World Animal Day 2008
Bless the animals.
World Animal Day occurs annually on 4 October. Animal welfare groups, sanctuaries, and individuals throughout the world hold special events to heighten public awareness of animal issues and to encourage people to think about how we as humans relate to animals.
World Animal Day—Mission Statement
* To celebrate animal life in all its forms
* To celebrate humankind’s relationship with the animal kingdom
* To acknowledge the diverse roles that animals play in our lives—from being our companions, supporting and helping us, to bringing a sense of wonder into our lives
* To acknowledge and be thankful for the way in which animals enrich our lives
“In this photo the Rev. Ron Spahn blesses an equine member of the 10:15am service at Christ Church Grosse Pointe. It was like Noah’s Ark without all the rain.” Photo: Brendan Ross/brossphoto.com
Designer: “Puppy” by Eero Aarnio
History
World Animal Day was conceived at an ecologist’s convention in Florence, Italy in 1931 as a way of highlighting the plight of endangered species. October 4th was chosen as World Animal Day because it is also the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, a Catholic Church holiday which is often celebrated with an annual “blessing of the pets”.
Since then, it has grown to encompass all kinds of animal life and has been widely celebrated around the world. It is intended as a day of celebration for anyone in the world who cares about animals. It is not restricted to any one nationality, creed, religion, political belief or ideology.
To capture the spirit, in NYC at least, here is a quote from gothamist.com “There are also pet blessings at many other churches in the city this weekend. We liked this description of the pet blessing at St. Edmund Church at 1901 Avenue T in Brooklyn: “All pets must be accompanied by their owners and human friends!!! Children may bring their stuffed animals if they don’t have a pet. If an animal is unable to attend, photos or an article attached to the pet may be brought to be blessed.”
2007-08
In 2007 Pet Monologues proposes a year-long effort aimed at the creative-appreciative community to submit/suggest creative efforts that include earth’s animals. Works include fine art, photography, branding (advertising and design efforts), products, literary works, music, and anything else that sends the right message.
Submissions to PM should include credits, conception date, and rationale if appropriate. Images should be in jpg format, 400px wide. Questions? Please review Submissions page or Contact us.
Select submissions will be posted in category Bless Animals.
Now is a good time to start thinking about the upcoming year. For starters put September 4, 2008, on your to-do list to provide a venue list for 2008. All images can be seen at Bless Animals.
PM
Sources:
Official World Animal Day site: worldanimalday.org.uk
A word from NYC: gothamist.com
A video from Manilla: usatoday.feedroom.com
An array of posts: huffingtonpost.com
A word from Big Bear Lake, CA: blessingoftheanimals.com
The “puppy”: unicahome.com
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Maureen Adams
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