We've all heard about Pride Month and know that it's celebrated in June. We know it includes parades, flags, and brings awareness to the LGBTQIA+ community, but here are some facts you may not know about Pride Month:
The origin of pride parades
The first pride parade was held in NYC in 1970, known as the Christopher Street Liberation Day. These parades began to spread to other cities and happen annually. They were widely called liberation parades until the 80s and 90s, when the term “Pride” became popular. The world’s largest Pride Parade is in Sao Paulo, Brazil with 3-5 million attendees every year.
Each color of rainbow flag has a meaning
In 1978, artist Gilbert Baker designed the first rainbow flag. He was an openly gay man and drag queen who wanted to design a symbol for the community to show who they are. He created an 8 color flag with each color standing for something different: hot pink = sex, red = life, orange = healing, yellow = sunlight, green = nature, turquoise = magic/art, indigo = serenity, violet = spirit. The hot pink and turquoise were dropped due to visibility, making the flag the 6 colors that it is today.
Pride around the world
Pride month is celebrated across the world. In addition to the largest parade in Brazil that we mentioned, many other countries have large celebrations. The longest celebration is in Sydney, Australia, lasting 3-4 months and ending with Mardi Gras. Amsterdam, Netherlands has the only floating Pride Parade in the world, which involves over 100 decorated floating boats. Europe hosts Europride, an event the pans the entire continent. See a list of pride month events here.
Leave a comment
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.