Editing Zamenhof Day

{{Short description|Commemoration in Esperanto culture}}
{{hatnote|"Esperanto Book Day" redirects here. Not to confused with [[Esperanto Day]].}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox holiday
| holiday_name  = Zamenhof Day
| type          = cultural
| longtype      = Cultural holiday
| image         = Zamenhofa Tago Kuko.jpg
| caption       = Cake at a Zamenhof Day celebration in [[Nova Scotia, Canada]], 2019
| official_name = ''Zamenhofa Tago'' (Esperanto)
| nickname      = Esperanto Literature Day,<br/>Esperanto Day,<br/>Zamenhof's Birthday,<br/>Book Day
| observedby    = International [[Esperantist|Esperanto community]]
| duration      = 1 day
| frequency     = annual
| scheduling    = same day each year
| date          = 15 December
| celebrations  = 
| observances   = 
| relatedto     = 
}}
{{Esperanto sidebar |expanded=Culture}}
'''Zamenhof Day''' ({{langx|eo|Zamenhofa Tago}}, [[Polish language|Polish]]: {{lang|pl|Dzień Zamenhofa}}), also called '''Esperanto Book Day''',<ref name="UEA"/> is celebrated on 15 December, the birthday of [[Esperanto]] creator [[L. L. Zamenhof]].<ref name="Birth"/> It is the most widely celebrated day in [[Esperanto culture]].<ref>[http://esperanto.cri.cn/1/2004/12/22/1@18820.htm Pri la 145-a Zamenhofa tago] at China Radio International</ref> On this day, [[Esperantist]]s hold information sessions and cultural gatherings to promote [[Esperanto literature|literature in Esperanto]].<ref name="UEA"/>

The history of celebrating Esperanto on Zamenhof's birthday can be traced back to 17<!-- indeed 17 (by Gregorian calendar) or 5 (by Julian calendar valid there and then), because this is the date of the party and not of the birthday itself /which is 15/ --> December 1878, when at a birthday party for his 19th birthday he presented to his friends his ''[[Proto-Esperanto#The Lingwe uniwersala of 1878|Lingwe uniwersala]]'', the first version of his [[international auxiliary language|international language]].<ref name="Boulton"/><ref name="ExactDateDiscussion"/> By 1887, this language had evolved into what is now recognized as Esperanto when he published the ''[[Unua Libro]]''. 15 December previously used to be also known as Esperanto Day,<ref name="EsperantoDay"/> but that is now celebrated on 26 July, the day ''Unua Libro'' was published.<ref name="UEAPub"/> As of 1927 onwards, 15 December is celebrated within the Esperanto movement as ''Esperanto Book Day'' as it is customary to purchase a new book on Esperanto on that occasion.<ref name="PeoplesWorld"/><ref name="EuropeanStudiesBlog"/>

==Zamenhof's 150th birth anniversary==
15 December 2009 marked 150 years since Zamenhof's birth, and there were several events to celebrate. On this date, the authorities in his home town of [[Białystok]], Poland, opened a new Zamenhof Center,<ref name="EsperantoToday"/> and a [[symposium]] honoring Zamenhof was held in New York City, featuring talks by [[Arika Okrent]] and [[Humphrey Tonkin]] among other professors.<ref name="ZamenhofSymposium"/>

Also on this date, the search engine [[Google]], in 33 national language versions (but not the international English one), bore a special version of their logo (a [[Google Doodle|Doodle]]) emblazoned with the [[Esperanto flag]] in honor of the occasion,<ref name="Huliq"/><ref name="LiberaFolioGoogle"/> which generated, between the 30 biggest Wikipedia languages, 1,750,000 page views on the articles "[[L. L. Zamenhof]]".<ref name="Marek"/>

==See also==
*[[Esperanto Day]]

==References==
<references>
<ref name="UEA">{{cite web |url=http://www.linguistic-rights.org/zamenhof-tago/2017/Zamenhof_Day_Esperanto_Book_Day_15_December_2017_EN.html |title=Zamenhof-Day / Esperanto Book Day, 15 December |first=Stefano |last=Keller |translator-first=Brian |translator-last=Moon |publisher=Universal Esperanto Association |access-date=2018-12-14 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

<ref name="Birth">[http://www.poland.pl/archives/postpartionera/article,,id,271194.htm Birth certificate of Ludwik Zamenhof] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229164001/http://www.poland.pl/archives/postpartionera/article%2C%2Cid%2C271194.htm |date=29 February 2012 }}, dated 15 December 1859, Archives of Poland, Post-Partition Era (19th century). It corresponds to 3 December in the then-official [[Julian calendar]] of Russia.</ref>

<ref name="Boulton">Boulton, Marjorie. ''Zamenhof, Aǔtoro de Esperanto''. La Laguna : J. Régulo, 1962. {{in lang|eo}}</ref>

<ref name="ExactDateDiscussion">Discussion on the exact date of that birthday party may be found at [http://groups.yahoo.co.jp/group/velanoj/messages/1363?expand=1 Message Board] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425162559/http://groups.yahoo.co.jp/group/velanoj/messages/1363?expand=1 |date=25 April 2012 }} at Yahoo Groups Japan</ref>

<ref name="EsperantoDay">{{cite web| url= http://esperanto-usa.org/en/content/esperanto-day-google | website= Esperanto-USA.org | title= Esperanto Day at Google | date= 15 December 2009| author= Limako | access-date= 14 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091218113513/http://esperanto-usa.org/en/content/esperanto-day-google |archive-date=2009-12-18 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

<ref name="UEAPub">{{cite web |url=http://www.linguistic-rights.org/esperanto-tago/2018/ET2018-informilo-en-A5-4-pagha-papera-Stefano-Keller-ZPI-UEA-2018.pdf |title=Esperanto Day |publisher=Universal Esperanto Association |access-date=2018-12-14 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

<ref name="EsperantoToday">{{cite web| url= http://esperanto-usa.org/en/content/esperanto-today | website= Esperanto-USA.org | title= Esperanto Today |author= Limako | date= 12 December 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091226052055/http://esperanto-usa.org/en/content/esperanto-today |archive-date=2009-12-26 |access-date= 14 December 2018 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

<ref name="ZamenhofSymposium">[https://sites.google.com/site/zamenhofsymposium/ Zamenhof Symposium]</ref>

<ref name="Huliq">[http://www.huliq.com/7504/89672/ll-zamenhof-honored-google Zamenhof Honored by Google], [[Huliq.com]]. Retrieved 15 December 2009.</ref>

<ref name="LiberaFolioGoogle">[http://www.liberafolio.org/2009/google-festas-la-zamenhof-tagon/ Google festas la Zamenhof-Tagon, Libera Folio] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306045933/http://liberafolio.org/2009/google-festas-la-zamenhof-tagon |date=6 March 2016 }}. Retrieved 15 December 2009.</ref>

<ref name="Marek">[http://esperanto.org/Ondo/Ondo/184-lode.htm#184-04 Blahuš, Marek. "Google: Reklami Esperanton... sen esperantistoj"]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514135632/http://esperanto.org/Ondo/Ondo/184-lode.htm |date=14 May 2011 }}, ''La Ondo de Esperanto'', 2010, n-ro 2 (184), p.8.</ref>

<ref name="PeoplesWorld">{{cite web | url=https://peoplesworld.org/article/today-in-history-how-will-you-celebrate-zamenhof-aka-esperanto-day/ |title=Today in history: How will you celebrate Zamenhof (aka Esperanto) Day? |publisher=People's World |date=15 December 2015 |access-date=15 December 2022}}</ref>

<ref name="EuropeanStudiesBlog">{{cite web |url=https://blogs.bl.uk/european/2015/12/the-man-who-hoped-celebrating-esperanto-book-day.html |title=The Man who Hoped: Celebrating Esperanto Book Day |publisher=European studies blog |date=15 December 2015 |access-date=15 December 2022}}</ref>

</references>

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Zamenhofa Tago}}

[[Category:Language observances]]
[[Category:December observances]]
[[Category:Esperanto culture]]