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Women's International Day
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Women's International Day has been observed since over eight years ago. Women and men who advocate for the cause of women, celebrate worldwide her efforts and devotion in reaching equality, justice, peace and development. Beyond national frontiers, and ethnic differences, language barriers, as well as cultural, economic and political gaps, women for all over the world observe this day and iterate the conscious thought behind the fact that they are entitled no only to half the obligations, but also to their rights, too. Women's International Day was declared in 1910 by Clara Zetkin, a German member of the International Trade Union of Seamstresses, during the International Congress of Coppehague’s Socialist Women in Denmark. The commemoration was singled out to pay tribute to a group of women who bravely seized control of a New York City's textile factory in 1857 to demand equal wages and a 10-hour working day.The owners' reply to this demand was to set the seized factory on fire. 129 female workers died.The United Nations, as a major world forum and international arena, applauded the celebration of Women's Day in many other countries. By passing Resolution 32/142, all nations were summoned to set aside, according to their own traditions and national customs, one day of the year to observe the United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace.
St. Valentine's Day
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February 14 was marked as a festivity back in 1969, when the Roman Catholic calendar devoted this date to commemorate two Christian saints, one of them St. Valentine, martyred by Roman Emperor Claudius II.As the story goes, St. Valentine was sacrificed because he engaged in the labor of marrying couples after the emperor had already forbidden such practice. Seemingly, the Roman emperor believed married soldiers were not that good for fighting as single troopers were. Moreover, in ancient Rome, every February 15 for devoted to honor Lupercus, God of Fertility. Through the years, a range of legends and traditions have been bound together, and currently St. Valentine's Day is a celebration of love and lovers; a day to exchange messages and presents and gifts to show love and friendship to our loved ones.
Mothers' Day
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On May's second Sunday
Fathers' Day
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On June's third Sunday
Teachers' Day
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On December 22, 1961, Cuba proclaimed itself the first-ever Latin American country free of illiteracy. This achievement was the result of a Literacy Campaign launched in 1961. The entire population was summoned to join this effort and many students suddenly became teachers who climbed the country's steepest and far-off places to teach peasants how to read and write. This effort also stretched to the city.
Start of the Independence Wars
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This day marks the beginning of Cuba's first-ever independence war, known as the 10-Year War or the Grand War. Cuban patriots went on to fight for 10 long years against a Spanish colonial rule bent on keeping slavery alive and the island's colonial status. This war was led by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, Father of the Homeland, who on October 10, 1868, released his own slaves and egged them on to join the emancipating struggle.
National Independence Day
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On January 1, 1959, the triumph of the Cuban Revolution occurred. The Rebel Army, made up of students, peasants and workers all led by Fidel Castro, took over the country by toppling dictator Fulgencio Batista, a ruler bent on U.S. interests. A revolutionary government was set up, taking account of the impending need at the time to improve economic, political, social and cultural conditions for the Cuban people and to introduce profound social changes.
National Rebelliousness Day
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Right after the coup d'etat pulled off by Fulgencio Batista to overthrow the Prío Socarrás administration on March 10, 1952, the 1940 Constitution was struck down and a bloody dictatorship entirely bent on U.S. interests is established. Fidel Castro organized an opposition group against the Batista regime, whose members received training with firearms. The very first armed action carried out by Fidel Castro and his mostly-young revolutionary movement was the attack of the Moncada Garrison on July 26, 1953, the strongest and best-equipped of all military barracks in eastern Cuba. The Bayamo Barracks was also attacked by a second group of youngsters. After the attack, the Fulgencio Batista regime unleashed repressive actions and crimes all over the country, not only against the attackers but also against civilians. That day is considered the National Rebelliousness Day. Regardless of the fact that the attack backfired, it did mark the resume of the Cuban people's struggle for its independence, let alone it also proved Cuba's decision to put an end to the Batista regime, a dream come true with the revolutionary triumph on January 1, 1959. Fidel Castro managed to escape alive after the attack, only to be arrested later on. Public pressure exerted on the regime led to his release, thus showing the Cuban people's solidarity toward his leader and his enjailed comrades.