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In honour of National Children’s Day 2019, Google is celebrating the importance of a healthy childhood and protecting the rights of children with a Google Doodle .
Children’s Day falls on 12 May in the UK – rather than 20 November, when it is marked by the UN – to encourage children to spend time outside exploring nature at the start of summer.
Here are five things you should know about Children’s Day, first started 65 years ago.
1. The original Children’s Day was founded by the UN to protect the rights of children
Children’s Day was established by the UN General Assembly in 1954 as a day of “worldwide fraternity and understanding between children”.
The UN chose 20 November as it is the date in 1959 when the Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.
The best Google DoodlesShow all 50
1 /50The best Google Doodles
The best Google Doodles
Mister Rogers
Google Doodle celebrating children's TV presenter Mister Rogers
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Lucy Wills
Google Doodle celebrating haematologist Lucy Wills
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Falafel
Google Doodle celebrating falafel
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St George's Day
Google Doodle celebrating St George's Day
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James Wong Howe
Google Doodle celebrating Hollywood golden age cinematographer James Wong Howe
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Seiichi Miyake
Google Doodle celebrating Seiichi Miyake, developer of tactile paving
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Walter Cronkite
Google celebrates US broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite's 100th birthday
The best Google Doodles
Lantern Festival 2016
Google celebrates the last day of the Chinese New Year celebrations with a doodle of the Lantern Festival
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Google Doodle celebrating Sergei Diaghilev
Google Doodle celebrating art critic Sergei Diaghilev
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George Boole
Google marks mathematician George Boole's 200th birthday
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Sergei Eisenstein
Google Doodle celebrating soviet film director Sergei Eisenstein
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41st anniversary of the discovery of 'Lucy'
Google marks the 41st anniversary of the discovery of 'Lucy', the name given to a collection of fossilised bones that once made up the skeleton of a hominid from the Australopithecus afarensis species, who lived in Ethiopia 3.2 million years ago
The best Google Doodles
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
Google celebrates physician and suffragist Elizabeth Garrett Anderson 180th birthday
The best Google Doodles
Sir William Henry Perkin
Google Doodle celebrating chemist Sir William Henry Perkin
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Nelly Sachs
Google Doodle celebrating poet and playwright Nelly Sachs
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Thanksgiving 2018
Google Doodle celebrating Thanksgiving 2018
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Nigerian Independence Day
Google Doodle celebrating Nigerian Independence Day
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Mary Prince
Google Doodle celebrating abolitionist Mary Prince
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Father's Day 2016
Google celebrates Father's Day
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Ebenezer Cobb Morley
Google Doodle celebrating "father of football" Ebenezer Cobb Morley
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Octavia E Butler
Google Doodle celebrating science fiction author Octavia E Butler
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Tamara de Lempicka
Google Doodle celebrating painter Tamara de Lempicka
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Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss
Google Doodle celebrating mathematician and physicist Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss
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Fanny Blankers-Koen
Google Doodle celebrating Dutch Olympic gold medalist Fanny Blankers-Koen
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John Harrison
Google Doodle celebrating clockmaker John Harrison
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Guillermo Haro
Google Doodle celebrating astronomer Guillermo Haro
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St. David's Day
Google Doodle celebrating St. David's Day
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Carter G Woodson
Google Doodle celebrating Carter G Woodson, a pioneering African-American historian
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St Andrew's Day
Google Doodle celebrating St Andrew's Day
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Gertrude Jekyll
Google Doodle celebrating horticulturist Gertrude Jekyll
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Children's Day 2017
Google Doodle celebrating Children's Day 2017
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Studio for Electronic Music
Google Doodle celebrating the Studio for Electronic Music
Google
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Olaudah Equiano
Google Doodle celebrating abolitionist Olaudah Equiano
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Fridtjof Nansen
Google Doodle celebrating Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen
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Ladislao José Biro
Google celebrates Ladislao José Biro's 117th birthday
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Amalia Hernandez
Google Doodle celebrating ballet choreographer Amalia Hernandez
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Dr Samuel Johnson
Google Doodle celebrating lexicographer Dr Samuel Johnson
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British Sign Language
Google Doodle celebrating British Sign Language
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Eduard Khil
Google Doodle celebrating baritone singer Eduard Khil
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Fourth of July
Google Doodle celebrating Fourth of July
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Victor Hugo
Google Doodle celebrating author Victor Hugo
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Google Doodle celebrating Giro d'Italia's 100th Anniversary
Google Doodle celebrating Giro d'Italia's 100th Anniversary
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Google Doodle celebrating St. Patrick's Day
Google Doodle celebrating St. Patrick's Day
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Google Doodle celebrating St. David's Day
Google Doodle celebrating St. David's Day
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Steve Biko
Today's Google Doodle features anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko
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The history of tea in Britain
Google celebrates the 385th anniversary of tea in the UK
The best Google Doodles
Nettie Stevens
Google celebrates geneticist Nettie Stevens 155th birthday
The best Google Doodles
William Morris
Google celebrates English polymath William Morris' 182 birthday with a doodle showcasing his most famous designs
Google
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Professor Scoville
Google marks Professor Scoville’s 151st birthday
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Sophie Taeuber-Arp
Google marks artist Sophie Taeuber-Arp's 127th birthday
The Declaration is important because it set in stone a key universal value, stating unequivocally that “mankind owes to the child the best it has to give”.
But the Assembly suggested to governments that the day be observed on a date and in whatever way each considered appropriate.
China, Czech Republic, Portugal and other countries mark the occasion on 1 June.
2. Every Children’s Day has a different theme
Each Children’s Day is assigned a different theme by Unicef and 2018’s was #GoBlue. It called on world leaders to commit to fulfilling the rights of every child and acknowledge that these rights are non-negotiable.
The theme for 2017 was #KidsTakeOver, with Unicef inviting children across the world to take over “grown-up roles” such as in the media and politics to voice support for children in need. A theme has not yet been chosen for this year’s Children’s Day.
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate changeShow all 38
1 /38"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in London on March 15
Reuters
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in Magdeburg, Germany on March 15
AP
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest outside Holyrood in Edinburgh on March 15
Getty
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in Cape Town, South Africa on March 15
EPA
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in New York on March 15
AFP/Getty Images
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in Madrid on March 15
AP
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in Quezon City, Philippines on March 15
Getty Images
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in Vienna on March 15
AFP/Getty Images
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in Dublin on March 15
PA
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in Canterbury, Kent on march 15
PA
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest outside Holyrood in Edinburgh on March 15
Getty
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in Erfurt, Germany on March 15
AP
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in Zagreb, Croatia on March 15
EPA
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in Lisbon on March 15
Reuters
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in Edinburgh on March 15
Getty
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in Florence, Italy on March 15 Sign reads: there is no future without a planet, let's not sell it for money
EPA
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in Vienna on March 15
Getty
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in Brighton on March 15
Reuters
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest outside Holyrood in Edinburgh
Getty
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in Cambridge on March 15
PA
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
Students protest in Bangalore, India on March 15
EPA
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in Lausanne, Switzerland on March 15
EPA
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in Cape Town, South Africa on March 15
AP
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
Students protest in Bangalore, India on March 15
EPA
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
A student protests in Lucerne, Switzerland on 15 March
EPA
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in London on March 15
AFP/Getty Images
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in Lausanne, Switzerland on March 15
EPA
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in Milan, Italy on March 15
EPA
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in London on March 15
AFP/Getty
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in Lund, Sweden on March 15
AP
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in London on March 15
PA
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
A poster with Greta Thunberg, who began the current children's movement at the protest in Lausanne, Switzerland on March 15
AP
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in Cape Town, South Africa on March 15
EPA
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in London on March 15
PA
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in Canterbury, Kent on March 15
PA
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in London on March 15
PA
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest in Canterbury, Kent on March 15
PA
"Act now or swim later" - Children worldwide protest climate change
School children protest outside Holyrood in Edinburgh
Getty
3. Some countries celebrate Children’s Day as a national holiday
In Japan, Children’s Day is observed on 5 May to celebrate the happiness of all children. Originally called Tango no sekku , one of the five annual ceremonies held at the imperial court, it was designated as a national holiday by the government in 1948.
Children's Day was also declared a national holiday by the Republic of Turkey in 1920 and is observed on 23 April.
4. This year’s National Children’s Day focusses on the importance of a healthy childhood
The UK’s National Children's Day is focussing on tacking childhood obesity and the physical and mental health problems that accompany it, in 2019.
In particular, the day will highlight the importance of cutting down children’s sugar consumption. By the time the average child in a developed country turns eight years old, they have consumed more sugar than the average person did in their entire lifetime a century ago.
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5. National Children’s Day is held early in the UK to give children the chance to play outside
While many other countries celebrate the day on the UN-nominated day in November, Children’s Day is celebrated at the start of summer in the UK to encourage kids to explore nature.
According to the National Trust, children today spend half the time their parents did playing outside. While most parents spent an average of eight hours outside a week in their youth, today’s children spend just over four hours.
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