February 26 marks the original holiday — Day of Leisure (or Day of Slowness), which has now acquired the «status» of the international day.
The idea of establishing such a holiday belongs to Italians. It was they — very active and emotional people — who first celebrated Leisure Day in 2007, with the goal of calmly enjoying life at every unique moment. This is not surprising — in our age of speed and progress, many people forget about pleasant daily little things, favorite activities and the quality of life in general.
Most of the world's working population is forced to spend more than 12 hours a day in offices or other workplaces, which undoubtedly harms physical and moral health. Which also affects the close circle of people — family, friends, loved ones... Therefore, such a holiday was simply necessary for modern society, and its initiators were the Italian association «The Art of Living Slowly», which proclaimed the slogan of Word Day: «Don’t rush and enjoy the moment».
This association has also developed 14 commandments to abandon haste, which should be adhered to in order to have time to feel all the delights of being and make your life more comfortable. Among them — is the advice to get up in the morning a few minutes earlier to enjoy breakfast, or, for example, not to be nervous while standing in a traffic jam, but to devote this time to listening to your favorite music, reading a book or communicating with the driver of a neighboring car.
Of course, many interesting events take place as part of the Day of Leisure. For example, in Rome there is a «Slow marathon», in which any resident of Italy or guest of the country can take part. The marathon distance is — 300 meters (one might say, sprint), but you need to overcome it no faster than in 87 minutes (!), and at the same time never stopping. In Milan, — of the famous economic capital of the Apennines — went further — on this day, passers-by who were in too much of a hurry were even given symbolic fines. Similar «punishments for hurried people» are being introduced in other Italian cities.
In many more regions of Italy, according to tradition, on the Day of Leisure, residents give preference to matters for which «chronically lack time» — they attend poetry and literary readings, music concerts, spend time doing their favorite pastime, or simply enjoy intellectual conversation over a leisurely meal.
On this day, they give preference to matters for which «chronically do not have enough time»... (Photo: Iancu Cristian, licensed from Shutterstock.com)
It must be said that such an interesting holiday could not go unnoticed. In subsequent years, the initiative to hold the Day was supported by many world capitals — London, Paris, New York and others. Moreover, the holding of events within the framework of the Day, despite its seemingly curious nature, is taken with complete seriousness. After all, he calls on all of us — busy people who constantly do not have enough time for simple everyday joys, — to stop, slowly think about our lives and enjoy every moment of it here and now.
In addition, today there is an increasing call not only to support the initiative of « leisurely enjoyment of life», but also « leisurely, slow nutrition», which originated as a contrast to fast food. That is, the ideologists of the Day call for abandoning the unhealthy «fast food» and eating slowly, enjoying and savoring every piece of healthy and high-quality food.
Join this wonderful holiday too!
• Infographics — poster «February 26 — World Leisure Day»
• Story «The fate of leisurely Vali»