Scouts' Day or Guides' Day is a generic term for special days observed by members of the Scouting movement throughout the year. Some of these days have religious significance, while others may be a simple celebration of Scouting. Typically, it is a day when all members of Scouting will re-affirm the Scout Promise.
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Worldwide in nearly all Scout associations, Founders' Day is celebrated on February 22, the birthday of Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell (born in 1857), the founder of Scouting, and coincidentally also of his wife Olave Baden-Powell (born in 1889).
Individual associations also celebrate their own founding on other dates, although these are generally restricted to "major" anniversaries, such as a decennial. Girl Scouts of the USA celebrate Founders Day on October 31, the birthday of Juliette Low.
Thinking Day is celebrated on February 22. The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) chose the date as it was the birthday of Scouting and Guiding founder Robert Baden-Powell and of Olave Baden-Powell. It is thus celebrated by Girl Guides and Girl Scouts associations. SAGNOs (those associations which are part simultaneously of WAGGGS and WOSM) usually take part in it. It is also celebrated by some boy-oriented scout associations belonging to WOSM (i.e. Greece, where it is called Imera Skepseos),
Saint George is the patron saint of Scouting. The nearest Sunday to April 23 is observed as a celebration in some countries, for example, the United Kingdom and Spain.
Until recently in the UK, Scouting Districts would celebrate the day with a parade of the groups and sections to a church where a service is held where the Scouts re-affirm the Scout Promise.
However, it is becoming more difficult to encourage participation by the youth membership, so many Districts forego the parade and church service in place of a more family oriented day. The focus of the day is still the affirmation of the Promise by all members.
Windsor and Queen Scouts Each St. George's Day is also marked by a service in St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, which is open to all recipients of the Queen's Scout Award in the previous year.
The Boy Scouts of America have designated the Sunday preceding February 8, or February 8 if it is a Sunday, as Scout Sunday and the following Saturday is designated as Scout Sabbath. The United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church (USA) celebrate Scout Sunday on the second Sunday of February as not to conflict with Transfiguration Sunday.
The day is meant to mark the founding of the Scouts in the United States. Observation varies by unit and locale. Scouts go to their places of worship in uniform and help with the service.
In the United States, Scouting has been used by churches, synagogues, and many other religious organizations as part of their youth ministries. Approximately 50 percent of all Scouting units are chartered to religious groups. These observances offer an opportunity for congregations to honor Scouts and Scouters, as well as to learn more themselves about the value of Scouting as a youth program.[1]
In the Girl Scouts of the USA, the equivalent holiday is Girl Scout Sunday or Girl Scout Sabbath, celebrated in Girl Scout Week the week that includes March 12, the day the first Girl Scout troop was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in Savannah, Georgia in 1912.[2]
In Canada both the Guides and the Scouts celebrate Scout-Guide Week which is the week (Sunday-Sunday) in which February 22 falls (not including the first Sunday). It is often used to have joint events between the two groups.[3]
Africa Scout Day is a day of celebration for Scouts in Africa and is held annually on March 13. At the 62nd ordinary session of the Council of Ministers of the then OAU, (currently African Union) in Addis Ababa in 1995, a resolution was passed that Scouting in Africa must be recognized and as such March 13 would be celebrated as Africa Scout Day.[4]
| Date | English name | Location/local name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 | Scouts' Day | Burma | |
| February 22 | Thinking Day | worldwide (Guides) | Marks shared birthday of Scouting's founders |
| February 22 | Founder's Day | worldwide (Scouts) | Marks shared birthday of Scouting's founders |
| March 5 | Scouts' Day | Republic of China (Taiwan) | |
| March 12 | Girl Scout Birthday | United States | Marks founding of first Girl Scout troop in the USA |
| April 17 | Scouts' Day | Armenia | Social and Scouting work take place in one of the central parks of Yerevan[5] |
| April 19 | Guides' Day | Georgia | anniversary of the first national Girl Guide conference in 1997 |
| April 19 | Scouts' Day | Azerbaijan | [6]/regional_and_national_events_of_eurasia_region |
| April 23 | St. George's Day | United Kingdom | Parade of Queen's Scouts at Windsor Castle |
| April 23 | St. George's Day | Denmark | Parade submitting Scout's promise |
| April 23 | Scouts' Day | Mexico | |
| May 19 | Scouts' Day | Croatia | first training in 1950 |
| May 22 | Girl Scout Day | Japan | |
| May 31 | Vietnamese Scouting Day | Vietnam | |
| late May | Scout Movement Week[7] | Liberia | In 2009 was May 25–30 |
| July 1 | Scouts' Day | Thailand | Scouts pay homage to King Rama VI, and take part in parades |
| July 3 | Scouts' Day | Nepal | 2009 was 57th Scout Day |
| August 14 | Pramuka Day | Indonesia | Honors the national scouts of Indonesia (Pramuka) first public parade in 1961 |
| variable | Girl Guides Day | Brunei | First was October 6, 1985, chosen to be near their royal patron's birthday[8] |