On the 8th of March, we celebrate International Women's Day. Even though this date is not a Slovak public holiday, we can see more men buying flowers for women than usual.
The roots of this holiday date back to 1908. Behind them lays the great strike of New York seamstresses who fought for better working conditions, equality and justice.
In the Czechoslovakia, The International Woman´s Day was celebrated since 1921. During the Second World War the holiday was cancelled, but after the war it started to be commemorated again. Nowadays a significant part of the Slovak population does not see IWD as a holiday because they consider its social and gender emphasis inappropriate. Fortunately, the holiday has not disappeared and in recent years it has begun to revive.
The main events associated with the celebration of 8 March include the organisation of conferences, events, television and radio programmes that draw society's attention to women's rights. There are also concerts, music and entertainment shows all over the country. The spectrum is really wide. There are, for example, folklore performances in Brezová pod Bradlom. In Prešov has begun, a large celebratory tour for the International Women's Day, organised by one of the Slovak political parties. The tour started on 29 February and continues all over Slovakia.
So happy holiday to you, dear ladies! After all, flowers and other forms of attention paid to mothers, wives, daughters, sisters or your beloved partners is always a sign of respect and love.
Author, translation: Ľubica Skořepová