World Kindness Day – 13th November 2020
World Kindness Day is celebrated on November 13th every year around the globe. This Day is an extraordinary day to impart the qualities of kindness and spread love and everlasting good qualities with one another. Service is shown not just to human beings, but we need to preserve our love and warmth for animals, birds, all living creatures around us and care for the environment around us too. Kindness is a trait that is imbibed when we shower empathy and care and dissuade from negative feelings.
We should encourage children to develop excellent characteristics of service and help them cultivate it right from their childhood. In this article, we shall dig deeper into the many aspects of World Kindness Day 2020 by detailing into its history, importance, themes and celebrations. Last but not least, we shall also discuss relevant FAQs that are important to this topic.
World Kindness Day – History
It all started in the year 1997 when many organizations around the world based on the working protocol of kindness started a new movement to create awareness on the theme of ‘kindness’. This movement took wings in Tokyo in 1997 under the name ‘World Kindness movement’. This movement was supported by many nations, namely India, Italy, Australia, Nairobi, Thailand and many parts of the US and UK. Singapore too joined the league of supporting member nations, but much later.
All these organizations who subscribed to the movement wore common grounds on the theme of ‘kindness’. They did not buy any aspect of political/ religious/ social/regional or linguistic affiliations and instead worked to spread the love around the world. The World Kindness Movement decided to start ‘World Kindness Day’ as part of their concluding aspects of the Tokyo Convention of 1997.
So, officially the World Kindness Day took formal beginning in the year 1998. The year 1998 saw the first-ever grand launch of the World Kindness Day under the aegis of ‘World Kindness Movement’.
All members who joined this movement to support the special Day collaborated on a common platform of spreading love, compassion and kindness with each other. The United Nations has not passed any resolution to celebrate World Kindness Day on official terms. It is more of an informal celebration brought together by many working NGOs who understand and emphasize the value of ‘kindness’ in this world. More than 28 member countries have been following the Day’s celebrations and making arrangements to celebrate the Day every year.
Significance of World Kindness Day
As on today, the World kindness movement has been granted deemed status under the Swiss government laws. It has been declared a non-government organization, a situation that is sought after as a privilege by many. It has led many to start similar movements worldwide. In the year 2009, the movement spread to many countries, including India and Italy.
By around 2010, the movement developed a broader audience in the province of UK. Inspired by the celebrations of World Kindness Day, Fort Saskatchewan public library published a book-themed on kindness named “Stories of kindness”. Kindness is best advocated when taught by parents to their children from a very young age. Kindness is a form of gesture that is mostly diminishing in today’s scenarios.
We often encounter road rage where motorists and drivers forget lane discipline and implicate false allegations on one another. This kind of blame game ignores the inner peace and ethical behaviour that we ought to portray. Instead, the mind become fuelled to vent anger and forget the entire chunk of kindness within.
People who show less kindness in their behaviour have been scientifically proven to produce more stress hormones in their body. The generation of cortisol, the stress hormone decreases by 23% when people are in reasonable control of their emotions and display sweet gestures of kindness in their attitude.
Kindness also leads people to develop less anxiety, lower frustration levels and loads of patience. This directly improves brain health and balances the blood pressure in the body. A healthy mind always stays in a healthy body. One of the most elegant ways to improve our health and look younger with longevity is to select kindness as one of our original characters.
World Kindness Day 2020 Themes
The year 2019 introduced a unique, trendsetting system of allocating ideas for celebration of World Kindness Day every year. 2019 had the most promising idea by the name empathy. It helped strike the right chords with people across the globe. It banished distinction and differentiation on the grounds of caste, creed, religion or economic status.
It gave superior priority to ‘humanity’. It felt the pain and sufferings of fellow human beings. The theme encouraged people to go out of their way and help each other to make the world a better place. We can understand kindness better when we experience pain by standing in other’s people’s shoes. We have to lead a mission by setting an example.
We should shower love and express kindness to those in pain. We have to spread positivity through our small acts of kindness and empower each other to take on the world with a smile.
World Kindness Day Celebrations
It’s important to be kind. It is equally important to inspire others to be kind-hearted too. World Kindness Day is all about these two facets of kindness. In a world that’s always in the rat race to be ahead in competition in every sphere of life, kindness most often takes a backseat. The need of the hour is to encourage and spread awareness to people, communities, societies and nations to preach and practise kindness. We ought to be kind and take care of our environment too.
Celebrations for World Kindness day could be conducted with many activities like cleanliness drives, high tea parties of like-minded individuals, pet care activities, volunteering and doing marathon runs. Empathy towards the aged population can be extended through particular concern on World Kindness Day. Children centric activities at schools and educational institutions are great attractions. Extending a helping hand to the poor and needs by organizing food and cloth drives would shower and fulfil the mission of kindness.
Conclusion
Kindness is not a trophy achievement in life. It is one of the essential qualities associated with humanity. Compassion brings us closer to mother nature. It spins an unconditional bond between individuals. Strangers become friends and enemies turn into well-wishers. Kindness can transform the personality of an individual and fill him with positivity. Come, let’s celebrate World Kindness Day with great enthusiasm and spread love and laughter.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is World Kindness Day?
World Kindness Day is a unique mission adopted by the World Kindness Movement to spread awareness on the importance of kindness in society.
2. What is the purpose of World Kindness Day?
Nowadays, kindness is becoming a rare quality in human beings. To bring back positivity and functional traits in human beings towards fellow persons, animals, birds and the environment, World Kindness Day is celebrated.
3. How do we celebrate World Kindness Day?
World Kindness Day can be celebrated by collaborating with NGOs and volunteer organizations to spread the message of kindness and love. We can hold special events for children, aged and organize food drives for poor and needy.
4. What is National Kindness Day?
Every year, February 17th is celebrated as National Random acts of kindness Day to spread the messages of love, care, warmth, empathy and well-being.
5. What are 10 acts of kindness?
Some of the underlying acts of kindness include flashing a smile, helping someone cross the road, wishing people every day, being polite in our mannerisms, complimenting others truthfully, thanking someone for the services they offered us, treating a person with goodies, apologizing for committing a mistake, offering to step back in a queue to provide space to a needy person, helping others around us.
6. What is the theme for World Kindness Day 2020?
The theme for World kindness Day 2020 is yet to be finalized by the World Kindness Movement.
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