Children's Day may become a public holiday in the future

TALLINN - A bill that proposes renaming Children's Protection Day, celebrated on June 1, to Children's Day and designating it as a public holiday passed its first reading in the Riigikogu on Wednesday.

The proposal was made last spring by 36 organizations advocating for children's rights and welfare. The amendment would increase the number of public holidays in Estonia to twelve.

The organizations believe that June 1 should be a national day of celebration, focusing society's attention on children. The Center Party endorsed this idea, stating that the decision would primarily strengthen family relationships by giving parents and children a day off to spend the entire Children's Day together. "It also provides working people with more time to rest and restore their energy, which in turn positively affects the work process as a whole," the Center Party, which submitted the bill, wrote in its explanatory memorandum.

In the Riigikogu's Constitutional Committee, the vote on the bill was tied, with four in favor and four against, prompting the committee to leave the bill's fate to the plenary session of the Riigikogu. As no further proposals were made in the plenary session, Toomas Kivimägi, who chaired Wednesday's sitting, declared the first reading complete in accordance with procedure.