The International Day of Peace is on September 21st of each year and calls for a full day of peace and ceasefire throughout the world.
In this event, the "Peace Bell" is rung at UN Headquarters. The bell is cast from coins donated by children on all continents, and considered a symbol of global solidarity. It was given as a gift by Japan, and is referred to as "a reminder of the human cost of war." The inscription on its side reads: "Long live absolute world peace."
Observance of the annual International Day of Peace is widespread across the globe. Celebrations now take place in every country.
A peace symbol is a representation or object that has come to symbolize peace. Several different symbols have been used throughout history, of which the dove, olive branch, and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament symbol (the peace symbol) are perhaps the best known.
Dove and olive branch
In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam a white dove is generally a sign for peace. The Torah, The Old Testament and The Koran describe a story in which a dove was released by Noah after the Great Flood in order to find land. The dove came back carrying an olive branch in its beak, telling Noah that the Great Flood had receded and there was land once again for Man. (Genesis 8:11).
The motif can also represent "hope for peace" and even a peace offering from one man to another, as in the phrase "extend an olive branch". Often, the dove is represented as still in flight to remind the viewer of its role as messenger.
Broken Rifle
The broken rifle is a symbol widely identified with War Resisters' International and its affiliates,YL but actually it predates the foundation of WRI (in 1921). The first known example was the masthead of De Wapens Neder (Down with Weapons), the monthly of the International Antimilitarist Union in the Netherlands. The symbol spread, and in 1925 Ernst Friedrich, the founder of the Anti-Kriegs Museum in Berlin began using the symbol for badges, brooches, belt buckles and tiepins.The symbol was also utilized by the band Crass, who included it in much of their artwork. This concept was in turn used by the band Anti-Flag in their "Gunstar" logo.
V-sign
The "V-sign", also called the "peace sign" and the "victory sign," is a hand gesture with the index and middle fingers open and all others closed, facing the viewer. Originally strictly a sign for victory, it developed into a peace sign during protests against the Vietnam War (and subsequent anti-war protests) and by the counterculture as a sign of peace. Because the hippies of the day often flashed this sign (palm out) while vocalizing "Peace", it became popularly known through association as the peace sign. Originally, however, its symbolic meaning was love; signing "love" and saying "peace" was a hippie anthem and mutual greeting.
The peace symbol
This symbol was originally used for the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War (DAC) and was adopted as its badge by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in Britain, and originally was used by the British nuclear disarmament movement. It was subsequently adopted as an international emblem for the 1960s anti-war movement, and was also adopted by the counterculture of the time. It was designed and completed February 21, 1958 by Gerald Holtom, a professional designer and artist in Britain for the April 4 march planned by DAC from Trafalgar Square, London to the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston in England[4]. The symbol itself is a combination of the semaphoric signals for the letters "N" and "D," standing for Nuclear Disarmament. In semaphore the letter "N" is formed by a person holding two flags in an upside-down "V," and the letter "D" is formed by holding one flag pointed straight up and the other pointed straight down. These two signals imposed over each other form the shape of the peace symbol. In the first official CND version (preceded by a ceramic pin version that had straight lines, but was short lived) the spokes curved out to be wider at the edge of the circle which was white on black.
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