Scouts' Day

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Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scout Movement

Scouts' Day is a generic term for special days observed by members of the World Organization of the Scout Movement throughout the year. Some of these days have religious significance, while others may be a simple celebration of Scouting. Typically, it is a day when all members of Scouting will re-affirm the Scout Promise.

1 Founders' Days
2 St. George's Day
3 Scout Sunday or Scout Sabbath
4 World Thinking Day
5 Dates celebrated by country
6 See also
7 External links
8 References

[edit] Founders' Days

Worldwide in nearly all Scout associations, Founders' Day is celebrated on 22 February, the anniversary of Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell (born in 1857), the founder of Scouting, and coincidentally also of his wife Olave Baden-Powell (born in 1889).

Individual Groups and Councils also celebrate their own Founding at various times of the year, although these are generally restricted to "major" anniversaries, such as a decennial.

[edit] St. George's Day

Portuguese Scout postcard casting Scout as modern-day St. George slaying the dragon

St. George is the patron saint of Scouting. The nearest Sunday to April 23 is observed as a celebration in some countries, for example, the United Kingdom and Spain.

Until recently in the UK, Scouting Districts would celebrate the day with a parade of the groups and sections to a church where a service is held where the Scouts re-affirm the Scout Promise.

However, it is becoming more difficult to encourage participation by the youth membership, so many Districts forego the parade and church service in place of a more family oriented day. The focus of the day is still the affirmation of the Promise by all members.

Windsor and Queen Scouts Each St. George's Day is also marked by a service in St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, which is open to all recipients of the Queen's Scout Award in the previous year.

[edit] Scout Sunday or Scout Sabbath

Scouts on Scout Sunday in Philadelphia, 1949

The Boy Scouts of America have designated the Sunday preceding February 8 as Scout Sunday and the following Saturday is designated as Scout Sabbath. (The United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church (USA) celebrate Scout Sunday on the second Sunday of February as not to conflict with Transfiguration Sunday.)

The day is meant to mark the founding of the Scouts in the United States. Observation varies by unit and locale. Scouts go to their places of worship in uniform and help with the service.

In the Girl Scouts of the USA, the equivalent holiday is Girl Scout Sunday or Girl Scout Sabbath, celebrated in the week that includes March 12, the day the GSUSA was founded by Juliette Gordon Low ^[1].

In the United States, Scouting has been used by churches, synagogues, and many other religious organizations as part of their youth ministries. Approximately 50 percent of all Scouting units are chartered to religious groups. These observances offer an opportunity for congregations to honor Scouts and Scouters, as well as to learn more themselves about the value of Scouting as a youth program. ^[2]

[edit] World Thinking Day

Among Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, and some boy-oriented associations (i.e. Greece, where it is called Imera Skepseos), Thinking Day is celebrated each February 22, chosen as it was the birthday of Scouting founder Robert Baden-Powell and of Olave Baden-Powell.

[edit] Dates celebrated by country

Date	English name	Location/local name	Remarks
January 1	Scouts' Day	Burma
February 22	Thinking Day	worldwide	Marks birthday of Scouting's founders
April 19	Guides' Day	Georgia	anniversary of the first national Girl Scout conference in 1997
April 23	St. George's Day	United Kingdom	Parade of Queen's Scouts at Windsor Castle
May 22	Girl Scout Day	Japan
May 31	Vietnamese Scouting Day	Vietnam
July 1	Scout Day	Thailand	Scouts pay homage to King Rama VI, and take part in parades