National days, parties race to establish them: from women in comics to calligraphy

There are 34 bills presented since the beginning of the legislature to introduce new “national days”. The calendar is already full of commemorative dates, but parties never get tired of asking for more. Many are certainly laudable proposals. It is often useful to raise public awareness of some important issues. There are, for example, those who want to set up a day to fight the mafia (Salvatore Caiata, FdI) or to donate bone marrow (Elisa Pirro, M5S). Or the “day of nascent life”, for which there are four proposals in this regard between the Chamber and the Senate, presented by Lorenzo Cesa (Udc), Maurizio Gasparri (Forza Italia), Carolina Varchi (FdI) and Isabella Rauti (FdI). .

But there is also no lack of unique proposals, which deal with themes often considered marginal. For example, the idea of ​​introducing a day dedicated to the “children of Italy” stands out. The bill was introduced on March 6, with the first signature of Senator Andrea De Priamo. (FdI). As the text states, “in our legal system, Father’s, Mother’s and Grandparent’s Day is celebrated, with no formal recognition given to children. This bill, therefore, intends to fill a gap, providing, on the one hand, the institution of a national day to celebrate the feast of the children of Italy, identified on the 15th of June of each year and, on the other hand, the recognition of a prize for the ten actions, considered particularly worthy, undertaken by the children in favor of the family or the community».

There are also those, like Congresswoman Federica Onori (M5S), who want to dedicate one day of the year “to the celebration of women protagonists in the world of comics”. Her proposal has not yet been awarded in committee and, therefore, it is not yet known how this law will be structured, for example if it intends to enhance the role of Eva Kant in Diabolik or Valentina di Manara. Deputy Mônica Ciaburo of the FdI wants to establish a national calligraphy day. It is certainly true that the new generations have already lost the habit of using the pen, now replaced by the cold keyboard. So much so that, considering the importance of calligraphy in preserving part of the history of the Italian language – read the text of the proposal – and considering the value of calligraphy and writing for the development of cognitive and creative abilities and given the historical value of calligraphy in Italian and Western history and its historical value as an element of representation of Italian culture, as well as given the value of writing in reducing and combating illiteracy, the Republic promotes all the necessary initiatives to improve calligraphy”.

Senator Anna Maria Falluchi (FdI), on the other hand, intends to promote, support and value events in historical costumes and historical re-enactments. While my colleague Marco Croatti from M5S wants to establish “the national day for the right to safe entertainment”. The intention is commendable, as it aims to raise young people’s awareness of events such as the tragedy of Corinaldo, on December 8, 2018, in which six people died. Safe fun, the text reads, is “an essential prerogative of all, closely linked to the achievement of individual happiness and collective well-being, that is, it is one of the founding elements of freedom”.

Alessandro Battilocchio, from Forza Italia, is the promoter of the national day for the rights of users and consumers. In fact, this recurrence already exists. It falls on the 15th of March of each year. And it is celebrated worldwide. The blue deputy, sensitive to the issue, intends to reinforce the importance of this day, also officially setting it at national level. Lastly, Senator Cristina Cantù da Lega, who presented a bill for the Republic to recognize «the 25th of January of each year as a national day of veterinary prevention», to support «all useful initiatives to make citizens aware of the importance of preventive veterinary medicine and preventive veterinary medicine, according to the integrated approach “One Health” for the health of people, animals and the environment, in order to promote the well-being and healthy longevity of the population”.