World Thinking Day

Happy Thinking Day, Girl Scouts!

I've been away for awhile and haven't had the chance to blog but I certainly didn't want to miss World Thinking Day. After all, it is the day we Scouts and Guides around the world think of our brothers and sisters in the Scout and Guide Movement.

In 1926, Juliette Low's dream of having a World Conference for Guides and Scouts in America came true. It was at that 1926 Conference that International Delegates decided to set a day aside each year for Girl Scouts and Guides around the world to think of one another and to appreciate their sisters around the world.

1926 International Delegates with Lord and Lady Baden Powell, Juliette Low and Ann Hyde Choate(?)

Did you know: The 1926 World Conference was held at the new Edith Macy facility in New York. Construction was barely finished but Juliette Low was determined that it would be ready to host Delegates from around the world...and, as always, she found a way to make it happen.

We often celebrate Thinking Day by picking a country that has Girl Scouts or Guides and learning about them in our meetings. We sing songs and try foods from that country. We make costumes and uniforms from that country. If we are lucky, we exchange letters, emails or postcards with Guides and Scouts from other countries.

Westminster Abbey, London

One of my favorite Thinking Day celebrations was in 1996 when I was invited to attend the Scout and Guide Thinking Day Service at Westminster Abbey in London. The great Cathedral was filled with members from around the world. In fact, we filled three venues and sang many Guide and Scout songs that everyone knew no matter where we lived. A special wreath was placed at the commemorative plaque honoring Lord and Lady Baden-Powell. Everywhere I went in London that day, I met Girl Scouts and Guides. It was wonderful.

Picture of B-P's Westminster Plaque taken by James G. Howes

Did you know? The day the World Conference delegates chose for the new Thinking Day was February 22. This was the joint birthdays of Lord and Lady Baden-Powell. Remember, Lord Baden-Powell, or B-P, was the founder of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides and the good friend of Juliette Low's who helped her start her American Girl Scouts.

This year, I will have a quieter Thinking Day, thinking of each of you in my native country and thinking of our Brownies and Guides here locally...oh, and writing a short blog all about Thinking Day!

How are you spending Thinking Day?

YiGGGS,

Dr D-