Today is World Book and Copyright Day. This day is celebrated on April 23 every year since 1995 under the initiative of the United Nations. The main objective of Book Day is to increase public awareness about book reading, book printing, book copyright protection etc. But why is Book Day celebrated on this day? Know that history.
Many may not remember the history of celebrating Book Day on this day. But this day is associated with a very famous literary character, Don Quixote. Many may not remember that now. Let’s know about that history.
The original idea of World Book Day comes from Spanish writer Vicente Clavel Andres. Spain’s most famous writer Miguel de Cervantes died on April 23, 1616. Who was this Cervantes? He is the author of the classic novel ‘La Mancher Don Quixote’. It is a great achievement not only in the literature of Spain, but also in the literature of the whole world.
Book Day was started in memory of Miguel de Cervantes. Andres was a disciple of Miguel de Cervantes. Andres started celebrating World Book Day in Spain from April 23, 1923 to commemorate his favorite author.
Although that day was not given special importance then. It was a day observed entirely on personal initiative. Later there was a demand to observe the day every year. Of course, that claim did not come to the attention of anyone. Many years passed after that.
One has to wait for many days for the day to be recognized in reality. Finally, in 1995, UNESCO recognized the day as World Book Day and started celebrating it. Since then, every year in different countries of the world, April 23 is being celebrated as World Book Day.
April 23 is not only World Book Day, but also the birth and death day of famous writers like Shakespeare, Satyajit Ray, Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. And for this reason, many people think that April 23 has been chosen as World Book Day.
However, World Book Day is actually related to the almost forgotten history of Miguel de Cervantes, the creator of La Mancha Don Quixote. In the coming days, the initiative is being taken by UNESCO so that everyone remembers it.
Source: Hindustan Times
