History of harmony day

We come together to celebrate Harmony Day on 21 March. Created in 1999 to celebrate unity and diversity, Harmony Day was originally an Australian celebration but is now marked worldwide by conscientious citizens. Whether you want to be better friends with your neighbors or stand in the shoes of another, we’ve got some harmonious habits and unifying ideas to make your Harmony Day a picture of peace.

HISTORY OF HARMONY DAY

Harmony Day was first celebrated in Australia in 1999, but its roots go back hundreds of years. In 2017, researchers published evidence in the journal “Nature” that the ancestors of Aboriginal Australians landed there from Southeast Asia about 65,000 years ago. No one knows exactly how they got there, and although the distance was shorter than it is today due to large expanses of frozen water, some speculate that they still had to undertake a sea voyage of at least 45 miles, perhaps, according to the Australian Museum, in rafts made of bamboo! These first settlers were the original indigenous Australians and lived in harmony with the land for centuries.
Then, in 1788, the British Empire reached Australia, landing at Botany Bay to establish a penal colony of exiled prisoners. The British used the Australian land to replicate their own Western civilization, a culture that did not work in harmony with that of the indigenous peoples of Australia and resulted in a mass slaughter of the people who had occupied the land for hundreds of years.
As a result, as the nation grew, Australia (like many countries) was a divided society. In the late 20th century, despite the legislation enshrining equal rights for all, many people still suffered from racist attacks. In 1998, after activists condemned the country for persistently turning a blind eye to its racism, the Australian government commissioned a study into the nature of racism over the last decade. The study highlighted a greater need for people to ‘live in harmony’ and, as a result, Harmony Day was created to encourage everyone to respect each other and appreciate the country’s multicultural background.
Whilst Harmony Day is still predominantly an Australian holiday, people celebrate it worldwide by reflecting on the ways they can live in harmony with their neighbors, regardless of their background or circumstances. The communities themselves choose how they wish to celebrate, with over 55,000 Harmony Day events held since the celebration’s birth.