The day of the child is celebrated in Bulgaria every year on 1st of June. However, few know that in the past it was also celebrated on another date. In an interview with BTA, Mariana Dimitrova, curator of the New History Department at the Rousse Historical Museum, explains that the celebration of the Children's Day dates back to the World Conference on Child Health, which took place in Geneva in 1925.
The idea to celebrate this day came in 1925 when the Chinese Consul-General in San Francisco collected several Chinese Orphans and led them to the Dragon Boat Feast (a Chinese feast that originated in antiquity and was associated with the Spring Equinox). Later, his initiative was continued, with an international conference on children's health being held in the United States and Europe.
In Bulgaria, in 1927, a decree was issued by Tsar Boris III to commemorate the Day of the Child on the second Sunday after Easter every year. For the first time in Bulgaria, ''The day of the child'' was officially celebrated on May 8th, 1927.
Since May 8, 1928, the initiative for his annual celebration has been undertaken by the Union for the Protection of Children in Bulgaria (TBU). It was founded on June 14, 1925, and was in the beginning part of the structures of the Bulgarian Red Cross Society. Since its creation Union is a member of the International Union for the Protection of Children in Geneva.
For the celebration of the Children's Day in Bulgaria, a special committee was established in 1927 under the presidency of Prince Evdokia, the daughter of the former Bulgarian King Ferdinand I and the sister of King Boris III. After the marriage of King Boris, the third patron of the celebration of Child's Day and of the SDAA itself became the wife of the King- Queen Ioana. For the Children's Day, there were also printed stamps with the face of Princess Maria Luisa Saxe-Coburg-Gotha as a child.
In 1949, the 1st of June was officially declared an International Day for the Protection of Children.
And in 1950, the 1st of June was first celebrated in 51 countries worldwide.
