The Dr. Seuss Day is celebrated every 2nd of March each year. This day commemorates the birthday of the great Theodor Seuss Geisel, an American author who has written over 60 books most of which are for children. Collectively, his books have sold over 600 million copies.
His works have also been translated in over 20 languages. He goes by the pen name Doctor Seuss or simply Dr. Seuss.
About the Dr. Seuss Day
During this holiday, people celebrate by reading the books written by Dr. Seuss. Parents buy their children such books for them to read. Teachers also use his books in class so that the students can learn from them. Authors and book enthusiasts celebrate by holding parties and similar activities that give honor to Dr. Seuss.
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History
Theodor Seuss Geisel was born on March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. In 1921, he entered Dartmouth college. During that time, he started to use the pen name Seuss for his written works. In 1925, he graduated from college and subsequently entered Lincoln College, Oxford for his Ph.D. in Literature. During the World War 2, Geisel worked on political cartoons.
After the war, he began to write children’s books in his home in La Jolla, California under the pen name Dr. Seuss. This was when he wrote his famous works including If I Ran the Zoo, If I Ran the Circus, Horton Hears a Who, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Cat in the Hat, and Green Eggs and Ham. The Cath in the Hat in particular used 236 words deemed important for first graders to learn. He incorporated these words in the book since that time, children were believed to be bored in reading children’s books. Hence, he made his works interesting for these children.
Geisel died due to oral cancer at the age of 87 on September 24, 1991. In the 1990s, the National Education Association campaigned for a day of celebrating reading all over USA. In 1998, the association started Read Across America. They were also the ones that pioneered the celebration of Dr. Seuss Day on his birthday.
Dates
As mentioned earlier, the Dr. Seuss Day is always celebrated on the 2nd of March each year. This means that the upcoming Dr. Seuss Day will be held on March 2
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Why Celebrate
The following are the main reasons why you should participate in the celebration of Dr. Seuss Day:
To Honor Theodor Geisel
You should celebrate this event so as to honor Theodor Geisel. He has done a significant positive impact in all of our lives because of his masterpieces. He truly deserves to be honored, praised, commemorated, and remembered during this special day dedicated only for him.
To Appreciate Dr. Seuss Works
Another good reason why you should celebrate this day is that this is the opportune time to appreciate Dr. Seuss’ works. He has written books that help children in learning, especially during their early years of education. In addition, his books may be made for children but their essences or the meanings they evoke are for all ages.
To Encourage Reading to Children
Also a good reason to celebrate this day is to encourage reading to children. Unfortunately nowadays, with all the technological advances all around us, it is rare to see children reading children’s books for fun. They now hold smartphones or other gadgets where they play their favorite mobile games. Sadly, they miss out a lot of things that they could have learned from reading books. Hence, you should celebrate this day to break this activity and make children want to read books by introducing to them the works of Dr. Seuss.
Celebration Ideas and Activities
The following are the best things to do to make your celebration of Dr. Seuss Day as best as it can be:
Read Dr. Seuss Books
Let us state the obvious – a good way of celebrating this day is to read the books written by Dr. Seuss. There are a lot to choose from. Whether you are a child or not, you should not let this day pass without your reading one of the books by Dr. Seuss.
Read to Children
You can also celebrate this day by reading to children. You may have younger siblings or cousins who want you to read Dr. Seuss books for them. This is a good way to let them know of the good books written for them. Next time, they may not need help from you in reading because they will be able to read such books on their own.
Celebrate on Social Media
You can also take your celebration of this day on social media. You can, for instance, use the hashtag #Dr.SeussDay to let your friends and followers know that you are also participating in the celebration of this important day.