The Chinese Language Day - 19 April

Chinese will be the language celebrated on 19 April for the second UN Language Day in 2012. All UN staff and diplomats in New York are encouraged to take some time to learn more about the language and Chinese resources at the UN by attending special events.

The date for the Chinese day was selected from Guyu ("Rain of Millet"), which is the 6th of 24 solar terms in the traditional East Asian calendars, to pay tribute to Cangjie. Cangjie is a very important figure in ancient China, claimed to be an official historian of the Yellow Emperor and the inventor of Chinese characters. Legend has it that he had four eyes and four pupils, and that when he invented the characters, the deities and ghosts cried and the sky rained millet. From then on, Chinese people celebrate the day Guyu in honour of Cangjie. In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around April 20.

Sitio Fuente: ONU