Every Day Is Special: August 16 - Children's Day in Paraguay

August 16 - Children's Day in Paraguay

Posted on August 16, 2019

This is not what I expect from a "Children's Day"; instead of being just a day where families focus on kids, go to the park or movies, eat kids' favorite foods - all for the love of children - Paraguay's Children's Day is a lot more solemn.

Yes, families and society still celebrates the nation's children. But the reason for doing so on August 16 is that this is the anniversary of the Battle of Acosta Ñu during the Triple Alliance War. On this date in 1869, some 3,500 children and teens (ages 6 to 15) fought and died for their country against about 20,000 Brazilians.

The kids were poorly armed. They weren't trained. They faced veteran soldiers with much better weapons. And it was all so needless: Paraguay had already lost; the Triple Alliance of Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil had already won.

That's so very super sad. But flashing forward to the "now," Paraguay has since 1992 enjoyed a democratic form of government - with some messy impeachment and murder stuff in there - and Paraguayans seem to be a happy people. As a matter of fact, sometimes those lists of "world's happiest places" feature Paraguay in one of the top positions!

And of course Paraguayan kids can find things to make them smile!

Here two some things that make Paraguay special:

Paraguay is one of just a few South American nations that has one of the indigenous languages as its official language - or rather co-official language. Guaraní is the first languages of many Paraguayans, and it is the most commonly heard language in the nation. Spanish - the most common language in much of South America - is the other official language of this bilingual nation.

I keep reading about butterflies in Paraguay. Although some people go to Paraguay to see the amazing birds, the howler monkeys, or the huge rodents (capybaras), I read raves about the many butterflies - many different species of many different colors living in one place. That would be so nice to see!

Here is a sampling of Paraguayan butterflies in photos and postage stamps!