizing their historical contributions to society.

The donkey, a member of the equidae family, was first domesticated approximately 6,000 years ago in North Africa, initially valued for its milk and meat.

World Donkey Day was established through the efforts of Razik Ark, a scientist specializing in desert animals, who sought to highlight the significance of donkeys in enhancing human life.

Throughout history, donkeys have served various roles crucial to human civilization. Today, they remain indispensable in agriculture and rural settings, as well as for transporting goods, although their utilization is declining in many regions.

Let's take this opportunity to appreciate and protect these loyal companions and acknowledge their enduring impact on our societies.

World Donkey Day: History

World Donkey Day commemorates the enduring partnership between humans and donkeys, tracing back through centuries of shared history. These resilient animals have served as indispensable partners in transportation, construction, agriculture, and even warfare. Today, they continue to play vital roles in various spheres of human activity, including as beloved attractions in zoos worldwide.

The modern Donkey we know today is a result of cross-breeding between the Somalian and Nubian subspecies. Dating back to 4000 BCE, they've been integral to human civilization, primarily in Nubia, offering versatility as pack animals compared to oxen. Their influence spread globally as cultures migrated, becoming ubiquitous worldwide.

Donkeys are also the ancestors of mules, a hybrid breed combining the strengths of horses and donkeys. However, mules are mostly sterile, hindering breeding efforts. Despite exceptions, there's never been a viable breeding stock of pure mules due to the absence of breedable mule stallions. Interestingly, female mules have occasionally produced seemingly purebred horses when bred with horses.

These resilient pack animals predate modern energy sources, providing the driving force for generating wealth in early civilizations. Many regard them as fundamental to society's development, akin to the importance of writing, pottery, and metallurgy.

World Donkey Day, conceived by scientist Raziq Ark, celebrates their enduring spirit and contributions. Initiated in 2018 through a Facebook group highlighting donkey stories worldwide, the day has gained traction in media coverage, including features on lesser-known donkey facts, like a female being called a Jenny.

World Athletics Day

 

World Athletics Day is celebrated on May 7 every year. This day aims to promote sports and encourage people, especially the youth, to participate in athletics. It is an annual event dedicated to honouring athletes and instilling values such as dedication and motivation that we can learn from sports. The day highlights the importance of sports and its positive impact on physical and mental well-being. 

HISTORY

World Athletics Day was established by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), now known as World Athletics, in 1996. Since then, it has been celebrated annually to raise awareness about athletics and its benefits. The day also serves as a platform to encourage people of all ages and abilities to engage in sports activities.

Sigmund Freud's Birth Anniversary

 

Sigmund Freud, born on 6 May 1856, in Freiberg, Austrian Empire, was a neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology through dialogue between a patient and a psychoanalyst. His groundbreaking theories on the unconscious mind, dreams, and the importance of sexuality in human development shaped the field of psychology and continue to influence it today.

Freud's major works include The Interpretation of Dreams (1899), The Psychopathology of Everyday Life (1901), and Civilization and Its Discontents (1930). Despite facing controversy and criticism during his lifetime and after, Freud's ideas have left an indelible mark on the study of the human mind and modern psychology.

Freud's circle of colleagues and followers included prominent figures like Carl Jung and Alfred Adler, who eventually developed their own psychological theories.

Napoleon Bonaparte's Death Anniversary

Napoleon Bonaparte, who passed away on 5 May 1821, aged 51, was a French Emperor.

One of the most controversial, influential and celebrated figures in human history, Napoleon seized upon the opportunities created by the outbreak of the French Revolution in1789 and became a general at age 29.

After the French Directory gave him control of the armed forces, his early military victories established him as a national hero, and he engineered a coup in 1799 that made him First Consul of the Republic. He went further and declared himself Emperor of the French in 1804.

Napoleon's stunning military victories over his European enemies - at Austerlitz in 1805, Friedland in 1807 and Wagram in 1809 - solidified his dominance of virtually the entire continent, and confirmed the rapid spread of his empire.

After launching the Peninsular War in Spain, Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812, which ended in disaster and the collapse of his Grand Army. A Sixth Coalition defeated him at Leipzig, invaded France and forced him to abdicate in 1814. He was exiled to Elba, where he escaped and took control of France. He was finally defeated by a Seventh Coalition at Waterloo and exiled to St Helena in the South Atlantic where he died in 1821.

Napoleon's foreign and domestic achievements, particularly the Napoleonic Code, greatly influenced the foundations of most of the modern Western world.

Karl Marx' Birth Anniversary

 

Karl Marx, born on 5 May 1818, was a German philosopher and revolutionary is of the most influential figures in modern human history.

In 1848 he published with Friedrich Engels "The Communist Manifesto" in Brussels describing how in the class struggle the workers could seize power from the elites. His many writings continued to build upon his ideas, most notably "Das Kapital" published in 1867, detailing his theory of capitalism and its self-destructive tendencies.

As a result of Marx's ideas revolutionary socialist governments espousing Marxist concepts took power in a variety of countries in the 20th century, leading to the formation of states such as the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China.

Giani Zail Singh's Birth Anniversary

Giani Zail Singh, born on 5 May 1916, in Sandhwan, India, was an Indian politician who was the first Sikh to serve as president of India (1982–87). He was an impotent bystander in 1984 when government troops stormed the complex of the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) in Amritsar, the Sikhs’ holiest shrine, in an effort to apprehend militants who had been demanding autonomy for the northwestern Indian state of Punjab.

Singh was raised in a village near Ludhiana, in what is now in Punjab state, India. When he was barely 15 years old, he became active in the politics of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Supreme Akali Party), the principal political organization that championed Sikh causes and that had joined with the Indian National Congress (Congress Party) in opposing British rule in India. He pursued traditional studies in Sikh holy books and earned the title Giani (“Learned Man”) for his scholarly mastery of the scriptures. In 1938 he established the Praja Mandal, a political organization allied to the Congress Party, in his home district of Faridkot. That insurrectionary act earned him a five-year jail sentence. During his incarceration he took the name Zail Singh.

After India became independent in 1947, Singh served in the Rajya Sabha (upper chamber of the Indian parliament) in 1956–62 and was chief minister (head of government) of Punjab in 1972–77. When Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was voted out of power in 1977, Singh continued to support her. Singh won a seat in the 1980 elections to the Lok Sabha (lower chamber of the parliament), as did Gandhi, who again became prime minister. She acknowledged Singh’s loyalty to her by naming him minister of home affairs. He held the post until 1982, when he became the Congress (I) Party’s presidential candidate.

Singh overwhelmingly won election to the largely ceremonial office. There was much speculation, however, that Gandhi had selected him in order to mollify Sikh extremists in Punjab, who had since mid-1982 become increasingly militant in that state. The June 1984 assault on the Harmandir Sahib complex by government troops, which killed hundreds, put Singh in a difficult situation with the Sikh community—made worse by the violence against Sikhs that erupted following Gandhi’s assassination by her Sikh bodyguards four months later. Singh named Gandhi’s son, Rajiv, to succeed her, but he soon fell out of favour with the new prime minister. Singh further inflamed the government by refusing to sign into law a 1987 bill permitting official censorship of private mail. Singh died in late 1994 following a car crash.

 

International Day of the Midwife

 

The International Day of the Midwife is annually celebrated on 5 May, and was established in 1992 by the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) to celebrate and raise awareness about the midwifery profession.

This day is observed to honour midwives’ work and promote awareness about their importance in providing crucial care to mothers and their newborns. In addition, it is a chance for us to recognize their efforts towards making the world a better place.

Themes for the day have included healthy families, newborn babies, partnerships between midwives and mothers, and leading the way with quality care.