Children's Day
How the world celebratesSix places put Children's Day on six different dates, spread from April to November, and 'who gets the day off' differs too: Taiwan closes for everyone, mainland China gives the day off only to children under fourteen, Japan writes thanking the mother into the statutory purpose, Indonesia's is a presidential-decree observance with a ministry theme each year, Brazil's shares its date with the country's patron saint, and India's is tied to Nehru's birthday.
Quick answers
| Place | When is it? | How the date is set |
|---|---|---|
| India | November 14, 2026 | — |
| Brazil | October 12, 2026 | — |
| Taiwan | April 4, 2027 | — |
| Japan | May 5, 2027 | — |
| China | June 1, 2027 | — |
| Indonesia | July 23, 2027 | — |
| United States | Not observed here | Not on the official list |
See the 2026 annual holiday calendar →World questions on this topic →
🗳️ What about you?
Asked by the 🇧🇷 Português community
For the 🇺🇸 English community
On Children's Day, do your children get the day off?
Live answers aren't available right now. Read the topic below.
Say what is wrong and what is correct — a source link helps.
Near you
Nothing here yet.
Events
Nothing here yet.
Now
People are talking about this
Live discussion isn't available right now
Read the topic and check back later.
How the world celebrates
- October 12, 2026Local date
How does Brazil mark Children's Day?Dia das Crianças
Brazil's Children's Day is 12 October, traced to Decree 4,867 of 1924. The same date is also the national holiday for Our Lady of Aparecida, the country's patron — so 12 October in Brazil is simultaneously a religious holiday and a day for giving children presents, with the commercial season and church observance running side by side. In Brazil the twelfth of October is also the day of Our Lady of Aparecida, a national holiday since 1980. Children's Day is therefore one of the few among these places that lands on a day off — no need to slide it to the weekend or wait for the end of the working day, because nobody is at work or school anyway. It also means the toy-retail season and the religious procession share the same date.
- November 14, 2026Local date
How does India mark Children's Day?बाल दिवस (Children's Day)
India's Children's Day is 14 November, known locally as Bal Diwas, and marks the birthday of the first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, whom children called Chacha Nehru — Uncle Nehru. It is primarily a school and cultural observance, with performances, contests and celebrations. It is not listed as a gazetted holiday for Central Government Offices in 2026, so that central list should not be treated as a blanket rule for every school or local calendar. Anchoring a children's day to one politician's birthday is unique among the six here: the origin of the day is a person, not a calendar or a religion.
- April 4, 2027Local date
How does Taiwan mark Children's Day?兒童節
Taiwan's Children's Day is 4 April, a full public holiday under the Act on Commemorative Days and Holidays. The law even handles a clash: when Children's Day falls on the same day as Tomb-Sweeping Day, the holiday moves to the day before — unless that lands on a Thursday, in which case it moves to the day after. Writing a substitution rule for two festivals colliding is itself a sign that the day is treated as real time off, not just a commemoration.
- May 5, 2027Local date
How does Japan mark Children's Day?こどもの日
Japan's is 5 May, the national holiday Kodomo no Hi. The statutory purpose recorded by the Cabinet Office is to respect a child's character, work for a child's happiness, and thank the mother — writing gratitude to mothers into the legal purpose of a children's holiday is unique among the six here. The date landed on 5 May because a plan to merge the 3 March doll festival with the 5 May Tango no Sekku onto 3 May was dropped once 3 May became Constitution Day.
- June 1, 2027Local date
How does China mark Children's Day?六一儿童节
Mainland China's Children's Day is 1 June, and the national holiday regulation places it among the days off for *part* of the population: children under fourteen get one day off. In other words the children are off, not the parents. The same regulation gives women half a day on International Women's Day and young people over fourteen half a day on Youth Day, on the same logic. Who a holiday is for is written into the regulation rather than left to custom.
- July 23, 2027Local date
How does Indonesia mark Children's Day?Hari Anak Nasional
Indonesia's National Children's Day is 23 July, established by Presidential Decree No. 44 of 1984. It is not a day off but a nationwide observance run by the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection with a new theme each year — the 42nd edition in 2026 was themed around loving children, protecting them and building their future, while the education ministry's message that year urged children back to play and away from screens. It reads more like policy mobilisation than a family holiday. The date of 23 July was set by presidential instrument: Presidential Decision No. 44 of 1984 fixed the National Children's Day on that day. It falls in the first weeks of the school year, so the activities are mostly held inside schools, with local governments and schools together making it one large simultaneous nationwide gathering rather than a festival kept within the family.
- Not observed hereLocal date
Does United States have Children's Day?
The United States has no statutory Children's Day, and not even a fixed date. It exists as a presidential proclamation reissued each year: Reagan put it on 8 August in 1982, Clinton on 11 October in 1998, George W. Bush on 9 June in 2002, Obama moved it to 20 November from 2013, and Biden kept 20 November in 2024. A proclamation is not a law, brings no day off, and the next occupant can move it. Elsewhere on this page dates are pinned by statute, presidential decision or ministerial decree; what marks the American cell is that the same day has changed address at least four times in forty years.
Sources and dates
Dates follow local time zones, calendars, and official notices. Check the source when a date is estimated or locally variable.