What is March 8 celebrated in honor of? How did women's holiday appear?

Ecology of knowledge: The official version says that the tradition of celebrating March 8 is associated with the “March of Empty Pots,” which was allegedly carried out on this day in 1857 by New York textile workers. They protested against unacceptable working conditions and low wages.

Who took to the streets of New York - textile workers or prostitutes?

Version one, official: “Day of Solidarity of Working Women”

The official version is that the tradition of celebrating March 8 is associated with the “march of empty pots”, which was allegedly held on this day in 1857 by New York textile workers. They protested against unacceptable working conditions and low wages.

It is interesting that there was not a single note about such a strike in the press of that time. And historians have found out that March 8, 1857 was a Sunday. It is very strange to organize strikes on a day off.

In 1910, at a women's forum in Copenhagen, German communist Clara Zetkin called on the world to establish an "international women's day on March 8." She meant that on this day women would organize rallies and marches, and thereby “draw public attention to their problems.”

Initially, the holiday was called “International Day of Women’s Solidarity in the Fight for Their Rights.” The date of March 8 was put forward for the textile workers' strike, which in fact never happened. More precisely, it was, but it wasn’t the textile workers who were on strike then. But more on that later.

This “holiday” was actively promoted by Zetkin’s accomplice, the fiery revolutionary Alexandra Kolontai. The same one that conquered the Soviet Union " great phrase": "You should give yourself to the first man you meet as easily as drinking a glass of water." March 8th became official holiday in Russia in 1921.

Version two, Jewish: praise of the Jewish queen

Historians are still “arguing” whether Clara Zetkin was Jewish. Some sources claim that she was born into the family of a Jewish shoemaker, and others into a German teacher. However, Zetkin’s desire to connect March 8 with the Jewish holiday of Purim ambiguously hints at the fact that she did.

So, the second version says that Zetkin wanted to connect the story 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 by 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 the enemies of the Jews, including the Persians themselves. This happened on the 13th day of Ardah according to the Jewish calendar (this month falls at the end of February - beginning of March). Praising Esther, Jews began to celebrate Purim (the day of the massacre of the Persians). The date of the “celebration” was moving, but in 1910 it fell on March 8th.

Version three, about prostitutes

The third version of the origin of the holiday is perhaps the most scandalous for everyone who anxiously awaits “International Women’s Day.”

In 1857, women did protest in New York, but they were not textile workers, but prostitutes. Women of the oldest profession demanded to pay wages to sailors who used their services, but did not have the money to pay prostitutes.

In 1894, on March 8, prostitutes demonstrated again in Paris. This time they demanded that their rights be recognized on an equal basis with those who sew clothes or bake bread, and that special trade unions be established.

This was repeated in 1895 in Chicago, and in 1896 in New York - shortly before the memorable suffragette convention in 1910, where it was decided to declare this day “women’s” and “international”, as suggested by Zetkin.

Clara Zetkin herself carried out similar actions. All in the same 1910, together with her accomplice Rosa Luxemburg, she brought prostitutes onto the streets of German cities demanding “an end to the excesses of the police.” But in the Soviet version, prostitutes were replaced with “working women.” published

March 8 is, of course, Women's Day. Or International Women's Day. Or International Women's Rights Day. At this time, you should always be prepared for even more sexist remarks than usual:

- Wait, I'll hold the door. Today is Women's Day!

— …???!!!

This is not to mention government promises and a whole heap of various demands, interspersed with the questions “when is Men’s Day?” and “Whose then are the remaining 364 days?” But why does everything happen on March 8? And not, for example, July 22? It’s probably better not to touch December, because the dominance of cliches during the holidays is already making your head spin. Françoise Picq, a sociologist and expert on feminist movements, tells us about the rather murky origins of this holiday.

Women's Day was born out of a "clearly anti-feminist gathering", she claims. The fact is that in 1910, feminism, in the opinion of many, was inextricably linked with the bourgeoisie.

When Clara Zetkin proposed the creation of International Women's Day at the Second International Conference of Socialist Women in Copenhagen, she was faced with two tasks at once. She sought to ensure that the socialist leadership took up women's demands (voting rights, equal pay...), and at the same time wanted to weaken the influence of bourgeois feminists on working-class women.

“Socialists were forbidden to fight together with bourgeois feminists,” explains Françoise Pic. “The tradition of International Women’s Day was originally a choice of only one group, within which feminism and socialism were mutually exclusive.”

This is how it all began...

Beginning of the 1917 revolution

After the decision was made, socialist organizations began to celebrate this holiday in different days years depending on the country. In Germany, Austria and Denmark, demonstrations took place on March 19, 1911. In Russia, Women's Day was first celebrated on March 3, 1913, and then on March 8, 1914. The choice of dates was completely arbitrary; no official decision was ever made.

On March 8, 1917, Women's Day was celebrated again in Russia. Striking workers and simple women took to the streets of Petrograd. The crowd grew, men joined it... This was the beginning of the February revolution, which arose precisely on March 8 due to discrepancies between the Gregorian and Julian calendars.

In 1921, the Soviet Union officially established March 8 as Women's Day in memory of the women's demonstration of 1917, which no less marked the beginning of the revolution in Russia.
Gradually, this example was followed by the countries of Eastern Europe, China, Vietnam and Cuba. March 8 became a communist holiday.

But then, in 1955, an explanation of the roots of this day, March 8, appeared in the press. On March 8, 1857, a strike began among women working in a textile factory in New York. All women's demonstrations in the 19th and early 20th centuries were invariably followed by severe repression. But no traces of similar events on March 8, 1857 remained. In addition, that day fell on a Sunday, which is not very suitable for a strike...

The Myth of the New York Strike of 1857

It turns out that the Americans were trying to take over Women's Day, which until that moment had been a 100% communist holiday? In the context of the Cold War, this explanation may seem quite attractive. But the myth of New York workers appeared on the pages of L'Humanité, which, as far as we know, was not a newspaper that sold to America... In addition, the material came from the pen of such staunch communists as Yvonne Dumont, Claudine Chauma Chomat), Madeleine Colin.

The legend about the American origin of this holiday existed for more than 20 years, and no one even tried to check its historical accuracy. The scene was truly beautiful and heroic: American seamstresses demonstrate in the middle of New York. They chant slogans about equal pay and shorter working hours. Their fists are raised in the air and their hair flutters in the wind. It all ends with the appearance of the police and the brutal dispersal of the women's demonstration.

“There were several options for scenery (spring sun or cold winter wind) and characters(textile factory workers or seamstresses), while the emphasis was on the fight against repression, the vow to gather every year, or a terrible accident at work, says Françoise Pic. “Nevertheless, everyone agreed on the place and time (March 8, 1857) and the political meaning of this event.”

In any case, this excited the imagination much more than some incomprehensible conference of socialist women against the backdrop of the Congress of the Second International.

However, in 1977, Françoise Pic and four colleagues decided to shed light on the origins of March 8 for the feminist magazine Histoires d'Elles. By that time, this legend of the New York strike was firmly entrenched in the mind:

“All the newspapers told the same story, copied each other.”

Nevertheless, the results of their work made any self-respecting historian green with envy:

“When we got to the source, we discovered that there was nothing there! Nothing was working out at all.”

There were no indications of any incident on the streets of New York on March 8, 1857.

Why did L'Humanité create this myth?

Then scientists found the first mention of this myth in an article by L'Humanité in 1955. And they asked the question: “Why was it necessary, at the height of the Cold War, to try to find more ancient and arbitrary roots for Women’s Day than the decision of women from the party? What is the reason for this? desire to untie Women's Day from Soviet history? Really, why...

Ultimately, Françoise Pic came to the conclusion that there were internal tensions in the communist movement, disagreements between the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) and the Union of French Women (UFF): “Madeleine Colin wanted to make March 8 again part of the workers' struggle. And the UFF turned it into something like a mother’s holiday, like in the USSR.” In the East, March 8 could hardly be described as a day of struggle.

“Women were allowed to leave work two hours earlier and they could go to the hairdresser,” says Françoise Pic.

It was about “contrasting the struggle of workers with the communist women’s holiday.” Even if that means tying the labor struggle to America?

“The events that could serve as the basis for this myth and the contradictions surrounding its appearance are still hidden in a veil of secrecy,” admits Françoise Pic. “Nevertheless, one cannot fail to note the speed of its spread. It looks as if it was a response to some unformulated expectation.”

With the spread of the myth, Women's Day became international. American feminists appreciated its supposed New York roots and brought the holiday to the United States. In the 1970s, it was adopted by all feminist movements.

In 1977, the UN launched an initiative to dedicate the day to women's rights and world peace.

In 1982, Women's Rights Minister Yvette Roudy officially introduced Women's Day in France.

“We wanted to explain to Yvette Rudy that this was all an unconfirmed myth,” recalls Françoise Pic. “Nevertheless, the legend suited the minister perfectly: it glorified the struggle of women in the class struggle.”

The myth of March 8, 1857 was gradually forgotten, although it still had several pockets of resistance, for example, in the same L "Humanité. “This date has long been discussed in the press, but it still allows us to track the development of key issues at one time or another “, concludes Françoise Pic, emphasizing the importance of such a holiday for the fight for women’s rights.

InoSMI materials contain assessments exclusively of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the InoSMI editorial staff.

Annually March 8 The whole world celebrates International Women's Day. However, initially this holiday appeared not as a day of honoring the “fair sex”, but as a day of revolutionary women.

After all, history International Women's Day begins with the “March of Empty Pans”, which was staged on March 8, 1857 by textile workers in New York City. Tired of inequality and harsh working conditions, women demanded higher wages, better working conditions and equal rights. Of course, the demonstration was quickly dispersed, but it still managed to make some noise. This event came to be called Women's Day.

It was first held on March 19, 1911 in Germany, Austria, Denmark, Switzerland, and Holland. The date was chosen for a reason: on this day in 1848, the King of Prussia, facing the threat of an armed uprising, promised to carry out reforms, including the introduction of suffrage for women.

But already in 1912 this day was celebrated not on March 19, but on May 12. In 1913, there was complete confusion: in Germany it was celebrated on March 12, in Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Switzerland, Holland - on March 9, in France - on March 2.

Celebrate the holiday spontaneously March 8 started only in 1914. Since then he has stuck to this date.

This day is usually celebrated in family circle, with friends or family. A celebration is not complete without traditional flowers for the fair sex. Men try to pay attention to everyone important woman in his life: mother, sister, grandmother, beloved. On this day, compliments and toasts are heard from everywhere.

Also, often on this day women receive marriage proposals, which makes this day memorable.

International Women's Day, now celebrated in dozens of countries at the state and unofficial levels, was first celebrated on March 8, 1910. However, the tradition of giving gifts and giving Special attention the beautiful half of humanity is older. Similar holidays, albeit on a smaller scale, were in Ancient Rome, Japan and Armenia.

Days of honoring women in different countries

The history of the holiday dates back to the ancient era. In ancient Rome, celebrations in honor of freeborn women, matrons, were held on the calendars of March. Every year on March 1, married Roman women were given gifts. Dressed in elegant clothes and wreaths of fragrant flowers, the matrons headed to the temple of the goddess Vesta. Slaves also received their gift on this day: their mistresses gave them a day off.

According to the poet Ovid, the tradition of celebrating the holiday originated during the Sabine War. Legend has it that during the founding of Rome, the city was inhabited only by men. To continue the family line, they kidnapped girls from neighboring tribes. Thus began the war between the Romans and the Latins and Sabines. And if the men of the “eternal city” quickly dealt with the former, they had to fight for a long time with the latter.

The Sabines almost won, but the outcome of the battle was decided by the kidnapped women. Over the years, they started families, gave birth to children, and the war between fathers and brothers on the one hand and husbands on the other tore their hearts. During the battle, disheveled and crying, they rushed into the thick of it, begging to stop. And the men listened to them, made peace and created one state. Founder of Rome Romulus in honor free women established a holiday - Maturnalia. He gave Roman Sabine women equal property rights to men.

More than a thousand years ago, the tradition of celebrating Women's Day in Japan began. It is celebrated on March 3 and is called Hinamatsuri. The history of the origin of the "Girls' Day" is not known for certain. It most likely began with the custom of floating down the river paper dolls in the basket. It was believed that this is how Japanese women ward off misfortunes sent by evil spirits. Almost 300 years of Hinamatsuri - National holiday. On this day, families with girls decorate their rooms with balls of artificial tangerine and cherry flowers.

The central place in the room is given to a special stepped stand, on which beautiful dolls in ceremonial dresses are displayed. On the historical Women's Day, girls, wearing colorful kimonos, visit each other and treat each other with sweets.

The Armenian Holiday of Motherhood and Beauty has ancient Christian roots. It is celebrated on April 7 - the day when, according to the Bible, the guardian angels informed the Virgin Mary that she was expecting a child. In modern Armenia, both traditional and International Women's Day are celebrated. Thus, daughters, sisters, mothers and grandmothers here accept congratulations throughout the month.

The history of the holiday

Since the end of the 19th century, women have actively fought to obtain the same rights as men. The ideas of emancipation found a lively response among representatives of left-wing organizations. That is why many politically active women of that time joined the ranks of socialists and communists. One of the representatives of the labor movement, Clara Zetkin, in 1910, at an international conference in the capital of Denmark, called for the establishment of International Women's Day. The idea was not new. A year earlier, the American Socialist Party proposed celebrating Women's Day on February 28. Clara Zetkin chose a different day - March 8th.

There are several versions why the communist insisted on this particular date. According to one of them, the idea of ​​creating a holiday was linked to the first mass protest of working women. A demonstration of New York seamstresses and shoemakers took place in 1857. The workers demanded to reduce the working day to 10 hours, increase wages and improve working conditions. The appearance of the holiday on March 8 could also be associated with another political event - the 15,000-strong rally of 1908. New Yorkers fought for women's right to vote and a ban on child labor.

There is also a Jewish version of the origin of the holiday. Her supporters claim that the day of March 8 was chosen by Clara Zetkin in honor of the Jewish holiday of Purim. For Jews, this is a day of carnival fun, dedicated to the events of 2 thousand years ago. Then, under King Artaxerxes, his wife Esther saved the Jews of Persia from mass extermination. Several facts indicate the inconsistency of this version. Firstly, the Jewish origin of Clara Zetkin, née Eissner, is questionable. Secondly, Purim is a moving holiday, falling on February 23 in 1910.

Holiday of spring, beauty and femininity

The date chosen by Zetkin did not take root for a long time. At the suggestion of another left-wing activist, Elena Grinberg, International Women's Day in 1911 was held on March 19 in a number of countries. On next year rallies took place on the 12th. In 1913, political actions were organized in eight countries, but they took place scatteredly during the first two weeks of spring. On the eve of the First World War, March 8 fell on a Sunday, which made it possible to coordinate events in six countries.

With the outbreak of hostilities, the activity of the women's movement in the world subsided. It increased again three years later, when the economic situation in European countries deteriorated noticeably. At the beginning of 1917, a social explosion occurred in Russia. On February 23, or March 8 according to the new style, Petrograd textile workers, taking their children with them, went on strike. Constant malnutrition and war weariness made them brave. Women demanded bread, approaching the soldiers' cordons, and asked the men to join them. Thus began the February Revolution, which put an end to the autocracy.

In the early 20s of the last century, already in Soviet Russia, they remembered the events of that March 8th, and the history of the holiday continued. Since 1966, this day has become a day off in the USSR, and in 1975 it was recognized by the UN. According to the map on Wikipedia, March 8, in addition to Russia, is officially celebrated in the following countries:

• Kazakhstan;
• Azerbaijan;
• Belarus;
• Turkmenistan;
• Mongolia;
• Sri Lanka;
• Georgia;
• Armenia;
• Ukraine;
• Angola;
• Uzbekistan;
• Moldova;
• Zambia;
• Cambodia;
• Kyrgyzstan;
• Kenya;
• Tajikistan;
• Uganda;
• Guinea-Bissau;
• Madagascar;
• DPRK.

For a long time, March 8 and the history of the holiday were associated with politics, since the appearance of the date was closely related to the activities of the protest movement. And it was not intended as a celebration, but as a day of women’s solidarity in the struggle for their rights.

Over time, the feminist and socialist component of the holiday faded into the background.

In the 70s and 80s in the Soviet Union there was a gradual “humanization” of the event, and traditions were formed. Girls and women were presented with flowers. The symbols of the March 8th holiday are tulips and mimosa branches. They did it in kindergartens and schools homemade cards for mothers and grandmothers. Houses were usually covered festive table. All these traditions have migrated to modern times. Now March 8th is a holiday of femininity, beauty and the coming spring.