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About National Youth Day
National Youth Day in India is celebrated on the 12th of January every year, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of the popular Indian entity, Swami Vivekananda, who was born on the 12th of January, 1863 in Calcutta.
The trend of celebrating National Youth Day on the 12th of January began from the year 1985 after the Government of India made an announcement to do so in the year 1984.
In its announcement of the same, the Government of India was quoted saying, ‘’It was felt that the philosophy of Swamiji and the ideals for which he lived and worked could be a great source of inspiration for the Indian youth.’’
Hence, since 1985, the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda is observed as National Youth Day in the country, wherein celebrations are conducted in full swing to lift the spirits of the youth of India.
According to the Indian Almanac, Swamiji’s birthday falls on different dates every year in the English calendar, and each year grand celebrations are held in all the different centers of Ramkrishna Math and Mission, a unit established by Swamiji himself.
The celebrations include rituals according to Hindu customs, from Mangalarti to meditation, homa, special worship, a list of devotional songs, religious gatherings and discourses, as well as sandhya-arti (evening prayers).
In India, the majority of schools and colleges celebrate National Youth Day by holding a list of events for the youth to participate in, both competitive and non-competitive in nature.
There are speeches, processions, cultural events, sports, games, music, presentations, competitions in the form of dancing, drawing, singing, essay writing, as well as recitations and yogasans, etc. held to mark the celebrations for the event. A
lot of inspiration in the celebration and commemoration is taken from the writings as well as lectures of Swami Vivekananda himself. His philosophies, goals, and perspectives, have always had a huge impact on the youth then and now.
Alongside, the preaching and outlook of Swamiji’s master, Sri Ramkrishna Paramahansa too is a huge inspiration for many youth organizations and teachings as on today.
The main purpose is to give the youth of today a boost not just in education, art, and culture, but also their inner soul to make them strive to do better in life.
One can find all of Swami Vivekananda’s lectures and writings in the book: The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, in a division of nine volumes, which were all published by Kolkata’s Advaita Ashram.