The history of the holiday on March 8. Who took to the streets of New York - textile workers or prostitutes?
It seemed that the legends about the creation of the 8 March holiday were as old as the world and known to everyone. Just in case, I checked with my colleagues and realized that many people know only the official version. On the eve of the women's holiday, we decided to collect all the stories that, in one way or another, relate to the creation of International Women's Day. Some of them can shock and even discourage to celebrate this day altogether.
Version one, official: Day of Solidarity of Working Women
The official version of the USSR says that the tradition of celebrating March 8 is associated with the "March of Empty Pans", which was held on this day in 1857 by textile workers in New York. They protested against unacceptable working conditions and low wages. It is interesting that in the press of that time there was not a single note about the strike. And historians have found out that March 8, 1857 was a Sunday at all. It's very strange to go on strike on weekends.
In 1910, at a women's forum in Copenhagen, German communist Clara Zetkin called on the world to institute International Women's Day on 8 March. She meant that on this day women will organize rallies and processions, and thus draw public attention to their problems. Well, yes, we all already know this story.
Initially, the holiday was called the International Day of Solidarity of Women in the Fight for Their Rights. The date of March 8 was set under the very same strike of textile workers, which, perhaps, in fact never happened. More precisely, there was, but it was not the textile workers who were on strike. But more on that later.
This holiday was brought to the USSR by Zetkin's friend, ardent revolutionary Alexandra Kollontai. The same one that conquered the Soviet Union with a "great phrase": "You should give yourself to the first man you meet as easily as drinking a glass of water."
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March 8 became an official holiday in the USSR in 1921.
The second version, Jewish: praise of the Jewish queen
Historians never agreed on whether Clara Zetkin was a Jew. Some sources claim that she was born into the family of a Jewish shoemaker, while others - a German teacher. Go figure it out. However, Zetkin's desire to link March 8 with the Jewish holiday of Purim cannot be silenced.
So, the second version says that Zetkin wanted to connect the history of Women's Day with the history of the Jewish people. According to legend, the beloved of the Persian king Xerxes, Esther, saved the Jewish people from extermination, using her spell. Xerxes wanted to exterminate all Jews, but Esther convinced him not only not to kill the Jews, but, on the contrary, to destroy all their enemies, including the Persians themselves.
It happened on day 13 of Arda according to the Hebrew calendar (this month falls on the end of February - beginning of March). Praising Esther, the Jews began to celebrate Purim. The date of the celebration was sliding, but in 1910 it fell exactly on March 8th.
The third version, about women of the oldest profession
The third version is perhaps the most scandalous for all the fair sex, awaiting International Women's Day with trepidation.
In 1857, in New York, women did protest, but they were not textile workers, but prostitutes. The representatives of the most ancient profession demanded to pay salaries to the sailors who used their services, but did not have the money to pay.
In 1894, on March 8, prostitutes again demonstrated in Paris. This time they demanded to recognize their rights on an equal basis with those women who sew clothes or bake bread, and to establish special trade unions. This was repeated in 1895 in Chicago, and in 1896 in New York - shortly before the memorable congress of suffragettes in 1910, where it was decided to declare this day a women's and international one at the suggestion of Zetkin.
By the way, Klara herself carried out similar actions. All in the same 1910, together with her friend Rosa Luxemburg, she brought prostitutes to the streets of German cities with a demand to stop the police outrages. Only in the Soviet version, prostitutes were replaced by "working women."
Why did they implement March 8?
Many historians agree that March 8 is the usual political campaign of the Social Democrats.
In the early 20th century, women protested across Europe. And in order to attract attention, they didn't even need to show their breasts. It was enough just to walk along the streets with posters on which socialist slogans were written, and the public's attention was ensured. A tick for the leaders of the Social Democratic Party, they say, progressive women are in solidarity with us.
Stalin also decided to add to his popularity and ordered to recognize March 8 as International Women's Day. But since it was difficult to tie it to historical events, the history had to be slightly corrected. And nobody really began to understand. Once the leader said, then it was so.