The World Senior Citizens Day is celebrated on 21st of August every year. It was first proclaimed on 14th of December in the year 1990, by the United Nations General Assembly. The holiday was celebrated for the first time on October 1, 1991.The day is acknowledged to raise awareness about the factors and issues affecting older people, such as deterioration with age and to examine issues that affect their lives such as abuse of elderly people. It is also a day to recognize and appreciate the contributions that older people make to society.

WORLD SENIOR CITIZENS DAY 2018
World Senior Citizen Day, 2018 will be observed worldwide on August 21, Tuesday.

HISTORY OF WORLD SENIOR CITIZENS DAY
The history of International Senior Citizens Day comes from the period of 1988. It was officially established by the former president of United States of America i.e. Ronald Reagan. He had signed the 5847 promulgation on August 19, 1988, which manifested August 21 as the National Senior Citizens Day. Ronald Reagan was the first to promulgate the first National Senior Citizens Day. The promulgation mentioned as quoted below.
“For all they have achieved throughout life and for all they continue to accomplish, we owe older citizens our thanks and a heartfelt salute. We can best demonstrate our gratitude and esteem by making sure that our communities are good places in which to mature and grow older – places in which older people can participate to the fullest and can find the encouragement, acceptance, assistance, and services they need to continue to lead lives of independence and dignity”.

WHY WORLD SENIOR CITIZENS DAY IS CELEBRATED?
The main aim of observing the World Senior Citizens Day is to raise awareness of the condition of elder people and support them through the process of senescence. The day is also acknowledged for the welfare of elder persons to enroll and appreciate their achievements and involvement in the society to get promoted from their ability and knowledge.

The reason for celebrating this day is to thank and acknowledge elders for all that they have done for their children. They sacrifice their entire life in nurturing their relationships. Such a selfless service rendered throughout their life for their family deserves some importance. That is the reason why World Senior Citizen Day is celebrated. Dedicating a particular day of the year for the elders provides their families an opportunity to acknowledge their love and efforts. The World Senior Citizens Day is an important time to remind the government about its pledges to work towards developing Goals towards helping the elder people and among other things, to end hunger and poverty for older persons and people of all ages.

THEME OF WORLD SENIOR CITIZENS DAY, 2017
Celebration of World Senior Citizens Day has its own theme every year .The theme is different in the observance of the day each year. The World Senior Citizens Day on 21 august 2017 is kept with the theme of “Stepping into the Future: Tapping the Talents, Contributions and Participation of Older Persons in Society.” This year’s theme is all about expanding and enabling the contributions of older persons in their communities, families and societies. It emphasize on the support of people in effective, efficient and fuller participation in old age, in accordance with strengthening and promoting the participation of older people in the aspects of cultural, social, civic, economic and political life keeping in mind the basic rights, needs and preferences of old people.

HOW WORLD SENIOR CITIZENS DAY IS CELEBRATED?
Since 1998, World Senior Citizens Day is celebrated across various countries. The day is celebrated yearly all over the world to celebrate the life and accomplishments of elderly people. People enjoy celebrating World Senior Citizens Day by arranging a variety of programmes. A number of other events are also organized by the people to mark the day.

World Senior Citizens Day is a special day when people worldwide celebrate the true spirit of elderly people. It’s the day when elders get together and showcase their strength which indicates how effectively they have struggled to bring in positive energy in the world. This day is marked by grand celebration. It is a day for the grandchildren to make their grandparents and parents feel that how grateful they are for having such lovely elders. People take efforts to thank them for their great parenting, which has shaped up their life in such a beautiful way. On World Senior Citizens Day, people try to adopt every method in which they can make their parents feel special and convey their heart feelings.
Some of the examples of events held in recent years across the world are as follows:
India
World Senior Citizens Day is celebrated to honor the elderly people. The event in India is celebrated in various states in the form of several activities undertaken by groups of people. The Central and State governments have been setting up measures for the welfare of such people and also to advocate for the rights of senior citizens. Concerned authorities take necessary steps to ensure elders receive the benefits they must, from the schemes. On the day, there is a focus on the lack of facilities and government support and the measures on how they can be upgraded and improved. Apart from this, certain organizations and schools organize special events on the day with various themes to spread knowledge about the day. In schools, grandparents of children are invited where special performances are organized to pay a tribute to the seniors of our nation. Special lunch is also organized for their happiness.