International Tea Day is observed annually on

May 21 Events Pre-1600 * 293 – Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Galerius as '' Caesar'' to Diocletian, beginning the period of four rulers known as the Tetrarchy. * 878 – Syracuse, Sicily, is captured by the Muslim Aghlab ...

, according to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. The concerning resolution was adopted on December 21, 2019, and calls on the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to lead the observance of the Day. The International Tea Day aims to raise awareness of the long history and the deep cultural and economic significance of tea around the world. The goal of the day is to promote and foster collective actions to implement activities in favour of the

sustainable production Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

and consumption of tea and raise awareness of its importance in fighting hunger and poverty. An International Tea Day has been celebrated on

December 15 Events Pre-1600 * 533 – Vandalic War: Byzantine Empire, Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Tricamarum. * 687 – Pope Sergius I is elected as a compromise between antipopes P ...

, since 2005, in tea producing countries like

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

. International Tea Day aims to draw global attention of governments and citizens to the impact of the global tea trade on workers and growers, and has been linked to requests for price supports and fair trade. The tea consumption is associated with various mental health benefits, including stress reduction and improved cognitive function. International Tea Day highlights these benefits, promoting tea as a natural aid for mental

well-being Well-being is what is Intrinsic value (ethics), ultimately good for a person. Also called "welfare" and "quality of life", it is a measure of how well life is going for someone. It is a central goal of many individual and societal endeavors. ...

Background

The main architects were the Centre for Education and Communication
CEC
, India (Shatadru Chattopadhayay);

Hind Mazdoor Sabha The Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) was formed by the Socialists in 1948 but has little real connection with the Socialist Party. It is one of the least political and most pragmatic trade-union federations in India. The HMS is affiliated with the Int ...

, India (Samir Roy); Indian National Trade Union Congress, India (Paramasivam); Institute of Social Development, Sri Lanka (P. Muthulingam); New Trade Union Initiative, India (M. Subbu); Red Flag Union, Sri Lanka (O. A. Ramaiha) and United Trade Union Congress, India (Ashok Ghosh) at the World Social Forum in January 2005. The first International Tea Day was celebrated in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

in 2005, with later celebrations organized in Sri Lanka in 2006 and 2008. International Tea Day celebrations and the related Global Tea Conferences have been jointly organized by

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

movements. In 2015, the Indian government proposed expanding the observance of International Tea Day through the

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition ...

Intergovernmental Group on Tea (IGG on Tea). The FAO IGG on Tea leads multilateral efforts to support the world tea economy, has been a great advocate for the proclamation of the International Tea Day. In 2015, during a meeting in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Italy, the IGG on Tea discussed the idea of an International Tea Day. The proposal was then endorsed by th
FAO Committee on Commodity Problems
(CCP) and subsequently adopted by the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

in December 2019.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Centre for Education and Communication
(includes gallery of past ITD celebrations)
Indian Tea Association
Awareness days Observances about food and drink Tea culture International observances 2005 establishments December observances

Background

See also

References

External links