Mayor of San Francisco Joseph L. Alioto issued Earth Day for San Francisco on March 1, 1970. The Earth Flag was raised in Golden Gate Park. Schools, colleges, and business officials participated in a time to remember.
Annual Earth Day events soon took hold at the United Nations, born in San Francisco. Interesting, San Francisco was named after St. Francis, the patron saint of ecology. Society was called to nurture and respect land, air, and sea.
In the late 1970’s, the United Nations was asked to make Earth Day a worldwide holiday.
The Spring, March 21, 1971 Earth Day celebration at the United Nations, the Peace Bell, given as a gift from Japan and made from coins provided by school children to promote peace, was rung. It continues to be rung at each annual observance. People are asked to consider their responsibility in improving the well-being of the earth.
The United Nations Earth Day event is still observed each year on the March equinox (20th or 21st).
In 1975, U.S. President Ford announced the official date of Earth Day on the March Equinox.
Today, Earth Day is celebrated in numerous countries.
In Japan, it is celebrated as "Spring Day." Iran is a leader in the Earth Day Ceremony.
The tradition of the ringing of the Peace Bell, accompanied by a few silent minutes, encourages serious thought on being kind to the earth.
Other dates are also used to observe Earth Day. For some, April 22 is Earth Day.
Currently, international, national, state, and local educational programs have been created and conducted to bring people together to take care of our earth. Protection, conservation, and nurturance of our earth are the commitment. We join forces in loving our earth.
The children of the earth are being taught to care for nature and not to pollute their environment, through assigned activities such as planting flowers and recycling trash. School programs are encouraging group participation, too.
So what can we do to save our earth? Consider planting a tree or a vegetable and fruit garden. Maybe recycle our trash.
Most of all – be sensitive to our environment’s needs. Pray. Reflect. Think. Remember the Peace Bell. Hear its ring.
Earth: a homestead for all. Earth Day: people joining to learn more about how to take care of their planet, and putting that knowledge into action. International Earth Day: a global faithfulness to honoring where we live, work, sleep, and play.
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