March 8, Feast of the womens. The UN made this holiday official in 1977, although the first "Women's Day" was held in the United States in 1909. The particular choice of 8 March has many reasons. On this day in 1908, the 26 workers lost their lives in a textile factory in New York. On March 8, 1917, the women of the city took to the streets in St. Petersburg to demonstrate for the end of the First World War. It was one of the first sparks that led to the fall of the tsarist power.
The mimosa
On March 8, 1946, mimosa was chosen as the symbol of Women's Day. An all-Italian idea. It was the militants of the Udi (Union of Italian women) who chose the spring inflorescence as a symbol of the day. In fact, the mimosa blooms at this time of the year and is a poor, humble and spontaneous flower.
An ancient legend tells of a shepherd, madly in love with a nymph, to the point of persecuting her relentlessly, forcing her to hide in the woods. The girl, exhausted, begged the god of marriage Hymen to change her into a flower. So it was that it was transformed into mimosa. According to another ancient tradition, North American Indians prefer the Mimosa during the holidays or the promises of love. In these cases the young lover gives a branch of mimosa to the girl who has conquered him.
A special gift
"For Women's Day this year give yourself a special gift: prevention". It is the message that the European Institute of Oncology of Milan wanted to disseminate and promote for 8 March 2019. Just this year the IRCCS founded by Umberto Veronesi celebrates its first 25 years of activity. For this particular day, the Institute has decided to leave the hospital for the first time, to go and meet women in the places of daily life.
At Feltrinelli in piazza Piemonte, a team of specialists will be available to inform women on the topic of prevention. Viviana Galimberti, head of the Ieo Women's Cancer Center is keen to reiterate: "Research provides women with continuous innovations for the prevention and early diagnosis of cancer. Today we can talk about 'precision prevention', tailor-made for each woman. To do this - underlines Galimberti - we need the conscious participation of women and their willingness to take care of themselves ".
Events throughout Italy
From Alps in the Strait, the whole nation celebrates International Women's Day with a myriad of the most diverse initiatives. From big cities to small towns, there are countless events. Free admission to museums, shows, exhibitions, concerts, celebrations, conferences, seminars and much more. Awareness campaigns against gender-based violence are increasingly numerous.
Over the centuries, in the twentieth century in particular, the woman has certainly made many achievements in the professional field and has also carved out a role of greater importance in the family. Goals denied and mortified by the escalation of abuse and violence that fill the pages of the daily news. The sad phenomenon of femicide, unfortunately in continuous growth, is increasingly disturbing. The post-modern society we live in is also the 'terrible world' in which the heinous crimes of men who kill women ripen.
