International Tea Day – 15 December



International Tea Day – 15 December

‘A cup of tea can make everything better…’
Isn’t it going to be awesome to have a special day to celebrate tea? After all, it is one of the most popular beverages over the globe. With that, the International Tea Day is celebrated each year on 15 December to draw global attention of citizens and governments on the tea growers and workers and also the impact of the global tea trade. Although the idea of celebrating International Tea Day has existed for many years, the first initiation was made after the initial discussions in the year 2004 at the World Social Forum.

For the first time, International Tea Day was celebrated in the year 2005 in New Delhi and afterward, the celebration was organized in Sri Lanka in 2006 and 2008. Global Tea Conferences & International Tea Day is jointly organized by trade union movements. Since 2005, International Tea Day has have been celebrated in the tea producing countries like Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Bangladesh, etc. The tea industry provides tea to millions of people all over the globe, however, the working condition of the tea growers need much attention and improvement. You think International Tea Day is a holiday only about drinking tea, then thinks again! This day is celebrated to bring the civil rights of the tea growers into action.

In New Delhi, the International Tea Conference came out with a declaration to protect the rights of the small tea growers and to help them regulate land ownership, uneven competition, rights of women, safety regulations, living wages, and social security. Apart from the International Tea Conference, other organizations like the Tea Board of India also proposed the International Tea Day in the hope of making it an official holiday to the Agriculture Organization and UN Food.

The holiday on International Tea Day does not have any official recognition, but the objective of the holiday is to recognize the poor condition of the tea growers in India, their work-related policies along with their current living conditions. Another focus of the International Tea Day is on issues like technology and trend, climate conditions on the production of tea. On this day millions of people all over the globe gather and conduct seminars in different parts of the world to discuss the problems faced by the tea industry in the recent era.

If you are a tea lover, you can participate in various programs that are to be conducted on the International Tea Day. Try research about various companies; look out for tea brands that support fair trade. Possibly you can switch over to those brands too. If you are interested then you can help recognize International Tea Day as a holiday, by using the hashtag #internationalteaday& thereby educating others about the tea industry.

Apart from the celebration and the concern for the tea growers across the globe, what else do we get from tea?

·         There’s no denial to this that tea is a great source of antioxidant and it helps in the prevention of the body’s version of rust
·         Tea is a wonderful source of energy booster. Moreover, taking herbal teas in a day can help you reduce stress and let you be healthy
·         Tea also helps in reducing the chances of stroke and heart attack.
Hence, it can be concluded that the International Tea Day is not only celebrated as a reason to enjoy an extra cup of tea. It focuses on the benefits of tea on us and also how the concerning conditions of the tea growers over the globe can be reduced.

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