World Book Day - wikipedia World Book Day This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( October 2013 ) World Book Day UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day 2012 poster Official name National World Book Day Also called WND Observed by All UN Member States Type International Frequency annual World Book Day or World Book and Copyright Day ( also known as International Day of the Book or World Book Days ) is a yearly event on April 23rd, organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO ), to promote reading, publishing and copyright. In the United Kingdom, the day is recognized on the first Thursday in March. World Book Day was celebrated for the first time on 23 April 1995. Contents 1 Date selection 2 World Book Day by country 2.1 Spain 2.2 Sweden 2.3 United Kingdom 2.4 United States of America 3 See also 4 References 4.1 Citations 4.2 Books 5 External links Date selection The original idea was of the Valencian writer Vicente Clavel Andrés as a way to honour the author Miguel de Cervantes, first on October 7, his birth date, then on April 23, his death date. In 1995 UNESCO decided that the World Book and Copyright Day would be celebrated on 23 April, as the date is also the anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, as well as that of the birth or death of several other prominent authors. ( In a historical coincidence, Shakespeare and Cervantes died on the same date -- 23 April 1616 -- but not on the same day, as at the time, Spain used the Gregorian calendar and England used the Julian calendar ; Shakespeare actually died 10 days late Cervantes died, on May 3 of the Gregorian calendar. ) World Book Day by country Forum on reading aloud held outside the campus library at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico City for the occasion Spain This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( April 2014 ) To celebrate this day, Cervantes 's Don Quixote is read during a two - day `` readathon '' and the Miguel de Cervantes Prize is presented by the Spanish king in Alcalá de Henares. 23rd of April is the anniversary of the death of Miguel de Cervantes. In Catalonia, Spain, St. George 's Day has been ' The Day of the Rose ' since 1436, and involves the exchange of gifts between loved ones and respected people -- it is analogous to Valentine 's Day. Although World Book and Copyright Day has been celebrated since 1995 internationally, books were exchanged on ' The Day of the Rose ' in Catalonia since 1929, in memory of Cervantes. Sweden In Sweden, the day is known as Världsbokdagen ( `` World Book Day '' ) and the copyright aspect is seldom mentioned. Normally celebrated on 23 April, it was moved to April 13 in the year 2000 and 2011 to avoid a clash with Easter. United Kingdom This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( April 2014 ) Main article : World Book Day ( UK and Ireland ) In the United Kingdom, World Book Day is held annually on the first Thursday in March, as 23 April sometimes clashes with Easter school holidays ; 23 April is also the National Saint 's Day of England, St George 's Day. A separate event, World Book Night, organized by independent charity The Reading Agency, is held on 23 April. United states of america In Kensington, Maryland the International Day of the Book is celebrated with a street festival on the Sunday closest to April 26. See also International Children 's Book Day World Intellectual Property Day Inventors ' Day ( by a country ) List of World Book Day Books References Citations Jump up ^ `` What is World Book Day ? ''. Worldbookday.com. Retrieved 16 October 2012. Jump up ^ `` World Book and Copyright Day, 23 April ''. Un.org. Retrieved 2014 - 08 - 12. Jump up ^ `` La Sant Jordi et le jour du livre ''. Generalitat de Catalunya ( in French ). 20 April 2013. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Jump up ^ Världsbokdagen flyttas Archived 2012 - 04 - 08 at the Wayback Machine., Svensk Bokhandel, 22 October 1999 Jump up ^ Världsbokdagen '' flyttas '', Dagens Nyheter, 11 November 2010. Books External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to World Book Day. World Book and Copyright Day at UN 23 April World Book and Copyright Day at UNESCO 23 April Message of Ms. Irina Bokova, Director - General of UNESCO on the occasion of World Book and Copyright Day - 23 April 2011 ( PDF ) About World Book Day in the UK and Ireland About The International Day of the Book celebration in Kensington, Maryland, USA Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World_Book_Day&oldid=844509088 '' Categories : April observances Book promotion Copyright law events UNESCO Reading ( process ) United Nations days Hidden categories : CS1 French - language sources ( fr ) Webarchive template wayback links Articles needing additional references from October 2013 All articles needing additional references Infobox holiday with missing field Infobox holiday ( other ) Articles needing additional references from April 2014 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu Avañe'ẽ Български Bosanski Català Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Հայերեն Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ಕನ್ನಡ ქართული Latviešu മലയാളം Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Polski Português Română Русский Shqip Slovenščina کوردی Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska தமிழ் ไทย Українська اردو Tiếng Việt 中文 40 more Edit links This page was last edited on 5 June 2018, at 11 : 33. 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Question: what is the purpose of world book day
Answer: to promote reading, publishing and copyright