Arbor Day

Arbor Day is primarily an American holiday that encourages the planting and care of trees.

Arbor Day occurs in the United States every year on the last Friday in April (April 28 in 2006), with the exception of Louisiana, which observes the holiday on the third Friday in January and Hawaii which observes the holiday on the first Friday in November. The customary observance is to plant a tree, but it is not a public holiday and is no longer widely observed in USA (except in Nebraska, where it is a public holiday); in other states, it has been displaced by the emphasis on Earth Day.

Similar holidays exist worldwide, some going by the same name, as in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, where it is spelled Arbour Day. In China, it also commemorates the passing of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. The Japanese celebrate the similarly-themed Greenery Day.

History

Arbor Day was established by J. Sterling Morton of Nebraska City, Nebraska in 1872.

J. Sterling Morton and his wife moved from Detroit, Michigan to the Nebraska Territory in 1854, where he was the editor of Nebraska's first newspaper. His influence as a journalist led to his involvement in politics, and he became a promoter of the settlement of Nebraska. The lack of trees, however, was an obstacle.

The Great Plains had been described as the "Great American Desert." The tallgrass prairie that covered much of Nebraska at that time could provide rich farmland, but without wood for building houses or for fuel to heat homes, few found it convenient to settle there. Even the allotment of free land by the Homestead Act failed to entice sufficient numbers of families to relocate to Nebraska.

Morton proposed Arbor Day as a tree planting holiday in 1872 at a meeting of the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture. On the first Arbor Day, prizes were offered to counties and to individuals for properly planting the largest number of trees. It was claimed that more than 1 million trees were planted in Nebraska on that day.

During the course of the 1870s, several other states passed legislation to observe Arbor Day. Schools began to adopt the tradition beginning in 1882. By 1894, Arbor Day was celebrated in each state of the United States.

Memorial parks

Morton's home in Nebraska City, Arbor Lodge, is a state historical park, which includes an arboretum and extensive landscaped grounds. Adjacent to the public park, Morton's farm, now called Arbor Day Farm, is run for the benefit of the National Arbor Day Foundation.

Arbor Day in China

Arbor Day (植樹節) is a public holiday in the Republic of China and People's Republic of China on March 12. It commemorates the passing of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the Father of the Nation, in 1925.

Arbor Day in South Korea

Arbor Day (Singmogil, 식목일) is a public holiday in South Korea on April 5.

References

External links

Holidays in the United States | Environmental awareness days | History of Nebraska

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