Earth Day is celebrated on the vernal equinox to mark the precise moment that spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. At this global moment, night and day are equal all over the world, the sun sets at the South Pole and rises at the North Pole and anyone standing on the equator at noon will not cast a shadow. Earth Day is a day of equilibrium when differences are forgotten and nature's renewal is celebrated by all.

This annual event marks the beginning of Earth Day which has been traditionally observed with the ringing of bells. Earth Day was created to remind us of our shared responsibility to protect the planet. The United Nations celebrates Earth Day each year on the vernal equinox (around March 21). On February 26, 1971, Secretary-General U Thant signed a proclamation to that effect. At the moment of the equinox, the Peace Bell is rung at the UN headquarters in New York.

John McConnell first introduced the idea of a global holiday called Earth Day at a UNESCO Conference on the Environment in 1969, the same year that he designed the Earth flag. The first Earth Day proclamation was issued by San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto on March 21, 1970. UN Secretary-General U Thant supported John McConnell’s global initiative to celebrate this annual spring equinox event. In his statement on 21 March 1971, Secretary-General U Thant said: “May there only be peaceful and cheerful Earth Days to come for our beautiful Spaceship Earth as it continues to spin and circle in frigid space with its warm and fragile cargo of animate life.” Secretary General Waldheim observed EARTH DAY with similar ceremonies in 1972. The United Nations EARTH DAY ceremony continued each year on the day of the March equinox (20th or 21st), with the ringing of the U.N. Peace Bell at the very moment of the equinox. In 1975 the U.S. Congress and President Ford proclaimed and urged observance of Earth Day on the March equinox.

In January 1970, the Environmental Teach-In, who were planning a one-time event for April 22, also decided to call their event EARTH DAY. This nationwide event attracted great attention and complemented the earlier West Coast observance.

In 1971 US Senator Gaylord Nelson announced an Earth WEEK -- for the third week of April -- as a yearly event. Many people and organisations celebrate April 22 (instead of or in addition to the vernal equinox) as Earth Day.

The symbol for Earth Day is a green Θ (Greek theta) on a white background:

Θ

The alternative rock group Dramarama released a popular song about Earth Day in 1993 called "What Are We Gonna Do" [1] (http://www.lyricsbox.com/dramarama-lyrics-what-are-we-gonna-do-kbhgh4b.html).

External link

• Earth Day Network (http://www.earthday.net/)
• The Tale of the Two Earth Days (http://www.solcomhouse.com/earthday.htm)
• International Earth Day (http://www.earthsite.org/) - The Official Site - Spring/Vernal Equinox

da:Jordens dag de:Tag der Erde es:Día de la Tierra eo:Tera Tago