International Monkey Day (14/12)

Among the holidays dedicated to individual representatives of the animal world, rare or endangered species of animals, animals that play a significant role in the life of a particular people or country, International Monkey Day stands apart. And this is connected not only with the characteristics of the animal to which it is dedicated, but also with the way it appeared.

Monkeys (lat. Haplorhini) — suborder of mammals from the order primates. They are found in tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, Africa (excluding Madagascar), Gibraltar, and South and Southeast Asia as far south as Japan. Currently, more than 400 species of monkeys are known.

The holiday itself in honor of these animals does not have official international status and is not a public or national holiday of any country. It appeared as a joke among students at the University of Michigan. One of the students marked the date December 14 on the calendar as Monkey Day. This happened in 2000. Then the comic idea ended with a comic holiday celebrated by students. However, as often happens, the joke gradually grew into a tradition, and the Internet made it international.

Artist Casey Sorrow and his friend began to use the idea of this holiday in their artistic works and comics, which only contributed to the spread of the holiday, first in the United States and then in other countries.

Photo: Yusnizam Yusof, licensed from Shutterstock.com

Gradually, the humorous connotation of the celebration, when event participants dressed in monkey costumes and imitated them, began to take on new features and shapes. This round of development occurred, first of all, thanks to zoologists and zoo workers, who began to coincide with International Monkey Day with a certain festive program that combines an educational aspect along with a humorous one.

Today, many zoos around the world are participating in a festival dedicated to primates. Animal rights activists also saw International Monkey Day as an opportunity to highlight the challenges these wildlife have to face. Visitors to zoos, among whom children become indispensable participants, can get acquainted with the diversity of primate species, their habits, developmental characteristics, nutrition, and natural habitat.

Photo: Anees Hussain, licensed from Shutterstock.com

Children are given the opportunity to feed monkeys, remember feature and animated films and books in which monkeys starred or became the main characters, and parents can purchase clothes or souvenirs for their children depicting these wonderful animals.

It is possible that the holiday will soon become even more popular and will even acquire official status, thanks to the initiative of one of the international environmental organizations.



Postcard «December 14 — International Monkey Day»

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