"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers." - Charles W. Eliot Books are the compasses and telescopes and sextants and charts which other men have prepared to help us navigate the dangerous seas of human life." - Jesse Lee Bennett.World Book and Copyright Day (also known as International Day of the Book or World Book Day) is a yearly event on 23 April, organized by UNESCO to promote reading, publishing and copyright.
The Day was first celebrated in 1995. World Book Day is typically celebrated in the United Kingdom and Ireland in early March, though most other countries celebrate World Book Day annually on 23rd April. The reason why the UK and Ireland celebrate World Book Day on a day different to that of most other countries is to ensure that the day always falls during term time to enable schools to celebrate the day according to the schedule. By celebrating April 23rd as the World Book Day, UNESCO pays a world-wide tribute to books and authors, encouraging people to discover the pleasure of reading, and to gain respect for contributions of all those brilliant minds who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity through writing.World Book Day is a partnership of publishers, booksellers and interested parties who work together to promote books and reading for the personal enrichment and enjoyment of all.
World Book Day is observed by more than 100 countries around the globe. As the day relates to books, authors, publishers, teachers, librarians, public and private institutions, humanitarian NGOs and the mass media collectively take part and do their best to promote reading for the personal enrichment and enjoyment of all. The task of mobilizing the participants in every country is done by the UNESCO National Commissions, UNESCO Clubs, Centres and Associations, Associated Schools and Libraries, and by all those who feel motivated to work together in this world celebration of books and authors.
The main aim of World Book Day in the United Kingdom and Ireland is to encourage children to explore the pleasures of books and reading by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own. To achieve this aim, information about a range of activities and events organised by thousands of people around the country is provided to schools so that they may participate according to their choice. Display materials and information about how to take part in World Book Day are also supplied. Quick Reads are a series of short books by bestselling authors with no more than 128 pages, designed to encourage adults to discover the joy of books and are great entertainment.
Origin of World Book Day
The idea for this celebration in the UK and Ireland originated in Catalonia as on Saint George's Day i.e 23rd April, roses and books were given as gifts to loved ones - a tradition followed since the medieval era. Also, in 1923, booksellers in Spain associated books to the day 23rd April in honour of the famous author Miguel de Cervantes who died on that day. the date is also the anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare(UK), Inca Garcilaso de la Vega(Peru) and Josep Pla(Spain), the birth of Maurice Druon(France), Vladimir Nabokov(Russia), Manuel Mejia Vallejo(Columbia) and Halldor Laxness(Iceland).Hence, 23rd April happened to be a fitting choice for UNESCO's General Conference, in 1995, to be announced as World Book Day pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors, encouraging everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure of reading. However, for practical convenience, in United Kingdom and Ireland the World Book day came to be observed during yearly March. There is a controversy regarding the exact dates of birth or death of the writers because of the Julian and Gregorian calendars that were in use in different countries at that time.
Celebrations and Events
Every year thousands of events are organised in schools, bookshops, libraries and other venues to celebrate World Book Day all over the world. The varieties and numbers are massive to demonstrate the importance of the celebrations. Throughout the day there will be activities all related to reading and books and with a theme of 'World book Day.' World Book Day Competitions are arranged and prizes awarded to encourage the participants. Playwriting Courses are conducted. Lectures by and discussions with authors are arranged. As part of Part of 'The Big Write' Adult events are conducted.On the World Book Day, in the United Kingdom, many schools take all out effort to make the students explore the pleasure of reading and thereby inculcate the habit of book-reading in their young mids. Many participating book retailers, on their part, provide book tokens of a specific value each to school children so that they can buy books including the specially published World Book Day books or any audio book at any associated bookshops or book clubs.
As far as school celebrations are concerned Breakfasts, school parties Followed by meetings, lectures competitions like storytelling, performance poetry etc. are conducted. "Book swap" (exchanging books with other children) is one of the activities. This is a fantastic day where all the children are inspired to love books.