
Children's Day is celebrated on June 1 and is formally known as "the June 1 International Children's Day" (Simplified Chinese: 六一国际儿童节; pinyin: lìu yī guó jì ér tóng jié). When the People's Republic of China was first established in 1949, the State Council (Cabinet) designated a half-day holiday for all primary schools on June 1. This was later made into a full day's break in 1956 with The Announcement by the State Council to make June 1 Children's Day a One-Day Holiday[14]. Schools usually hold activities such as camping trips or free movies on Children's Day to allow students to have fun, and children of civil servants might also receive small gifts from the government. Entrance ceremonies of the Young Pioneers of China (similar to boy scouts in the West) are usually held on June 1 as well. However on June 1, 2008 the day was made even more memorable, as many people remembered the children who died in the earthquake just a few weeks before.

