This page draws together an ‘easy reference’ resource for campaigners, teachers, bloggers and community groups around Wales seeking to connect their activities to wider events in Wales and the world.
- Thematic ‘UN Days’ are linked to their relevant global initiatives. (as there are several hundred UN observances, we have tried to be selective for those of most relevance to Welsh internationalists; for those who are after International Tea Day, Bee Day or Sea Day, please explore further the UN Observances Calendar.
- Major Welsh cultural events such as St Davids Day, Festivals and Eisteddfods are linked to their organising bodies.
- Welsh ‘Peace Heritage’ anniversaries are included, such as the Temple of Peace, 1923 Women’s Peace Appeal and dates for WCIA and other Welsh Civil Soiciety Organisations
- School terms and public holidays are noted for reference, with links to Government guidance, along with key religious holidays across the UK’s major faith groups.
- Most dates recur every year (with some variation for public events & festivals). This list is correct for 2023-24, individual events for future years may move a few days either way.
- We intend to rotate the list every three months so that the current ‘quarter’ appears at the top, and update any changes.
- If you spot any dates (or useful resources / links) missing, please email walesforpeace@wcia.org.uk.
January
1 Jan – New Years Day bank holiday, New Years Resolutions for a better world!
8 Jan – Start of Schools Spring Term (to 22 March)
10 Jan – Anniversary of Welsh League of Nations Union founder’s meeting in Llandinam, Powys, 1922
10 Jan – Anniversary of the 1st UN General Assembly in London, 10 Jan-14 Feb 1946, with much Temple of Peace involvement (organiers, secretaries, speakers and choir)
24 Jan – International Day of Education (A/RES/73/25)
27 Jan – Holocaust Memorial Day in UK; UN International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust (A/RES/60/7)
February
01 Feb – World Interfaith Harmony Week, 1-7 February (A/RES/65/5)
02 Feb – Women’s Peace Appeal: 2 Feb 1924, Annie H-G & delegation departed Euston / Port of Liverpool for American Peace Tour.
06 Feb – FGM Awareness: International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (A/RES/67/146)
06 Feb – anniversary of the 1932 World Disarmament Conference Memorial from Wales being presented to WDC President Arthur Henderson in Geneva.
10 Feb – Chinese New Year of the Dragon (2024, changes annually with lunar cycles; 29 Jan 2025; 17 Feb 2026; 6 Feb 2027). Start of 1 week national holiday in China, and for many Chinese diaspora.
11 Feb – Women’s Peace Appeal delegation arrived in New York 11 Feb 1924
12-16 Feb – Schools Spring Half Term
19 Feb – Women’s Peace Petition & chest presented to Women of America at Biltmore Hotel, New York 19 Feb 1924
20 Feb – World Day of Social Justice (A/RES/62/10)
21 Feb – International Mother Language Day (A/RES/56/262) – celebrate Welsh alongside living languages worldwide
21 Feb – Women’s Peace Appeal presented to US President Calvin Coolidge at White House, Washington 21 Feb 1924
24 Feb – Women’s Peace Tour of US started from Washington towards Chicago (returning to NYC 19 March)
March
01 Mar – St David’s Day / Dydd Gwyl Dewi, national day of Wales
05 Mar – International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness (A/RES/77/51)
08 Mar – International Women’s Day; IWD2024 in UK;
10 Mar – Mothers Day
11 Mar-8 Apr – Ramadan (Islam)
11 Mar – Moshoeshoe Day, Lesotho – Wales’ twin nation
12 March – Anniversary of Founding of Dolen Cymru, Wales Lesotho Link, 12 March 1985
17 March – St Patrick’s Day (Ireland)
20 Mar – International Day of Happiness (A/RES/66/281)
21 Mar – International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (A/RES/2142 (XXI)
21 Mar – World Poetry Day [UNESCO]
21 Mar – International Day of Forests (A/RES/67/200)
22 Mar – World Water Day (A/RES/47/193)
23 Mar-7 April – Schools Easter Holidays / end of Spring Term
24 Mar – World Tuberculosis Day [WHO]
25 March – International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade (A/RES/62/122)
29 Mar-1 Apr – Easter Bank Holidays (Good Friday / Easter Monday)
April
1 April – April Fools Day (until 12.00!)
7 April – World Health Day (WHA/A.2/Res.35)
8 April – Temple of Peace Foundation Stone ceremony, laid on April 8 1937 by Lord Halifax (PCW Collection; feature article)
8 April – Start of Schools Summer Term (to 22 July)
9 April – Eid al-Fitr / end of Ramadan (Islam)
22-30 April – Passover (Jewish)
23 April – St George’s Day (England)
23 April – World Book Day [UNESCO] (UNESCO 28 C/Resolution 3.18)
24 April – International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace (A/RES/73/127)
May
6 May – Mayday Bank Holiday
8 May – VE Day, anniversary of end of World War 2 in Europe (‘Victory in Europe’ Day), 8 May 1945
15 May – International Conscientious Objectors Day, UK
16 May – International Day of Living Together in Peace (A/RES/72/130)
18 May – Peace & Goodwill Day – traditional broadcast date for Wales’ Youth Message of Peace & Goodwill from 1923 to today.
20 May – Whit Monday (Whitsun weekend was traditionally the annual ‘peace gathering’ for the Welsh League of Nations Union through 1920s-30s)
23 May – Anniversary of Wales Conference of Women in Aberystwyth, 23 May 1923, which initiated the Women’s Peace Appeal to America.
23 May-2 June – Hay Literature Festival, Hay on Wye, Powys
27 May – Spring Bank Holiday
27-31 May – Summer Half Term Schools Break
27 May-1 June – Urdd Eisteddfod 2024, Maldwyn (Meifod nr Welshpool) – 2025 Urdd @ Margam, Port Talbot 26-31 May 2025
June
5 June – World Environment Day (A/RES/2994 (XXVII))
15 June – King’s Birthday (Commonwealth|)
16 June – Anniversay of passing of Temple founder Lord David Davies, 16 June 1944
17 June – Eid al-Adha (Islam)
20 June – World Refugee Day (A/RES/55/76) and Refugee Week in Wales 19-24 June (coordinated by Welsh Refugee Council)
22 June – Windrush Day
24 June – International Day of Women in Diplomacy (A/RES/76/269)
25 June – 3 July – Anniversary of 1926 World Peace Congress in Aberystwyth, the International Federation of League of Nations Societies (IFLNS)
30 June – International Day of Parliamentarism (A/RES/72/278)
July
2-7 July – Llangollen International Eisteddfod, Denbighshire
5 July – NHS Anniversary of the ‘Appointed Day’ on 5 July 1948 when the UK’s National Health Service was launched (see NHS75 event)
11 July – World Population Day (A/RES/45/216)
15 July – World Youth Skills Day (A/RES/69/145)
18 July – Nelson Mandela International Day (A/RES/64/13)
22 July – Start of Welsh Schools Summer Holidays (to 2 Sept 2024 – 2024-25 school year dates here)
22-25 July – Royal Welsh Show, Builth Wells
30 July – International Day of Friendship (A/RES/65/275)
August
3-10 Aug – National Eisteddfod 2024 in Pontypridd, RCT (2025 Eisteddfod in Wrexham, 1st week of August 2025)
4 Aug – Anniversary of Outbreak of WW1, 4 Aug 1914
6 Aug – Hiroshima Day against Nuclear Weapons, UK events coordinated by CND
9 Aug – International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (A/RES/49/214)
12 Aug – International Youth Day (A/RES/54/120)
19 Aug – World Humanitarian Day (A/RES/63/139)
23 Aug – International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition [UNESCO] (29 C/Resolution 40)
26 Aug – Summer Bank Holiday
September
2 Sept – Start of Schools Autumn Term (2024-25 term dates here)
2 Sept – Anniversary of end of World War 2 (in Pacific), 2 Sept 1945
3 Sept – Anniversary of Outbreak of WW2, 3 Sept 1939
5 Sept – International Day of Charity (A/RES/67/105)
8 Sept – International Literacy Day [UNESCO] (UNESCO 14 C/Resolution 1.441)
15 Sept – International Day of Democracy (A/RES/62/7)
15-17 Sep 2023 / 2-4 Oct 2024 – Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New Year
21 Sept – International Day of Peace (A/RES/36/67)
October
1-31 Oct – Black History Month UK wide
5 Oct – World Teachers’ Day [UNESCO] ((27 C/INF.7))
11 Oct – International Day of the Girl Child (A/RES/66/170)
11 Oct – WCIA51, Anniversary of the opening of WCIA the Welsh Centre for International Affairs on 11 Oct 1973 – end of WCIA’s 50th year ‘Golden Anniversary’.
17 Oct – International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (A/RES/47/196)
24 Oct – United Nations Day (A/RES/168 (II)) – list of UN anniversaries
27 Oct – Anniversary of 1st Conference of the United Nations Association in Wales, post-WW2 successor to Welsh League of Nations Union, 27 Oct 1945.
28 Oct-1 Nov – Welsh Schools Half Term Holiday
31 Oct – Hallowe’en (marked internationally)
November
1 Nov – Diwali (Hindu, Sikh & Jain)
2 Nov – Wales Festival of Remembrance, St Davids Hall, starts week of Remembrance activities UK wide
5 Nov – Guy Fawkes Day, UK
10 Nov – Remembrance Sunday
11 Nov – Remembrance Day silence at 11.00 on 11/11/11 (UK coordination by British Legion);
15 Nov – BBC Children in Need UK wide fundraiser
20 Nov – World Children’s Day (A/RES/836(IX))
20 Nov – Anniversary of the 1st UNESCO Conference in Paris, 20 Nov – 10 Dec 1946 (approving Constitution and purposes drafted by Welsh Committee under Rev Gwilym Davies)
23 Nov – 85th Anniversary of the Temple of Peace & Health opening on 23 Nov 1938.
29 Nov – International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (A/RES/32/40B)
30 Nov – St Andrews Day (Scotland)
December
1 Dec – World AIDS Day
2 Dec – International Day for the Abolition of Slavery (A/RES/317(IV))
3 Dec – International Day of Persons with Disabilities (A/RES/47/3)
10 Dec – Welsh Churches Peace Appeal to America – anniversary of presentation in Detroit, on 10th Dec 1925, to the Congress of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America, by Rev Gwilym Davies.
10 Dec – Human Rights Day (A/RES/423 (V)) and UN75 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
18 Dec – International Migrants Day (A/RES/55/93)
20 Dec – International Human Solidarity Day (A/RES/60/209)
20 Dec-5 Jan – Welsh Schools Christmas Holidays
25-26 Dec – Christmas & Boxing Day Bank Holidays
26 Dec – Hannukkah (Jewish)
