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Did You Know?
May - August Days of Commemoration in NYS Executive Law
The First Tuesday in May – New York State Teacher’s Day -- Governor David Paterson signed the New York State Teacher Day legislation designating the first Tuesday of every May as a day of commemoration to honor New York State teachers who work hard on a daily basis to educate, encourage and inspire our children.”
The First Sunday in June - Children’s Day -- The establishment of a day set aside to celebrate children pre-dates the 1860s. In 1856, Rev. Charles H. Leonard, D.D., pastor of the First Universal Church of Chelsea, MA, established a Sunday in early June dedicated to children. The contemporary Children’s Day revives, celebrates, and commits to our state’s children and their future. Each year, adults commit themselves to love, cherish, nurture (physical, mental, emotional, & spiritual needs), celebrate, and support the children of New York State, the United States, and the world.
6/12 Women Veterans Day -- Women Veterans Day was set aside to honor the contributions of women veterans, who are important figures in the history of our nation and important role models for our future. At this time, women make up approximately 14 percent of our nation’s soldiers in uniform. Women are eligible for any work in the armed services except for direct combat roles. As the occurrence of women in the military grows, so too does the number of women among America’s veteran population. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the proportion of women veterans will rise from 6 percent this year to over 10 percent by the year 2010.
6/19 Juneteenth Freedom Day (or Emancipation Day) -- The United States of America is a nation founded on the principles of freedom and justice for all. This special day commemorates the day in 1865 when the last U.S. slaves were notified of their independence; Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration of Freedom for African Americans and is a celebration of freedom and justice for all Americans, with a special emphasis on education, achievement and tolerance.
6/25 Korean War Veterans Day -- In recognition of the courage and unwavering patriotism of those valiant men and women of the armed forces of the United States who served during the Korean War, June 25th of each year was designated as "Korean War Veterans Day". From 1950 to 1953, the United States joined with the United Nations forces in Korea to take a stand against what was deemed a threat to democratic nations worldwide. At war's end, a million and a half American veterans returned to a peacetime world of families, homes, and jobs - and to a country long reluctant to view the Korean War as something to memorialize. But to the men and women who served, the Korean War could never be a forgotten war.
8/24 Ukrainian Independence Day -- After facing two World Wars and much political turmoil, hundreds of thousand Ukrainians organized a human chain for Ukrainian independence in memory of the 1919 unification of Ukrainian People's Republic and West Ukrainian National Republic on January 1990. The conservative Communist leaders of Soviet Union attempted a coup to remove Gorbachev and to restore Communist party power in August 1991 but failed. In response to this the Ukrainian parliament, in special session, adopted the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine, in which the parliament declared Ukraine as an independent democratic state on August 22, 1991.
For more information on NYS commemoration days, please visit the NYSED Social Studies Leaders’ Guide and click on “New York State Education Law (for Social Studies)”. Or access the full PDF document at:
http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/socst/leadersguide/days.pdf.
For more information on New York State days of commemoration legislation: http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A07569&sh=t