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Peace Tree Day is an annual festival for children and families of every culture and faith to share and celebrate peace and diversity together. It was founded by Mitra Sen, the producer and director of the award-winning 2005 feature film The Peace Tree .
Mitra Sen produced and directed the 2005 film The Peace Tree, which shares the story of two little girls, one Muslim and one Christian, who dream of celebrating each other's festivals, Christmas and Eid. While working on the film, she came up with the concept of a Peace Tree that has the symbols of all our cultures and faiths on one tree to reflect the beauty of "diversity in unity". She felt it important to create an inclusive festival that celebrates all cultures and faiths together, as most religious festivals have their roots in only one religion.
In 2006, Mayor David Miller proclaimed June 1 as Peace Tree Day in the city of Toronto. The city of Vaughan, Windsor, Markham, Richmond Hill, Whitchurch-Stouffville, York Region, York Region District School Board, York Catholic District School Board and York Regional Police have all proclaimed Peace Tree Day and have organized celebrations for June 1, 2007. Children in schools in Canada, the United States, the Bahamas, England, Ireland, India, Pakistan and Australia are creating Peace Trees that highlight symbols from all our cultures and faiths on one tree.
On June 1, 2006, 300 school children and educators from over 40 schools across Southern Ontario, from Niagara to Durham, flocked to Nathan Phillip’s Square in downtown Toronto, celebrated the world's first Peace Tree Day celebration, proclaimed by Mayor David Miller in the City of Toronto. Crafted by their own hands, each child created a symbol of cultural or religious significance, and as an act of fellowship and harmony, placed it upon the Peace Tree. Each participant, given the title of Peace Tree Ambassador, was encouraged to teach their family, friends, and entire communities the value of the Peace Tree project and Peace Tree Day. Peace Tree Day celebrations included workshops presented by children and seniors that shared literature, music, art, dance, and food from around the world.
List of workshops during the Peace Tree Day celebration 2006:
Celebrations were held in parks, schools, hospitals, camps, and organizations across York Region, Windsor, Hamilton, Toronto and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island this year. Children in schools and film festivals around the world have started creating Peace Trees after viewing the film. In Toronto, students have also started Peace Tree Clubs, Peace Tree Centres and the Peace Tree Ambassadors’ Network has connected children around the world who have started the Peace Tree movement in their schools.
In the year 2007, during the celebration of Peace Tree Day, the Police Services and sponsors unveiled the plans for the world’s first Peace Tree Garden. The Peace Tree Garden, located north of Toronto in Bruce's Mill Conservation Area, will incorporate plants from diverse cultures, include a medicine wheel around the Peace Tree and share peace quotes by human rights leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa and many others. The Peace Tree, located in the center of the garden, highlights the symbols of every culture and faith to celebrate the beauty of "diversity in unity."
In June 2007, a group of preschool and kindergarten children worked together to create the first Peace Tree Stand and raised $5,000 worth of medical supplies for Free the Children, the charitable organization founded by Craig Kielburger. The Peace Tree Stand, created in celebration of Peace Tree Day, featured drinks and treats from around the world along with workshops reflecting diversity and peace. Drinks included Sharbat Alabalou from Iran, Mugi cha from Japan, Jeera Pani from India, and sweet treats from different parts of Asia. The workshops featured children drawing mehndi peace symbols, making origami paper cranes, drumming workshops and sharing books about peace. The little toddlers tried their hand at creating new rhythms on the tabla and African drums blending beats and creating new rhythms.
To date, the Peace Tree has begun to grow in India, Canada, USA, Pakistan, Australia, China, South Africa, England, Germany, Ireland, Dubai, and in the Bahamas.
Peace Tree Ambassadors are young people (mostly children) who are really inspired by the idea of the Peace Tree and Peace Tree Day, who are trying to spread peace around the world.
Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the Fête nationale française ; legally it is known as le 14 juillet.
Kwanzaa is an annual celebration of African-American culture from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a communal feast called Karamu, usually on the sixth day. It was created by activist Maulana Karenga, based on African harvest festival traditions from various parts of West and Southeast Africa. Kwanzaa was first celebrated in 1966. A 2015 survey of the United States found that 1.9% of those polled planned to celebrate Kwanzaa – about six million people.
May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. Traditions often include gathering wildflowers and green branches, weaving floral garlands, crowning a May Queen, and setting up a Maypole, May Tree or May Bush, around which people dance. Bonfires are also part of the festival in some regions. Regional varieties and related traditions include Walpurgis Night in central and northern Europe, the Gaelic festival Beltane, the Welsh festival Calan Mai, and May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It has also been associated with the ancient Roman festival Floralia.
Eid al-Fitr is the earlier of the two official holidays celebrated within Islam. While the Qur'an does not mention the celebration of Eid, the religious holiday of Eid al-Fitr is celebrated by Muslims worldwide because it marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan. Some Muslims, however, do not view it as a sacred holiday. Eid al-Fitr falls on the first day of Shawwal in the Islamic calendar; this does not always fall on the same Gregorian day, as the start of any lunar Hijri month varies based on when the new moon is sighted by local religious authorities. The holiday is known under various other names in different languages and countries around the world. The day is also called Lesser Eid, or simply Eid.
The Toronto Caribbean Carnival, formerly known as Caribana, is a festival of Caribbean culture and traditions held each summer in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a pan-Caribbean Carnival event and has been billed as North America's largest street festival, frequented by over 1.3 million visitors each year for the festival's final parade and an overall attendance of 2 million.
Festál is a free series of annual ethnically-related festivals that take place on the grounds of Seattle Center in Seattle, Washington. A major cultural program of Seattle, these festivals aim to celebrate and connect the city to its varied ethnic and international community. Most festivals contain various arts performances, dances, marketplace and other programs. These have also come to be the annual gathering place for ethnic groups of the community. Both older and younger people attend, especially the dances and musical concerts.
The International Day of Peace, also officially known as World Peace Day, is a United Nations-sanctioned holiday observed annually on 21 September. It is dedicated to world peace, and specifically the absence of war and violence, such as might be occasioned by a temporary ceasefire in a combat zone for humanitarian aid access. The day was first established in 1981 and first observed in September 1982 and is kept by many nations, political groups, military groups, and people.
The Millennium Village was located in Epcot and was the centerpiece of Disney's Millennium Celebration. The 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m2) pavilion opened up its doors to the public on October 1, 1999, and was closed down on January 1, 2001. It is, however, used on occasion. Along with the Odyssey Restaurant, the Millennium Village is utilized during the Epcot Food and Wine Festival.
Peace Mala, is a British Registered Charity based in Morriston in Swansea, Wales dedicated to fostering inter-cultural, inter-faith tolerance, and promoting international humans rights and dignity. According to Peace Mala’s memorandum, the project aims to: To advance the education of the public in global citizenship through the promotion of understanding, respect, friendship, tolerance and peace between all communities, cultures and different faiths and, To promote human rights as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent United Nations conventions and declarations.
MuslimFest is an annual three-day festival that celebrates the best in Muslim Art, Culture, and Entertainment. The event showcases Muslim artists, musicians, and comedians, and takes place every summer in Mississauga, Ontario. MuslimFest is a signature event in Canada that won various awards including Top 100 by FEO and also Greenest Festival in Canada award. The 2023 event will take place at the Mississauga Celebration Square from July 07 to July 09.
International Museum Day (IMD) is an international day held annually on or around 18 May, coordinated by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). The event highlights a specific theme which changes every year reflecting a relevant theme or issue facing museums internationally. IMD provides the opportunity for museum professionals to meet the public and alert them as to the challenges that museums face, and raise public awareness on the role museums play in the development of society. It also promotes dialogue between museum professionals.
The Peace Tree is a 2005 family film written and directed by Canadian filmmaker Mitra Sen.
Masala! Mehndi! Masti! meaning "Spice! Henna! Fun!" is the largest interdisciplinary South Asian arts and entertainment festival outside of South Asia. This free event takes place annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (GTA) at the Exhibition Place over a three-day period. The festival exhibits local and international South Asia inspired talent in areas such as music, fashion, dance, theatre, film, visual arts and crafts, literary works, yoga, social issues and more.
Anuradha Pal is a Tabla virtuoso, multi-percussionist and music composer who is acclaimed as the first professional female tabla player in the world by Encyclopedia Britannica and the Limca Book of Records.
The Tirgan Festival is a biennial four-day celebration of Iranian arts and culture held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Festival celebrates Iranian arts and culture through an array of artistic and literary disciplines including music, dance, cinema, theatre, history, literature and visual arts. The festivals are held in multiple locations in Toronto, such as the Harbourfront Centre, the Distillery District, and St. Lawrence Center for the Arts. Tirgan Festival 2019 accommodated over 250 artists, 140 performances, and professional speakers.
The Toronto Tabla Ensemble (TTE) is a non-profit charitable organization founded by Artistic Director and tabla master Ritesh Das. The performing ensemble has toured Canada coast-to-coast six times, toured Australia in 2006, and India in 2011.
International Jazz Day is an International Day declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 2011 "to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe." It is celebrated annually on April 30. The idea came from jazz pianist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock. Jazz Day is chaired by Hancock and the UNESCO Director-General. The celebration is recognized on the calendars of both UNESCO and the United Nations.
Annick Chaymotty, known by the stage name Kumari Devayani, is an Indian dancer who performs in the classical Indian dance style Bharatanatyam. She has performed in India as well as in festivals and concert halls in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, the Scandinavian countries, Estonia, and South Korea. Devayānī is an empanelled artist with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. In 2009, she was awarded the Padma Shri.
A winter light festival is one of several annual events organized in different part of the world and among different cultures, to celebrate the end of the winter and the beginning of the light seasons with art workshops, light designs, live music and street food. Originally, this kind of celebration had a religious and spiritual meaning, to celebrate the end of the dark period of the year and the beginning of the days of light. Nowadays, these events have lost the spiritual meaning to leave much more space to the consumeristic aspect.
Yeondeunghoe is a lantern-lighting festival in Korea celebrating the Buddha's Birthday. The date of the celebration is marked on the Korean Lunar calendar as the eighth day of the fourth lunar month. [6,8] The English translation of the name of the festival is written as Yeondeunghoe, Yeon Deung Hoe, or Yeondeung Hoe. Likewise, the exact English translation of the words, “Yeon” “Deung” “Hoe” are varied with suggested meanings as, “Lotus Lantern Festival” and “lighting a lantern.” [7]
