World Vegan Day is an annual event celebrated by

vegans Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

around the world every 1 November. The benefits of veganism for animals, humans and the natural environment are celebrated through activities such as setting up stalls, hosting potlucks, and planting memorial trees. The event was established in 1994 by Louise Wallis, then Chair of The Vegan Society in the United Kingdom, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the organisation and the coining of the terms "vegan" and "veganism". Speaking in 2011, Louise Wallis said: "We knew the Society had been founded in November 1944 but didn’t know the exact date, so I decided to go for 1 November, partly because I liked the idea of this date coinciding with

Samhain Samhain ( , , , ; gv, Sauin ) is a Gaelic festival on 1 NovemberÓ hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p. 402. Quote: "The basic Irish division of the year ...

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observan ...

and the

Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead ( es, Día de Muertos or ''Día de los Muertos'') is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. It is widely obser ...

– traditional times for feasting and celebration, both apt and auspicious." Weltvegantag

Europe

Ireland

Dublin

* World Vegan Month, Ireland

Germany

* World Vegan Day, Germany. Several different events in the metropolitan cities.

North America

United States

Boston, Massachusetts

* Annual Boston Vegetarian Food Festival (all weekend), free

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

food (many thousands of attenders), sponsored annually and currently by the

Boston Vegetarian Society The Boston Vegetarian Society (BVS) is a non-profit educational organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, with the purpose of promoting and supporting vegetarianism and veganism. It hosts monthly speaking events and an annual vegetarian f ...

Oceania

Australia

Adelaide

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

celebrates World Vegan Day every year on a Sunday in November. The first Vegan Festival was held on 4 November 2007. The event is possible because of many individual volunteers and members of various organizations. Kas Ward created the Vegan Festival in Adelaide and is the main event coordinator. * M.A.D. FREE Weekend in Adelaide celebrates World Vegan Day in November. 13–15 November 2009.

Melbourne

Since 2003 World Vegan Day has been celebrated in Melbourne on the last Sunday of October. The event was initiated by members of the vegan social group Vegans Unite and is now organized by a committee affiliated with Vegetarian Victoria. Stalls include

Lentil as Anything Lentil As Anything Inc. (Lentil) was a group of pay as you feel, not for profit vegetarian and vegan Australian restaurants founded by Shanaka Fernando. Restaurants were located in Melbourne and Sydney and operated on a similar model to pay wha ...

, Invita Living Foods, Animals Australia, Aduki Independent Press, Eco-shout Melbourne, Vegan Society of Australia, ALV, the Melbourne University Food Co-op, Lush Australia and eco store.

Sydney

The Winery by Gazebo in Surry Hills will hold Sydney's first annual event on the first Sunday of November, being Sunday 6th in 2016.

New Zealand

Invercargill

* Invercargill Vegan Society in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

, has celebrated World Vegan Day since 2011. The world's southernmost vegan group, for World Vegan Day 2012 they gave away tofu to butchers, placed posters around their city, gave away vegan muffins in the city centre and held a group potluck dinner. World Vegan Day 2013 celebrations included visits to butchers' shops and vegan baking and soya milk giveaways in the city centre. Vegan activists were included on the

CUE TV Cue TV was a regional television station in New Zealand which started in October 1996 as Mercury Television. The majority of its programming was from the Southern Institute of Technology (SIT2LRN), who used the channel as a nationwide local educat ...

's news bulletin and gave a soft toy dog to an animal-skin-preserving factory. A potluck dinner was held at Invercargill public library as the sun set on World Vegan Day 2013.

South America

Uruguay

Montevideo

* Uruguayan Vegan and Vegetarian Union monthly meeting, end-of-October monthly meeting (18:00hrs), free vegan food, information, gathering.

Calendar context

World Vegan Day, a.k.a. International Vegan Day, is celebrated in continuity with Vegetarian Awareness Month (all of October, which begins with World Vegetarian Day on October 1, and includes other commemorative dates involving

food security Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World ...

, reverence for life in all species, faith-based vegetarianism and animal advocacy, and more. World Vegan Day follows Vegetarian Awareness Month (October) and initiates World Vegan Month (all of November). November 2, commemorated as Dynamic Harmlessness Day, is the birthday of the late

H. Jay Dinshah Hom Jay Dinshah (November 2, 1933 – June 8, 2000) was an American veganism activist and natural hygiene proponent who was the founder and president of the American Vegan Society and the editor of its publication the ''Ahimsa'' magazine (1960– ...

, founder of the American Vegan Society.

References

External links

* {{Animal rights, movement 1944 introductions Annual events International observances November observances Observances about food and drink Veganism Veganism in the United Kingdom November events Autumn events