On March 8, hundreds of thousands of women celebrate every year in Russia. However, it is not so easy to explain why we celebrate Women's Day on March 8 and in general the history of this holiday. How "prostitutes" in history were replaced by "workers" and what does the Jews have to do with it?
On the eve of the traditional holiday we decided to collect all the stories that somehow explain the origin of this holiday. Some of them may surprise, or even shock, because they do not have that festive mood to which we are accustomed.
And if those women to whom we owe the holiday of March 8 - the suffragettes, were told that in a hundred years women would begin to prepare for this day in beauty salons, and then accept flowers, perfumes and compliments as a gift from men, these ladies would definitely come out from yourself. And the reaction of the revolutionary Clara Zetkin, who granted Women's Day the status of an annual and international one, is generally hard to imagine.
History March 8 - version one, official: Day of Solidarity of Working Women
Although this version of the creation of the holiday on March 8 from the times of the USSR was recognized as official (and no other versions were considered), it has several "errors".
So, according to the official version, the holiday is associated with the "march of empty pans", which took place on March 8, 1857 in New York.Back then, the women who worked at textile dyes simply protested poor working conditions and low wages.During the march, they beat these same pots, demanding that they be granted a 10-hour working day instead of a 16-hour one, equal wages with men and suffrage.
The same version also speaks of the famous German communist Clara Zetkin. It is she who is often called the woman who founded the holiday on March 8. In 1910, at a women's forum in Copenhagen, Zetkin called on the world to establish an International Women's Day on 8 March. She
meant that on this day women would organize rallies and demonstrations, and thereby draw public attention to their problems.
Here it is also worth recalling the controversial appeal of Zetkin. She was an avid communist, which means she was ready for anything for the sake of her own convictions. In 1920, during the war between Poland and Soviet Russia, Zetkin said the following from the rostrum of the Reichstag.
Not a single wagon with weapons for the Polish troops, with machine tools for military factories built in Poland by the capitalists of the Entente, should cross the German border.
To this end, Zetkin called for the mobilization of all "conscious proletarian women" who should offer their love to any "conscious" worker who refuses to participate in the execution of military orders.
This holiday came to the then Russian Empire through Zetkin's girlfriend, the fiery revolutionary Alexandra Kollontai. The one that conquered the Soviet Union with a "big phrase".
Surrendering to the first man you meet should be as easy as drinking a glass of water.
On March 8, 1917, a women's demonstration took place in Petrograd. While two million soldiers died during the war, women came out to demand "bread and peace." This historic Sunday falls on February 23 according to the Julian calendar, or March 8 according to the Gregorian - the beginning of the Russian revolution.
Four days later, the tsar's false abdication was rigged and the provisional government granted women the right to vote. March 8 became official holiday in the USSR in 1921.
History March 8- version two: protests of prostitutes, not factory workers
This version of the origin of the holiday is perhaps the most scandalous and bad for everyone representatives of beauty gender , who await International Women 's Day with trepidation .
Detention of suffragettes in Britain
In 1857, in New York, women really protested (as we wrote above), but they were not textile workers, but prostitutes. They demanded to pay salaries to sailors, because they used their services and did not have money to pay.
Even later - March 8, 1894 - Another demonstration of prostitutes took place in Paris. This time they demanded recognition of their rights on an equal footing with those service workers who sew clothes or bake bread, and establish special unions .
Detention of suffragettes
Similar actions took place in 1895 in Chicago, and in 1896 in New York.These protests became the prerequisite for the memorable congress of suffragettes (from English word suffrage - "suffrage") in 1910, where it was decided to declare March 8 Women's Day and international, as suggested by Zetkin.
By the way, Clara Zetkin herself also took part in such actions.In 1910, together with her friend Rosa Luxembourg, she brought prostitutes to the streets of German cities demanding an end to police excesses.But in the Soviet version, "prostitutes" were replaced by "working women."
History of March 8 - version three: honoring the Jewish queen
There is a version that Zetkin was born in the family of a Jewish shoemaker, and therefore she connected March 8 with the Jewish holiday of Purim.
According to legend, the beloved of the Persian king Xerxes, Esther, saved the Jewish people from extermination, using her charms.Xerxes wanted to exterminate all the Jews, but Esther convinced him not only not to kill the Jews, but, on the contrary, to destroy all Jewish enemies, including the Persians themselves.It happened on the 13th day of Arda according to the Jewish calendar (this month falls at the end of February- early March). Honoring Esther, the Jews began to celebrate Purim.The date of the celebration was "floating", but in 1910 it fell on March 8th.
This version looks unlikely, but against the backdrop of fictitious protests of factory workers- not so absurd.
Detention of suffragettes in Germany
Other versions
In addition to the three main ones, there are several less popular, but no less interesting a And sometimes very strange) versions of the origin of the holiday.For example, there is an opinion that once March 8 was considered professional holiday Jewish prostitutes, because the first eight of spring was supposedly considered a specific shameful symbolism.Some are convinced that March 8 is Mrs. Zetkin's birthday.Others, either jokingly or seriously, claim that on this day Clara Zetkin (Eisner) became a woman, and then decided to inscribe this intimate date in world history, disguising it as the day of "international solidarity of the female proletariat."
The version about Zetkin's birthday can be easily refuted, because, according to historical documents, she was born on July 5th. And the other two - about the loss of virginity and prostitutes - remain only strange assumptions. The very same holiday on March 8, over the years, more and more acquires similar and unlikely legends.
Caricature of suffragettes in the press
What do we celebrate on March 8?
Speaking dryly, March 8- the usual political "PR campaign" of the Social Democrats.At the beginning of the 20th century, women protested all over Europe.And in order to attract attention, they didn’t even need to show their breasts, as modern activists do. Femen. It was enough just to walk through the streets with posters on which socialist slogans were written.
March 8 was a regular working day for a long time, only on May 8, 1965, on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, International Women's Day on March 8 was declared a holiday in the USSR.
Detention of suffragettes
If you say that March 8- this is a communist relic, you can't go wrong.However, one cannot ignore the fact that, on the other hand,- this is a manifestation of the women's movement (the forces behind it, behind feminism, the violation of God's established order, abortion and the destruction of the traditional way of the family).
That is why March 8 has also become a public holiday in Azerbaijan, Angola, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Vietnam, Georgia, North Korea, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, China, Republic of the Congo, Laos, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Russia, Uganda.
Detention of suffragettes
Even a preschooler will tell without hesitation that March 8 is annually celebrated as International Women's Day, but not every adult is familiar with the unusual history of this beloved holiday. How did the tradition of congratulating the beautiful half of humanity originate, and what exactly was the reason for the appearance of this wonderful spring holiday on the calendar?
Origin story
The historical roots of a fun and flower-filled holiday have a feminist and political flavor. For the first time, the day of March 8 appears in the events of the distant 1901. On that day, American housewives filled the streets of Chicago with pots and pans turned upside down. In such an original way, they wanted to attract the attention of society and the authorities. The procession participants demanded the equalization of political rights, respect for themselves, the opportunity to work in production and serve in the army next to men. Seven years later, the feminists repeated their demands, but on a national scale. After that, National Women's Day was proclaimed in the United States.
Parent of the International women's day Clara Zetkin is considered to be a German communist, a female reformer who made a huge contribution to upholding women's rights. It was she who, as the leader of the women's group of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, in a difficult year for the communists in 1910 at the International Women's Conference, made a proposal to establish the Day of Solidarity of Working Women of the World.
Clara Zetkin believed that the annual holiday, celebrated on the same day, would unite women from different countries in the struggle for equal rights. The main purpose of the new holiday was the struggle for freedom and equality of female workers. This initiative received a response in the form of a wave of rallies that swept through Europe. The first women's holidays in various countries celebrated on different dates in March. And only in 1914 did the workers of the world celebrate their holiday on March 8.
On March 8, 1957, women workers in New York garment factories came out to fight for their rights. They actively demanded better working conditions, a reduction in the inhuman 16-hour work day, and an increase in wages that were meager compared to men. As a result of this event, a women's trade union appeared, which continued its activities in the future.
The UN adopted International Women's Day in 1975, this year was also declared the International Year of Women, and the next ten years, from 1976 to 1985, were proclaimed the International Decade of Women. In 1977, a resolution was issued according to which the Day of the struggle for the rights of women was dated for March 8th. Now the spring women's holiday is celebrated in more than 30 countries around the world. In some states, it is still a working day.
In Russia, Women's Day was first celebrated in pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg on March 2, 1913. On that day, the government-approved "Scientific Morning on Women's Issues" was held, with issues of motherhood, inflation, and women's voting rights on the agenda. The event was attended by one and a half thousand people.
In the revolutionary year of 1917, the current government did not allow the women of St. Petersburg to celebrate the international women's holiday. Attempts to join the women of other countries ended in clashes that turned into a demonstration and into the February revolution. In 1921, at a meeting of the 2nd Communist Women's Conference, it was decided to coincide with the celebration of March 8 in memory of this demonstration, which unwittingly became a harbinger of the February revolution.
In the new Soviet state, Women's Day immediately received the status of a holiday, but continued to be a working day. The workers of Soviet enterprises gradually received equal rights with men to the opportunity to work, and to legal rest, and to receive education, and to govern the state. Freed from oppression, Soviet women morally supported their friends from the capitalist countries at rallies and meetings.
On a holiday, Soviet ladies were not given flowers or gifts, but they used to be released from work, awarded diplomas, thanks and prizes. There is evidence that in some stores, female employees were pleased pleasant discounts. True, the discounts were not on perfumes and cosmetics, but on galoshes - shoes that were relevant in those days.
International Women's Day was declared an official holiday in the Soviet Union in May 1965. Since 1966, March 8 has been a public holiday. Gradually, Women's Day lost its original political overtones and violent connotations of feminism. Back in Soviet times, a good tradition appeared to give ladies flowers, sweets, cards and gifts.
In Russia, Women's Day was officially included in the list of public holidays of the Russian Federation in 2002. Under the new conditions, it gradually became a day of admiration for women, mothers, and wives. On March 8, men are especially gallant and courageous. They are happy to take on women's duties and free the fairer sex from household work and everyday affairs.
Photos from free sources
March 8 - International Women's Day - World Women's Day, which also celebrates the achievements of women in the political, economic and social fields, celebrates the past, present and future of women on the planet.
The modern celebration of Women's Day no longer has the goal of affirming equality, but is considered the day of spring, female beauty, tenderness, spiritual wisdom and attention to a woman, regardless of her status and age.
The holiday is celebrated by the United Nations, and in some countries - Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Turkmenistan, Ukraine - this day is a public holiday.
history of the holiday
Interestingly, the idea of holding International Women's Day first arose precisely at the beginning of the 20th century, when the industrialized world was going through a period of expansion and upheaval, a population boom and the emergence of radical ideologies.
In 1910, the 2nd International Conference of Working Women took place in Copenhagen. The leader of the women's group of the Social Democratic Party of Germany Clara Zetkin put forward the idea of celebrating International Women's Day. She suggested that Women's Day should be celebrated annually in every country on the same day. The purpose of this holiday Zetkin called the struggle of women for their rights.
There is an opinion that the first ever "march of empty pots" of textile workers in New York, which took place on March 8, 1857, became one of the prerequisites for the celebration of International Women's Day.
Women's demonstration on the streets of Petrograd February 23 (March 8), 1917
Celebration in Russia and the USSR
February 1917 was an important milestone in the history of the holiday, since February 23 (March 8), 1917 was marked by a revolutionary explosion that marked the beginning of the February Revolution. Four days later, the emperor signed a decree granting the right to vote to women, but this did not stop the revolution. The Petrograd Bolsheviks took advantage of the celebration of International Women's Day to organize rallies and meetings against the war, the high cost and plight of workers, which took place especially violently on the Vyborg side, spontaneously turning into strikes and revolutionary demonstrations. On that day, more than 128,000 workers went on strike, and columns of demonstrators from the workers' outskirts headed for the city center and broke through to Nevsky Prospekt, along which a procession with demands for women's equality and bread passed to the City Duma.
In 1921, by decision of the 2nd Communist Women's Conference, it was decided to celebrate International Women's Day on March 8 in memory of the participation of women in the Petrograd demonstration on February 23 (March 8), 1917, which was one of the events that preceded the February Revolution, which resulted in overthrown monarchy.
L. V. Danilenko, having analyzed the Soviet publications of the last two years of the Great Patriotic War on the theme of International Women's Day, believes that at that time the holiday was dedicated mainly to "courageous" women who achieved success in "male" professions.
Since 1966, in accordance with the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 8, 1965, International Women's Day has become not only a holiday, but also a non-working day.
International Women's Day
The official status of "International Women's Day" this holiday acquired by decision of the UN in 1975, and since then it has been celebrated by the UN annually as the International Day for Women's Rights and International Peace and every year is dedicated to a specific topic.
On this day, women of all continents, often divided by national borders or ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political differences, have the opportunity to come together and remember a tradition that represents at least several decades of struggle for equality, justice, peace and development.
IN Ancient Greece Lysistrata, in order to end the war, organized a sex strike against men; during the French Revolution, Parisian women who advocated "liberty, equality and fraternity" organized a march on Versailles to demand women's suffrage.
International Women's Day is a celebration of all women who have become history makers. Not surprisingly, women have become pioneers in many areas - here are just some of the facts united by the female "first". In January 1906, the first higher technical educational institution for women in Russia was opened in St. Petersburg; in January 1909, the world's first women's auto race started in New York; In April 1989, the first performance of the female Vivaldi Orchestra took place.
And yet, first of all, in modern society, International Women's Day is a holiday of spring and attention to a woman, when representatives of the strong half of humanity can once again please their loved ones and relatives with gifts and care.
Prepared on the basis of information from free sources
Who took to the streets of New York - textile workers or prostitutes?
It seemed that the legends about the creation of the holiday on March 8 are as old as the world and known to everyone. Just in case, I checked with my colleagues and realized that many people know only the official version. On the eve of Women's Day, we decided to collect all the stories that, one way or another, relate to the creation of International Women's Day. Some of them may shock and even discourage you from celebrating this day at all.
Version one, official: Working Women's Solidarity Day
The official version of the USSR says that the tradition of celebrating March 8 is associated with the "march of empty pots", which was held on this day in 1857 by New York textile workers. They protested against unacceptable working conditions and low wages. It is interesting that in the then press there was not a single note about the strike. And historians have found that March 8, 1857 was a Sunday at all. It is very strange to go on strike on the weekend.
In 1910, at a women's forum in Copenhagen, the German communist Clara Zetkin called on the world to establish International Women's Day on March 8th. She meant that on this day women would organize rallies and processions, and thereby draw public attention to their problems. Well, we all know this story.
Initially, the holiday was called the International Day of Women's Solidarity in the Struggle for Their Rights. The date of March 8 was brought under the same strike of textile workers, which, in fact, may never have happened. More precisely, it was, but it was not the textile workers who were on strike. But more on that later.
This holiday was brought to the USSR by Zetkin's friend, the fiery revolutionary Alexandra Kollontai. The one that conquered the Soviet Union with the "great phrase": "You have to surrender to the first man you meet as easily as drinking a glass of water."
Version two, Jewish: praise of the Jewish queen
Historians have not agreed on whether Clara Zetkin was a Jew. Some sources claim that she was born in the family of a Jewish shoemaker, while others - a German teacher. Go figure it out. However, Zetkin's desire to connect March 8 with the Jewish holiday of Purim cannot be hushed up.
So, the second version says that Zetkin wanted to connect the history of Women's Day with the history of the Jewish people. According to legend, the beloved of the Persian king Xerxes, Esther, saved the Jewish people from extermination, using her charms. Xerxes wanted to exterminate all the Jews, but Esther convinced him not only not to kill the Jews, but, on the contrary, to destroy all their enemies, including the Persians themselves.
It happened on the 13th day of Arda according to the Jewish calendar (this month falls on the end of February - the beginning of March). Praising Esther, the Jews began to celebrate Purim. The date of the celebration was sliding, but in 1910 it fell on March 8th.
Version three, about women of the most ancient profession
The third version is perhaps the most scandalous for all the fair sex, who await International Women's Day with trepidation.
In 1857, in New York, women did protest, but they were not textile workers, but prostitutes. Representatives of the oldest profession demanded to pay salaries to sailors who used their services, but did not have the money to pay.
On March 8, 1894, prostitutes again demonstrated in Paris. This time they demanded recognition of their rights on an equal footing with those women who sew clothes or bake bread, and the establishment of special trade unions. This was repeated in 1895 in Chicago, and in 1896 in New York - shortly before the memorable congress of suffragettes in 1910, where it was decided to declare this day women's and international at the suggestion of Zetkin.
By the way, Clara herself carried out similar actions. All in the same 1910, together with her friend Rosa Luxembourg, she brought prostitutes to the streets of German cities demanding an end to police excesses. But in the Soviet version, prostitutes were replaced with "working women."
Why did they introduce March 8?
Many historians agree that March 8 is the usual political campaign of the Social Democrats.
At the beginning of the 20th century, women protested all over Europe. And in order to attract attention, they did not even need to show their breasts. It was enough just to walk through the streets with posters on which socialist slogans were written, and public attention was ensured. And the leaders of the Social Democratic Party have a tick, they say, progressive women are in solidarity with us.
Stalin also decided to add to his popularity and ordered to recognize March 8 as International Women's Day. But since it was difficult to tie it to historical events, the story had to be slightly corrected. And nobody really cared about it. Once the leader said - so it was.
The real history of the holiday on March 8 over the decades has managed to acquire more than one legend. Who just did not appropriate the origins of Women's Day. We will tell the truth about March 8, which everyone should know.
International Women's Day has its roots in the centuries-old struggle of women for the right to participate in public life on an equal basis with men. History knows more than one amazing story about how women tried to choose their rights equal to men.
Even in the days of ancient Greece, Lysistrata, in order to end the war, provoked a sexual protest against men. And the Parisians during the events French Revolution, who stood for "liberty, equality and fraternity", marched on Versailles to be granted the right to vote.
Today, the holiday of March 8 is perceived quite differently than a hundred years ago, calling it a holiday of spring, beauty and women. But the real history of the holiday on March 8 was not so cloudless and easy.
The history of the holiday on March 8 began in 1908, when more than 15 thousand women took to the streets of New York with calls for equality with men. They demanded to reduce the working day and equalize wages with men. The protesters also demanded suffrage for women. A year later, the US authorities declared the last Sunday of February as National Women's Day, and celebrated it until 1913.
In 1910, a delegation of American women came to Copenhagen (Denmark) for the Second International Conference of Socialist Women, which was attended by communist Clara Zetkin. She also called for the establishment of an International Women's Day, on which women will be able to rally and organize marches against poverty, for the right to work, for respect for their dignity and for peace. In European countries, International Women's Day was first celebrated on March 19, 1911.
Namely - in Germany, Austria, Denmark, Switzerland, Holland. It was on this day in 1948 that the King of Prussia, fearing an armed uprising, promised to carry out a series of reforms, including the granting of women's suffrage. However, in 1912 the holiday was already celebrated on May 12. And in 1913 in Germany it was celebrated on March 12, in Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Switzerland, Holland - on March 9, in France - on March 2.
In Tsarist Russia, the history of the March 8 holiday began in 1913, and it was also accompanied by rallies and demonstrations. So, on March 8, 1917, according to the new style (February 23, according to the old style), a strike of textile workers took place, after which a procession with slogans about equal rights for women followed. This, in fact, was one of the waves of protests that led to the February Revolution. The holiday of March 8 coincided with a turning point in the history of Russia, and therefore became stronger in the USSR.
Somewhere before the 70s, the history of the March 8 holiday was mainly associated with revolutionaries and their struggle for women's independence. Based on the history of the March 8 holiday in different parts of the world, it becomes clear that it arose as an instrument of emancipation and respect for women.
In Soviet times, March 8 was declared a non-working day in 1965 "in commemoration of the outstanding merits of Soviet women in communist construction, in defending the Motherland during the Great Patriotic War, their heroism and selflessness at the front and in the rear, and also noting the great contribution of women to strengthening friendship between peoples and the struggle for peace. 1975 was declared by the United Nations international year women. Since then, March 8 has become officially International Women's Day.
Since the 80s, the holiday of March 8 has been increasingly depoliticized, and by the 90s the pathos of past revolutions has completely disappeared. It began to be perceived as "Women's Day".
Versions of who invented Women's Day
In addition, disputes do not subside who invented March 8 in fact. There is more than one amazing version.
One of the versions, who came up with March 8, is the most scandalous, and tells about the protest of prostitutes in 1857 in New York (who over time, historians have replaced with "textile workers"). They demanded the payment of wages to sailors who could not pay for their services. And on March 8, 1894, already in Paris, women of the most ancient profession again held a rally. They demanded equal rights with seamstresses and bakers, and also established special trade unions. Such demonstrations took place in Chicago in 1895, and in 1896 in New York.
By the way, Clara Zetkin herself also organized similar actions. In the same 1910, with Rosa Luxemburg, they brought prostitutes to the streets of Germany, demanding to stop the atrocities of the police (in the Soviet version they were called "working women").
Also curious is the version of who invented March 8 and made a choice on the G8. After all, the holiday of March 8 was celebrated on March 8 in 1914. It is believed that the number "eight" was chosen jointly by Clara Zetkin and Rosa Luxembourg, because the figure is very reminiscent of the outlines of the female body.
Another version of the choice of the "eight" refers us to the events of the strike of textile workers in Russia in 1917, which took place on February 23 according to the old style, that is, on March 8 - according to the new one.
How the tradition of giving flowers, sweets and gifts on International Women's Day arose, the history of the holiday on March 8 is silent. They only tend to believe that the idea, apparently, arose when the revolutionary context began to disappear from Women's Day.
In Germany and France, a holiday in different periods history either celebrated or forgot about him. It is customary to celebrate Mother's Day there, as well as to congratulate girls on Valentine's Day.
In Bulgaria, for example, women themselves are ambivalent about International Women's Day, often even forgetting about its celebration.
Italian and Lithuanian March 8 has no status public holiday, but every year on this day women get together and spend it noisily and cheerfully.
But our neighbors, Poles and Belarusians, do not neglect once again to congratulate their mothers, grandmothers, sisters on the holiday of March 8. But unlike Belarus, this day is a working day for the Poles.
Cubans hold loud feasts in honor of International Women's Day, during which they express their love and respect for women.
March 8 is also a national holiday in countries such as China, North Korea, Angola, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia and Uganda. Georgia celebrates both March 8 as International Women's Day and Mother's Day on March 3.
Along with Ukraine, March 8 is celebrated in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Abkhazia and Russia. In 2018, Ukraine planned to cancel the March 8 holiday and make it a working day. But fortunately, the initiative did not pass.
