HISTORY OF PEACE DAY
Peace Day was born from the vision of the late founder of The Peace School, Grand Master MyungSu Y.S. Kim. It began with an idea to set aside one day out of the year for people of all backgrounds, faiths, cultures and ages to join in focusing their wishes, thoughts and prayers toward peace for the entire planet.
On September 7, 1978, Chicago Mayor Michael Bilandic proclaimed Peace Day for the first time at the request of The Peace School. Chicagoans were asked to observe One Minute of Silence for World Peace in a celebration held in downtown Chicagoâs Kluczynski Federal Plaza. In the years that followed, The Peace School worked continuously to include other cities and states in the celebration by asking other mayors and governors to join Chicago in proclaiming September 7th Peace Day. Proclamations began coming in to The Peace School from all parts of the United States for Peace Days, Peace Month, Peace Year and the Decade of Peace. Through the work of The Peace School, proclamations have been issued over the years by governors in all 50 states and mayors in over 540 major U.S. cities in celebration of these events.
The Peace School also joined forces with the United Nations in their observances of a Day and Year of Peace. Four years after Peace Day in Chicago was first proclaimed, the United Nations designated the third Tuesday in September as an International Day of Peace. That year, The Peace School sponsored Peace Days from September 7 through September 21 in cooperation with the United Nations. For its efforts during the U.N. International Year of Peace in 1986, The Peace School was awarded the U.N. Peace Messenger designation for its "significant and concrete contributions" to world peace. Out of over 300 organizations worldwide, The Peace School was one of only a handful of U.S.-based organizations to receive this honor.
Here in Chicago, Peace Day celebrations have been organized annually by The Peace School every September since 1978 in locations such as Daley Plaza, the Harold Washington Library Center Auditorium, the Chicago Cultural Center and The Peace Schoolâs own headquarters. Proclamations have been issued over the years by Mayor Bilandic, Mayor Byrne, Mayor Washington, and Mayor Richard M. Daley. Since 1993 the celebration of Peace Day in Chicago has been held in cooperation with the City of Chicago Mayorâs Office of Special Events.
The goal of every Peace Day observance is for all people to focus sincerely on peace within ourselves, our homes, our communities, our schools, our own nation, and within all nations of the world - peace for all humanity, for all life. The true purpose of Peace Day goes beyond the absence of war, crime, violence or discrimination, and instead focuses on creating the foundation for peace, happiness and harmony throughout our precious planet. A recent theme of Peace Day is to Take a Minute for Peace Every Day, this being an important step anyone can take toward making peace a part of our everyday lives. Peace Day has always been a free event. While focusing on the observance of One Minute of Silence for World Peace, Peace Day also includes colorful performances highlighting music and dance of the various cultures that make up our world. For information on this year's celebration, click here. May Peace be in the World!