When will National Day of Courage be celebrated? May 26th of each calendar year.
What is National Day of Courage? The National Day of Courage is intended to inspire and encourage everyone, across the United States and beyond, to champion and contribute to a culture of courage, which will result in a more compassionate, kinder, and more unified world.
What is “courage”? It is the ability to do something that you know is difficult or dangerous. It is also the mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.
On the National Day of Courage, people of all ages, ethnicities, geographies, religions, and backgrounds, will unite to champion the importance of a culture of courage and celebrate those who have made courageous choices in the past year. Everyone will be encouraged to actively participate in this National Day by choosing to do at least one “Deliberate Act of Courage.” It is our intention to provide informational content leading up to and on the National Day of Courage, to help people understand the purpose and importance of this day.
How should National Day of Courage be celebrated or observed? On the National Day of Courage, people will be encouraged to be acutely aware of the choices they are making, and especially on this day deliberately make the courageous choices. We will introduce a social media campaign to help people prepare for this day by sharing their views on making courageous
choices and recognizing those who have been courageous by sharing their stories and how they inspire. There will be a National Day of Courage website which will provide informational and inspirational content about this day, as well as content made available through social media channels including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Twitter.
Why was National Day of Courage created? We live in an increasingly complex and difficult world, where new challenges bring forth unprecedented situations, from pandemics to unexpected wars, from new examples of social inequity to continued intolerance of race, religion, gender orientation, and ethnicity. There is an increasing level of frustration with the status quo and growing intolerance to bigotry, resulting in a new ethos around becoming “upstanders” rather than a “bystanders.” The key to creating a compassionate, kind, and unified society is to realize that each one of us plays an important and active role through the choices we make. If we are inspired to find the courage to make the right choice, we will also inspire others, and only through this chain reaction can we create a better, more courageous world.
Making courageous choices is almost always not easy; if it was easy, those choices would not require courage. Being courageous almost always means getting out of one’s comfort zone through one or more of the following:
- Feeling fear yet choosing to act
- Following your heart, while the populace pushes in a different direction
- Persevering in the face of adversity
- Standing up for what is right, even if it means standing alone
- Expanding your horizons and letting go of what is comfortable and familiar
- Facing suffering with dignity or faith
Who created this day? This day was submitted by Friends of the Israel Defense Forces in 2022.