October 5 is Teacher's Day. It was on this day in 1966 that UNESCO and the International Labor Organization adopted the first international document, which defined the working conditions of teachers, their rights and responsibilities. "Lenta.ru" talks about the history of Teacher's Day, its meaning and celebration traditions.
Celebration date
History of the holiday
Teacher's Day traditions
Top 10 gifts for Teacher's Day
Celebration date
In Russia, Teachers' Day is celebrated annually on October 5th. Despite the fact that it is considered an important professional holiday, this day is not a day off.
The holiday will be celebrated by more than 1 million teachers throughout Russia and 17.6 million schoolchildren.
History of the holiday
The holiday dedicated to teachers first appeared in the Soviet Union in 1965. Initially it was celebrated on the first Sunday in October, but since 1994 the date has remained unchanged - October 5.
The changes were due to the fact that it was in 1994 that UNESCO established World Teachers' Day.
The date October 5 was not chosen by chance - on this day in 1966, a conference on the status of teachers was held in Paris. At this conference, UNESCO and the International Labor Organization adopted an important document - the “Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers”.
This document established:
standards regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers;
rules for teacher training;
advanced training standards;
hiring rules;
standards of teaching conditions.
Every year since 1994, UNESCO's events on the occasion of the holiday are dedicated to a particular theme. For example, in 2024 the theme of the holiday was “Valuing the Teacher’s Voice: Towards a New Social Contract in Education,” while in 2025 the theme was “Rethinking Teaching as a Collaborative Profession.”
Teacher's Day traditions
In the USSR
In Soviet times, Teacher's Day was a special event for which everyone involved prepared in advance and with enthusiasm. Since the holiday fell on Sunday, the main celebrations were moved to Saturday.
On the day of the celebration, schoolchildren came in full dress uniform: boys in formal suits and white shirts, girls in school dresses and snow-white aprons. Pioneer ties and Komsomol badges were obligatory attributes of schoolchildren's dress uniforms.
School classrooms and corridors were transformed. They were decorated with bright autumn leaves, rowan branches and autumn flowers - asters and dahlias. The walls were decorated with wall newspapers and posters created by the students.
Often, Teacher's Day became a day of self-government - the best students replaced teachers in lessons in the lower grades, giving them the opportunity to relax and feel like guests.
On this day, it was customary to give mentors bouquets of flowers or handmade crafts. Teachers who retired for a well-deserved rest were not left unattended either. Students came to their home: they gave flowers and said words of gratitude.
On Sunday, Teacher's Day itself, films about school were shown on TV, for example:
"Big Change";
"First-grader";
"Dot, dot, comma."
These days
In Russia, Teacher's Day is celebrated annually in all public and private schools. Students and their parents congratulate teachers, thank them for their work, schoolchildren organize festive concerts.
In some schools, students, on their own initiative, prepare for their teachers:
dance flash mobs;
wall newspapers;
photo exhibitions;
record video messages of gratitude.
The special atmosphere of the holiday is maintained by graduates who come to congratulate their favorite mentors, remembering the years spent at school.
In large cities, citywide celebrations are organized that bring together teachers from different schools. These could be thematic exhibitions, concerts or festivals dedicated to education. In addition, at the city level, the best teachers gather in concert halls to present them with regional and federal awards for outstanding achievements in teaching.
On Teacher’s Day or the day before, the results of the all-Russian competition “Teacher of the Year” are summed up.
Top 10 gifts for Teacher's Day
