Mountain Day refers to three different and unrelated events: (1) Mountain Day, a student celebration in some colleges in the United States in which classes are cancelled without prior notice, and the student body heads to the mountains or a park, (2) International Mountain Day, held each year on 11 December, which was established by the UN General Assembly in 2003 to encourage

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

in mountains, and (3) Mountain Day, a national holiday in Japan as of 2016.

United States

Mountain Day dates back to at least 1838, when the students of

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...

headed off to

Mount Holyoke Mount Holyoke, a traprock mountain, elevation , is the westernmost peak of the Holyoke Range and part of the 100-mile (160 km) Metacomet Ridge. The mountain is located in the Connecticut River Valley of western Massachusetts, and is the n ...

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

declared its Mountain Day in 1877. Juniata College established its Mountain Day in 1896, and

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

students have been climbing Mount Greylock, the highest mountain in Massachusetts, to celebrate Mountain Day since the 1800s. Colby-Sawyer College's Mountain Day is stated to have started in the 1850s, although the first account of it in the student newspaper is not listed until June 1893.

Elmira College Elmira College is a private college in Elmira, New York, United States. Founded as a Timeline of women's colleges in the United States#First and oldest, college for women in 1855, it is the oldest existing college granting degrees to women that ...

instituted Mountain Day in 1918.

Hollins University Hollins University is a private university in Hollins, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1842 as Valley Union Seminary in the historical settlement of Botetourt Springs, Virginia, Botetourt Springs, it is Timeline of women's colleges in the Un ...

has a similar tradition called Tinker Day on which people don costumes and hike Tinker Mountain.

International (UN)

December 11 Events Pre-1600 * 220 – Emperor Xian of Han is forced to abdicate the throne by Cao Cao's son Cao Pi, ending the Han dynasty. * 361 – Julian enters Constantinople as sole Roman Emperor. * 861 – Assassination of the Abba ...

, "International Mountain Day", was designated 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 2003. The General Assembly "encouraged the international community to organize events at all levels on that day to highlight the importance of sustainable mountain development." International Mountain Day is observed every year with a different theme relevant to

sustainable 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 ...

mountain development.

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 ...

is the U.N. organization mandated to lead observance of International Mountain Day. The theme for International Mountain Day 2010 was "Mountain minorities and

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

." It aims to raise awareness about indigenous peoples and

minorities The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority g ...

who live in mountain environments and the relevance of their

cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by socie ...

, traditions and customs. On International Mountain Day 2018, Josué Lorca, president of Venezuela’s National Parks Institute, traveled to the mountains of the Sierra Nevada de Mérida, to announce measures intended to lengthen the life of Venezuela's last remaining glacier.

Japan

In May 2014, it was announced that Mountain Day will be celebrated as a public holiday every August 11, beginning in 2016. Supporters of the holiday included legislator Seishiro Eto and the Japanese Alpine Club. The legislation states that the holiday is to provide "opportunities to get familiar with mountains and appreciate blessings from mountains." As special arrangement for the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, the 2020 date for Mountain Day was moved to August 10. With the Olympics and Paralympics postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government left this change in place for 2020 and passed an amendment to the Olympic and Paralympic Special Measures Act to make a corresponding change to the holiday in 2021, moving it to August 9.

Other

Armenia

In connection with the UN's International Mountain Day,

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

has dedicated 9 October as "Day of the Mountains."

References

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External links

International Mountain Day, 11 December
official UN page
International Mountain Day 2010
Public holidays in the United States Student culture Student culture in the United States Recurring events established in 1834 Outdoor recreation Environmental awareness days Mountains August observances December observances 2016 establishments in Japan