Kazu Nazrul Islam's Birth Anniversary

Kazi Nazrul Islam, born on 24 May, 1899, in Churulia, Bengal [now in West Bengal, India], was an influential and prolific Bengali poet and anti-imperial activist. He was known as Bidrohi Kobi (“Rebel Poet”) because of his revolutionary activities and participation in the Indian Independence Movement. His literary output includes poems, songs, short stories, novels, essays, and plays. Nazrul Islam significantly contributed to Bengali music with between 2,000 and 4,000 musical compositions collectively known as Nazrul Geeti (“Songs of Nazrul”). His writings are admired for their themes of freedom, social justice, gender equality, and communal harmony. He migrated to Bangladesh in 1972 and was later named the country’s national poet.

World Wrestling Day

World Wrestling Day commemorates the first Greco-Roman wrestling world championships held on May 23, 1904 in Vienna, Austria.

Today, World Wrestling Day is used as a time to celebrate and promote all styles of amateur wrestling around the world.

The month of May is regarded as “World Wrestling Month”

On May 23, 1904, competitors from 5 surrounding countries participated in the inaugural Greco-Roman World Championship held in Vienna, Austria.

The host country, Austria, was heavily represented, accounting for 19 out of 26 total competitors, while Demark, Germany, Hungary, and Bohemia also brought representatives.

Sherlock Holmes Day

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is best known for being the author of Sherlock Holmes. Doyle’s birthday, May 22, is celebrated as Sherlock Holmes Day for fans of one of the most famous literary detectives of all time.

Doyle was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1859. While he wrote some short stories as a young adult, Doyle did not originally pursue a career as an author. He went to medical school and graduated with his bachelor’s in 1881 and earned his M.D. in 1885. One of Doyle’s professors, Dr. Joseph Bell, was a master of diagnostics and deduction. His observational prowess would provide inspiration for the character of Sherlock Holmes.

“A Study in Scarlet”, the first Sherlock Holmes story, was published in 1887. The adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were immediately popular with readers, but Doyle wasn’t passionate about the characters. He considered the Sherlock Holmes stories to have more popular “commercial” value compared to his other writing. He wanted to be regarded as a more “serious” author for the other novels, plays and poems he wrote. 

Doyle continued to practice medicine, got married and had a family, all while pursuing a literary career. While he explored writing nonfiction and penned many pieces on spiritualism, it was Sherlock Holmes who would reign supreme. The last of Sherlock Holmes’s stories were published in 1927, and Doyle passed away in 1930.

World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development

 

Held every year on 21 May, the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development celebrates not only the richness of the world’s cultures, but also the essential role of intercultural dialogue for achieving peace and sustainable development. The United Nations General Assembly first declared this World Day in 2002, following UNESCO’s adoption of the 2001 Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, recognizing the need to “enhance the potential of culture as a means of achieving prosperity, sustainable development and global peaceful coexistence.” 

With the adoption in September 2015 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by the United Nations, and the Resolution A/C. 2/70/L.59 on Culture and Sustainable Development adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2015, the message of the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development is more important than ever. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals can best be achieved by drawing upon the creative potential of the world’s diverse cultures, and engaging in continuous dialogue to ensure that all members of society benefit from sustainable development. 

World Metrology Day

World Metrology Day is celebrated globally on May 20 every year to highlight the importance of the science of measurement in our daily lives and raise awareness around it.

Metrology has constantly pushed scientific and technological advancements; this day highlights metrology’s impact on quality of life and conservation of the environment, thereby aligning with UNESCO’s objective to advance science for a better world.

Plant Something Day (United States)

Plant Something Day is a holiday that is celebrated in the United States every year on May 19. It encourages people to take a few minutes to plant something around them. It could be a flower, a tree, or an indoor plant. Any plant that grows would suffice. During the holiday, local businesses like nurseries and landscapers usually host community events to plant in public spaces together. People can plant at home, in schools, in parks, and in other community gardens. The planting initiates help to protect the environment and enhance the beauty of public spaces.

 

Birth Anniversary of St. John Paul II

 

St. John Paul II, born on 18 May 1920, in Wadowice, Poland, was born, Karol Józef Wojtyła. He was the third longest serving pope and the first non-Italian for 455 years who held office from 1978 to his death in 2005.

He was beatified on 1 May 2011; canonized 27 April 2014; and has his feast day on 22 October, a date chosen to remember the anniversary of the liturgical inauguration of his Papacy in 1978.

As part of his effort to promote greater understanding between nations and between religions, he undertook numerous trips abroad, traveling far greater distances than had all other popes combined, and he extended his influence beyond the church by campaigning against political oppression and criticizing the materialism of the West. He also issued several unprecedented apologies to groups that historically had been wronged by Catholics, most notably Jews and Muslims. His unabashed Polish nationalism and his emphasis on nonviolent political activism aided the Solidarity movement in communist Poland in the 1980s and ultimately contributed to the peaceful dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. More generally, John Paul used his influence among Catholics and throughout the world to advance the recognition of human dignity and to deter the use of violence. His centralized style of church governance, however, dismayed some members of the clergy, who found it autocratic and stifling. He failed to reverse an overall decline in the numbers of priests and nuns, and his traditional interpretations of church teachings on personal and sexual morality alienated some segments of the laity.