International Fairy Day

International Fairy Day is a day of man-made magic, fantasy, and dreams. It is unlikely there is any culture in the world without fairy tales and legends about magical creatures. From myths, the fairy folk migrated to popular culture—books, films, cartoons, and computer games. This topic is not only for children; adults willingly come up with new stories about magical creatures and embody them in their works. They also play role-playing games, dressing up as fairies, elves, gnomes, and goblins. International Fairy Day is an official reason to return to a fairy tale!

History

Perhaps the fairies themselves came up with the idea of celebrating this holiday? Who knows?

Interesting Facts

At the beginning of the 20th century, two English girls from the village of Cottingley (Yorkshire), Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, misled the public and created something like this holiday themselves. In the spring of 1917, while playing by the stream, they photographed fairies and then a gnome. In 1920, the photos made their way into the London Strand Magazine and were believed by the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The whole world followed his lead! There were many examinations and investigations without results. Only in the 1980s did Elsie and Frances admit they cut out fairy figures from paper and fixed them with hatpins. The gnome was molded from clay.

How to Take Part

There are different ways to spend the magical International Fairy Day.

1. Reread your favorite book or watch your favorite fairy movie.
2. Get creative with friends or kids. Make your home or garden populated by fairy folk: make figurines. Or make fairy costumes for yourself, the kids, and your pets! Take a photo or video, and share it all on social networks with the hashtag #InternationalFairyDay.
3. Arrange a competition: see who remembers the most types of fairies or works out where they are found.

When is International Fairy Day in 2024?

International Fairy Day is observed on June 24 each year.

Observations