Women in Vietnam have two major holidays (March 8 and October 20), so on social networks there is often a discussion: "Why is there only Women's Day but not Men's Day?".
Many people also joked that no day is a mans day, reflecting the publics mentality of wanting a day dedicated to honoring men, similar to womens day.
In response, young people, some families and businesses "reborn" days dedicated to men to create fairness and opportunities to express their affection alongside the International Day of Men on November 19 according to international standards.
First, September 9 is considered by some young people as "Father's Day" or "Vietnamese Men's Day". September 9 in Vietnam is randomly "associated" by social networks as "Father's Day/ men's Day": plus March 8 ( International Women's Day) and January 1 ( International Children's Day).
However, this way of calling is only word-of-mouth, without official recognition and is completely cheerful.
Similarly, August 3 is proposed as " international men's day" because it corresponds to International Women's Day March 8.
Some people are still confused with boy's Day 6.4.
In addition, some organizations chose November 11 to honor men, considering it a move to demonstrate gender equality and sometimes jokingly calling it "All-flowing Day".
Some companies in Vietnam also responded to the "men's" day to increase internal cohesion through gift-giving activities, festivals, performances, or sports activities such as friendly football, hand-to-hand fighting, and sports games.
In the context of the boom in social networks and e-commerce, some businesses take advantage of this opportunity to promote " men's Day" with promotional programs or events exclusively for male customers.
For example, many sports brands, accessories, jewelry... posted a message congratulating September 9 as "Vietnamese Galaxy Day", encouraging strong people to shop or receive gifts. The phenomenon of changing September 9 or November 11 into men's day is mostly aimed at promoting trade or entertainment, reflecting the trend of taking advantage of the digitalization movement in shopping.
The phenomenon has many versions of Men's Day, showing a mix of international acceptance (men's Day, November 19), local thinking (using familiar images and numbers to set a date separately), communication strategy (online sales trend, company- internal events), and the psychology of wanting to recognize the contributions of strong men.
Although there is no official day, the development of this trend also reflects the change in gender awareness in Vietnam: men do not set every day is their day, but also want to be honored and cared for, through spontaneous holidays that leave a special mark of the community.
International Men's Day was first celebrated in 1999, initiated by Dr. Jerome Teelucksingh - lecturer in history at the University of the West (Trinidad and Tobago). He chose November 19 to thank his father and hoped to take advantage of this day to communicate about issues affecting men and boys.
The initiative was quickly welcomed by many countries, with Australia starting in 2003 and India starting in 2007.
This special day is celebrated on November 19 every year in more than 170 countries and territories such as South Africa, Austria, Denmark, India, Singapore, Malta, Jamaica, Trinities, Tobago...
This is an opportunity to highlight the social issues that men and boys are facing, while creating a positive difference for men and boys in the community.
