Hyderabad: The World Puppetry Day is celebrated every year on March 21. The Day seeks to recognise puppetry as a global art form. It is also an occasion to honor puppeteers around the globe. Puppets date way back to the fifth century BC. China, India, and other places in Asia even had puppet theaters. Native Americans also used puppet-like figures in certain rituals.
The International Puppetry Association (UNIMA) was created in Prague in 1929. In the United States, puppeteers kept their art a secret. It was not until the first half of the 20th century that puppeteers began sharing additional information about their work.
They also began holding public puppet shows. This was largely thanks to Tony Sarg, a well-known puppeteer at that time. When puppets became public, it led to the founding of the Puppeteers of American in 1937. In 1966, Jim Henson founded UNIMA-USA. UNIMA Australia, UMIMA Pakistan, British UNIMA, and UNIMA-France followed suit.
History of World Puppetry Day:
Puppet theater artist from Iran Javad Zolfaghari came up with the idea for World Puppetry Day. He proposed a discussion for the World Puppetery Day in 2000 during the UNIMA World Congress. In 2002 UNIMA declared March 21 as World Puppetry Day. The first official World Puppetry Day was celebrated on March 21, 2003.
Today, puppets are everywhere. Not just in the United States, but around the world. Puppets can be seen on stage, on television, and in the movies.
Theme for the World Puppetry Day: The UNIMA has kept the theme for World Puppetry Day as The Climate.
How to celebrate World Puppetry Day:
- Puppet shows are the most popular events on this day.
- Help your kids make their own puppets
- Gather your toy puppets together and put on a puppet show
- Watch videos of famous puppeteers like Fred Rogers, Jim Henson, Bil Baird, Shari Lewis, and Frank Oz and learn about puppetery
- Watch films and TV shows featuring puppets.
- Use the hashtag #WorldPuppetryDay and share your favorite puppet on social media
