World Puppetry Day

{{Short description|Annual celebration of puppets}}

{{primary sources|date=April 2012}}

Image:PHANTOM of the OPERA, marionettes-transformers, Nikolai Zykov Theatre, Russia.JPG

World Puppetry Day is March 21.{{Cite web |last=BE |first=Admin |date=2021-03-21 |title=World Puppetry Day: 8 celebrity puppets that made many Belgians happy |url=https://brussels-express.eu/world-puppetry-day-8-celebrity-puppets-that-made-many-belgians-happy/ |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=Brussels Express |language=en-GB}} The idea came from the puppet theater artist Javad Zolfaghari from Iran. In 2000 at the XVIII Congress of the Union Internationale de la Marionnette, (UNIMA) in Magdeburg, he made the proposal for discussion. Two years later, at a meeting of the International Council of UNIMA in June 2002 in Atlanta, the date of the celebration was identified. The first celebration was in 2003.{{Cite web |last=BE |first=Admin |date=2021-03-21 |title=World Puppetry Day: 8 celebrity puppets that made many Belgians happy |url=https://brussels-express.eu/world-puppetry-day-8-celebrity-puppets-that-made-many-belgians-happy/ |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=Brussels Express |language=en-GB}}

Each year the day comes with a theme. In 2022, the theme was "The Sea" encouraging puppeteers to celebrate the day using some form of that theme.{{Cite web |title=World Puppetry Day 2022: Theme, Importance and Activities |url=https://www.merazone.com/2022/03/world-puppetry-day-2022-theme.html |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=Merazone.com |language=en}}

World Puppetry Day is celebrated by puppet festivals,{{Cite web |last=Pioneer |first=The |title=World Puppetry Day: Puppet fest to be held today |url=https://www.dailypioneer.com/2022/india/world-puppetry-day--puppet-fest-to-be-held-today.html |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=The Pioneer |language=en}} donating to puppet organizations, making puppets, or watching a puppet show. Some communities will put on puppet shows in honor of the day reminding people of this versatile and dying art form.{{Cite web |last=Star |first=Yasmin Acosta for the Arizona Daily |title=Tucson puppet troupe celebrates World Puppetry Day with two events |url=https://tucson.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/tucson-puppet-troupe-celebrates-world-puppetry-day-with-two-events/article_9b8819c2-c630-5c3d-879c-31639f043e18.html |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=Arizona Daily Star |language=en}}

Puppets have been around for almost 4000 years in almost every civilization. Today puppets come in all shapes and sizes and are used to tell different stories.{{Cite web |date=2022-03-21 |title=It’s World Puppetry Day! Do you have a favorite puppet? |url=https://www.abc27.com/digital-originals/its-world-puppetry-day-do-you-have-a-favorite-puppet/ |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=ABC27 |language=en-US}}