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SECRETARY-GENERAL’S VIDEO MESSAGE ON WORLD STATISTICS DAY

New York, 20 October 2020

I wish everyone around the world a data-rich World Statistics Day!

Statistics are fundamental for evidence-based policymaking. Current, reliable, timely and trusted data help us to understand the changing world in which we live and to drive the transformations that are needed, leaving no one behind.  The coronavirus pandemic has further elevated the importance of data...

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United Nations Statistics Division Celebrates Second World Statistics Day

NEW YORK, 20 October (United Nations Statistics Division) — Today, statistical offices, universities, international organizations, the private sector and statisticians worldwide join the Statistics Division in celebrating the second Word Statistics Day, promoting the invaluable importance of data in the uplifting of lives:  “Better data. Better lives.”

This theme is poignantly reflected in an excerpt from the message by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:  “We need to ensure that everyone is counted, especially the most poor and vulnerable.  No child’s birth shall remain unregistered.  No incidence of disease, no matter how remote the location, shall remain unrecorded.  We need local statistics to ensure that every child has access to education and we need global statistics to monitor the overall effects of climate change.”

Official statistics help decision makers formulate informed policies that impact millions of people.  New and improved data sources, sound statistical methods, new technologies and strengthened statistical systems enable better decisions that result in better lives for all.

World Statistics Day was first celebrated on 20 October 2010, and earlier this year, the General Assembly officially designated 20 October as the World Statistics Day, to be celebrated every five years, starting in 2015.

World Statistics Day 2015 will be celebrated in more than 100 Member States and areas, with a cornucopia of activities, ranging from seminars to panel discussions, special lectures, creative competitions, songs, float parades, poster exhibitions, radio and television talks and advertisements, and receptions, with the Day’s logo, the “smiling statistician” on ATM machine receipts and the preparation of time capsules.

In recognition of the Day, the United Nations Statistics Division has a dedicated website ( worldstatisticsday.org ), which provides information on planned activities and supporting resources, video and logos of the “smiling statistician” in more than 40 languages.  Also, the Division will be releasing the sixth edition of the report World’s Women 2015:  Trends and Statistics .  Prepared every five years, it presents the latest statistics and analysis on the status of women and girls in eight critical areas of policy concern.

Another activity in commemoration of World Statistics Day 2015 is the Data Visualization Challenge.  The challenge was to create an infographic or dynamic visualization which answers a question relevant to development policy and incorporates the latest data from the 2015 Millennium Development Goals Report.  Fifteen entries were received and the winning visualization was announced today on the dedicated website.

Statisticians today are not only celebrating the increasing significance being accorded to the role and relevance of statistics in the lives of the ordinary man, but also the significant statistical milestones achieved in the past five years, which culminated with the mandate to formulate the new global, regional and national indicator architecture for the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  Director of the Statistics Division, Stefan Schweinfest, in his World Statistics Day speech aptly said:  “The 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda epitomizes the challenges, but also the opportunities ahead of us; the Agenda itself recognizes the centrality of statistics and data to development.  […] Sustainable development will need to be supported by sustainable statistics.”

The Day creates a universal platform that enhances the visibility of the work and achievements of statisticians, raises awareness of the core values, professionalism and integrity enshrined in the discipline which creates official statistics and also celebrates the fundamental importance of statistical data in creating better lives.

For additional information, please visit worldstatisticsday.org .

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On World Statistics Day

Vice Mayor Yang Xiong, Members of the international statistical community,

As the Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs at the United Nations, I welcome you to this celebration of the first World Statistics Day. It is a pleasure to launch this Day at the World Expo 2010 and I thank the Chinese Government and in particular, to the National Bureau of Statistics, Commissioner Ma and the City of Shanghai and all the organizers for making it possible.

A special welcome - and thank you - to the statistical experts in the audience who have made long journeys to join us today.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I wonder what your first thought was when you heard about World Statistics Day. Did you think “why is the UN celebrating statistics?” or “what does one do on a statistics day?”. Or maybe some of you thought “it’s about time that we have a World Statistics Day!” I am sure that there were many impressions and opinions about this idea.

The truth is, however, that statistics permeate modern life. They are everywhere we turn – in advertisements for products on TV and in information we get from our doctors, teachers and other professionals. Official statistics collected by governments affect countless aspects of our daily lives. And they are vital for economic and social development of poor and underserved communities.

Statisticians are the people that enable all of these activities to happen. Their work is not public, however, and few people understand or appreciate their contributions to society. The purpose of World Statistics Day is to increase public awareness about the achievements of statisticians, especially those who work on official government statistics. Through events like this one today, the United Nations aims to acknowledge and celebrate statisticians. We honor their contributions to public service, along with their professionalism and integrity in reporting accurate and objective information to the international community.

We also hope to inspire a new generation of statisticians who incorporate these three core values – service, professionalism and integrity – into their future careers.

The United Nations and the entire international development community are especially reliant on the work of statisticians. Allow me to outline just a few areas of UN work that are driven by statistics.

As many of you know, the United Nations and its 192 Member States are tackling poverty and its related challenges through a framework called the Millennium Development Goals or “MDGs”. The goals were agreed to ten years ago in the year 2000. They aim to dramatically reduce extreme poverty levels, improve access to education, and decrease gender inequality, disease and environmental degradation. The deadline for achieving the goals is 2015 – very close upon us.

Statistics, ladies and gentlemen, make it possible for us to develop frameworks like the MDGs. Statistical information is as crucial in fighting poverty as political will and well-funded social service programmes. Without continuous data collection and analysis at national and international levels, we could not make sound, informed decisions and create viable plans that mobilize support and action from worldwide governments. We need accurate and comprehensive baseline data to understand where we are at and where we need to go.

Each year statistics enable us to measure progress against the Millennium Development Goals. At the MDG Summit last month in New York, they bore us good news. Some goals are likely to be met, such as the one on halving the proportion of people who live in extreme poverty by 2105. Statistics also conveyed sobering news. They gave us a realistic picture about overall progress on the MDGs: it has been too slow and uneven among countries and regions. We have to redouble efforts in many areas, including in maternal health and in primary education - especially in Sub-Saharan Africa – or these goals may not be met.

So statistics are vital for measuring our progress at the field levels in improving the desperate conditions that billions of people live in today.

Statistical input from countries on economic indicators is also crucial. The recent financial and economic crisis underscored just how important it is to constantly assess and reassess the meaning of complex economic indices. The United Nations is grateful for the increasing number of countries that share reliable and objective economic data with the Organization, especially through the System of National Accounts. This system consists of an integrated set of macroeconomic accounts, balance sheets and tables based on internationally agreed concepts, definitions, classifications and accounting rules. I commend the 2008 revision of this system and the strong collaboration by many countries and international agencies that behind it.

China has officially endorsed a number of standards that will facilitate our work. With its lightening pace of industrial development, China’s official statistics have grown in importance - for the country itself and for the world at large to know about. I applaud the successful conduct of China’s economic, agricultural, and population censuses, the revision of its statistical laws in 2009 and its dedicated, statistical staff that aspires to the highest professional standards.

In addition to the contribution of economic data, another core conduit of statistics comes from national population and housing censuses. This data feeds into a vast range of UN research reports and publications that are used by governments and organizations to develop their own policies and development strategies.

In 2005, the United Nations launched the 2010 World Population Census Programme. Its goal is to ensure that each Member State conducts a population and housing census at least once between 2005 and 2014. In this year alone, 103 countries have conducted a census. China will be one of the countries to undertake a census in 2010, bringing the total number of people counted this year to 3 billion. Thanks to stronger and more effective statistical communities at the national level, more countries than ever are carrying out timely and efficient censuses.

The statistical capacity of many countries has improved significantly in recent years. Technological advances have played a big part here, especially in China which has been using cutting edge technologies. Indeed, it is an exciting time to work in statistics; data can be collected and analyzed in faster and more efficient ways than ever before. Through the internet, smart phones and social networking services, data can be disseminated to huge new audiences. For the first time people find publicly available information about their communities, cities and countries.

Access to new technologies and statistical methodologies, however, is uneven. Many developing countries lack the financial and technical resources needed to carry out censuses that meet international standards. They are unable to track poverty levels, disease incidence and gender equality metrics. Thus they fall further behind. Making the latest statistical technologies and know-how available to all national statistical teams therefore, must be the highest priority for the global statistical community. The Statistics Division in my Department of Economic and Social Affairs can offer some technical support to countries in need but we need countries to help each other as well. Today I encourage you all to consider ways that you can contribute to this goal.

I also ask that you consider how your work can better support policies and development strategies that support gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Data collection instruments that measure violence against women, for example, are crucial for advancing policies and legal frameworks that will end such violence. There has been tremendous progress in this area. Eighty-seven countries have appointed a gender focal point or created a gender unit in their National Stati stical Offices. Almost all of them – 82 offices -- have reported a wide range of substantive activities on gender statistics. China is one of them.

The United Nations Statistical Commission was established over 60 years ago, in 1947, so that countries would come together and share data in the name of helping the world’s poor and vulnerable populations. Thanks to today’s international statistical community, and its core values of public service, integrity and professionalism, the United Nations has a more robust and comprehensive statistical system ever before. I applaud the hard work of all national statistical offices for carrying out the day to day tasks that make it possible. They are not only contributing to social and economic development but to worldwide peace.

Indeed, the setting for this first World Statistics Day, at this incredible World Expo in Shanghai, could not be more appropriate. The work of statisticians often involves the cross cultural communication and collaboration that this Expo exemplifies and celebrates.

Thank you and may you all enjoy the day’s activities.

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World Statistics Day

Statistics: Illuminating the path to sustainable decent work and development

Statement by Director-General Guy Ryder on the occasion of World Statistics Day 2015.

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World Statistics Day – October 20, 2024

World Statistics Day falls on October 20 every five years, which means every half a decade, statistics about our lives and related things are examined and discussed for better decision-making for the times to come. The day was established in 2010 by the United Nations Statistical Commission to put a spotlight on the importance of statistics and the significance of academic research on the development of civil society and business.

History of World Statistics Day

We observe this day to acknowledge the significance of statistics in our lives. You might wonder how exactly statistics impact your life, and the answer is right in front of you. Be it healthcare, law, finance, science, education, or spending habits, statistics make us aware of facts and reveal important information in the language of numbers.

Everything concerned with our daily lives, including how we grow up, start families, work in our chosen industries, and decide where to live, can be studied and examined under statistics. These statistics are used by the government and other agencies to help plan for the years ahead. Professionals such as mathematicians, city planners, enterprises, digital marketers, and social scientists also rely heavily on statistics for their decision-making process. These figures give us hard and real facts and, to a large extent, eliminate other subjective factors that influence decision-making. Statistics constantly impact how countries and governments select and trade resources.

Officially, World Statistics Day raises awareness regarding the accomplishments of statistics that were founded on the core values of service, professionalism, and integrity in 2010. The Statistics Division of the United Nations Department of Economic Affairs has been in charge of planning and coordinating this global campaign ever since. This international day only occurs every five years, with the next celebration scheduled for 2025, which is due in three years. Reliable and well-timed statistics are indicators of a country’s progress. It is probably the reason behind the decision to observe World Statistics Day every half a decade, giving countries, their people, and the world an opportunity to grow, adapt, and produce quality statistics through the way they choose to live.

World Statistics Day timeline

The United Nations Statistical Commission is established in New York City.

The Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics is adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission.

The United Nations Statistical Commission decides to meet every year going forward.

World Statistics Day is officially established at the United Nations Statistical Commission’s 41st session in February to be celebrated in October with the theme "Celebrating the many achievements of official statistics.”

World Statistics Day FAQ s

What was the theme for world statistics day in 2020.

In 2020, the theme for World Statistics Day was ‘Connecting the world with data we can trust,’ to reflect on the importance of trust, authoritative data, and innovation in the national statistical systems. It was the third occurrence of World Statistics Day.

Who invented statistics?

The invention of statistics is often credited to John Graunt and William Petty, who developed early human statistical and census methods in 1662, that laid the groundwork for modern demography.

Who were some of the best statisticians in the world?

There have been many noteworthy statisticians throughout history, but some do stand out, like Florence Nightingale, who is considered a pioneer in the visual representation of statistics. Another important statistics figure is John Tukey, who was responsible for coining well-known terms used in computer science today.

How to Observe World Statistics Day

Read statistical reports.

Statistical reports are produced by a wide range of industries for public consumption that you can access. These reports cover a variety of topics and provide valuable data and analysis.

Write down the frequency of usage

Do you wake up and check the weather? This is just one of the ways in which we make use of statistics in our daily lives. Grab a notebook and jot down every time you make use of statistics in your chores throughout the day.

Take a statistics quiz

Quizzes can be a fun way to understand and learn new information or something you don’t feel is particularly exciting. Take part in a statistical quiz and become part of something that may change how you do things.

5 Unbelievable Statistics

America tops in trash.

Every day, the average American generates nearly 4.5 pounds of trash.

The majority of society have dirty hands

Only 19% of people worldwide wash their hands after going to the washroom.

Substandrard literacy

More than 36 million adults in the United States cannot read, write, or do basic mathematics above a third-grade level.

Most millennials are not saving

Almost 95% of millennials have no retirement savings.

Americans love avocados

Americans consume around 4.25 billion avocados every year.

Why World Statistics Day is Important

It helps plan for the future.

Statistics are precious when it comes to long-term planning for the future of cities and countries. We would be lost without statistics, as they influence decisions that impact millions to billions of people.

It shows us how we live

When we observe World Statistics Day, we consciously research and look up relevant data. This information is fascinating and can inform us in ways that lead to changing how we do things.

It honors populations and people

Statistics analyze even the simplest of things about people and churn out interesting and relevant facts that greatly help in planning and decision-making at a micro and macro levels. World Statistics Day honors the role and significance of statistics.

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Speech on World Science Day

World Science Day is a special day dedicated to celebrating science and its contributions to society. It’s an occasion recognized globally, with a focus on promoting scientific advancements and their importance.

Every year on November 10th, we acknowledge this day. It’s a chance to appreciate science and understand how it shapes our world.

1-minute Speech on World Science Day

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, today we gather to celebrate a day that is truly remarkable – World Science Day. This is a day when we honor the magic of science, a magic that has shaped our world, making it better and brighter for all of us.

What is science, you ask? Well, science is curiosity. It is the burning desire to ask “why” and “how”. Why does the apple fall from the tree? How does a tiny seed grow into a towering tree? It is this curiosity that has led to so many discoveries and inventions. From the electricity that lights up our homes to the medicines that heal our bodies, science is everywhere.

But science is not just about facts and figures. It is also about creativity and imagination. It is about dreaming big and then working hard to make those dreams come true. Think about the scientists who dreamed of flying like birds. Today, thanks to their hard work and imagination, we can travel around the world in airplanes.

World Science Day is also a reminder of our responsibility. Science has given us so much, but it is up to us to use it wisely. We must use science to protect our planet, to solve the problems that we face, and to create a better future for everyone.

So, on this World Science Day, let’s celebrate the magic of science. Let’s be curious, let’s be creative, and let’s use science to make the world a better place. Thank you.

2-minute Speech on World Science Day

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls,

Today, we gather here to celebrate World Science Day, a day dedicated to the wonders, mysteries, and contributions of science. Science is like a magic wand that can turn dreams into reality. It is because of science that we can fly like birds in the sky, swim like fish in the ocean, and even reach the moon and stars.

Science is everywhere around us. When we wake up in the morning, the alarm clock that rings is a gift of science. The bus that takes us to school, the phone we use to talk to our friends, the computer we use to play games, all are miracles of science. Even the food we eat is safer and healthier because of the science of farming. Science is like our best friend, always there, making our lives easier and better.

But science is not just about gadgets and machines. It is also about understanding the world we live in. It is about asking questions and finding answers. Why is the sky blue? How do plants grow? What makes the rain fall? Science helps us answer these questions and many more. It is like a big, exciting puzzle that we are all trying to solve together.

World Science Day is a day to celebrate this spirit of curiosity and discovery. It is a day to thank all the scientists who work tirelessly to solve the mysteries of the universe. It is also a day to encourage each one of us to be a scientist in our own way. Remember, every big discovery starts with a simple question. So, let’s all be curious, let’s all ask questions, and let’s all be scientists!

But let’s not forget, with great power comes great responsibility. Science gives us the power to change the world, but it is up to us to use this power wisely. We must use science to help people, to protect our planet, and to create a better future for all.

On this World Science Day, let’s promise to use the magic of science for good. Let’s promise to be curious, to learn, and to discover. And most importantly, let’s promise to use our knowledge to make the world a better place.

Thank you, and Happy World Science Day!

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Biden Proclaimed Easter Sunday as Transgender Day of Visibility?

It is possible for two things to happen on one day., nur ibrahim, published april 1, 2024.

About this rating

Biden issued a proclamation naming March 31, 2024, the Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV). He issued the same proclamation on the same date, March 31, every year since 2021. In 2024, the date happened to coincide with Easter Sunday, a moveable holiday that shifts dates annually based on the spring equinox.

On March 29, 2024, U.S. President Joe Biden issued a proclamation declaring March 31, 2024, the Transgender Day of Visibility — that is, he formally recognized the day as one to dedicated to celebrating the transgender community. The day also happened to be Easter Sunday.

Numerous anti-Biden  media outlets , internet commentators and pundits claimed Biden committed " blasphemy " by issuing the Transgender Day of Visibility proclamation on Easter Sunday. For instance, former U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign said in a statement , "It is appalling and insulting that Joe Biden's White House […] formally proclaimed Easter Sunday as 'Trans Day of Visibility." 

Donald Trump Jr. also tweeted : "They want people worshipping the trans flag instead of god." 

The above statements were misleading. While they referenced a genuine document from the White House, people started recognizing Transgender Day of Visibility annually on March 31 since at least 2010 — including Biden, who has been issuing such proclamations as president since 2021 . The date for Easter Sunday, however, shifts each year. It  falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon that follows the spring equinox, according to long-standing Christian tradition.

In addition to the Transgender Day of Visibility proclamation, Biden is a devout Catholic and has frequently spoken publicly about his faith. On Easter Sunday 2024, he issued this  statement : "Jill and I send our warmest wishes to Christians around the world celebrating Easter Sunday. Easter reminds us of the power of hope and the promise of Christ's Resurrection." 

The overlap of Easter and the Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) in 2024 was entirely coincidental. There was no evidence of a Biden-led effort to make sure Easter fell on the same day as TDOV so he could recognize the latter over the former. We reached out to the White House asking for its response to that claim, and we will update this report when, or if, it answers us.

Biden's official White House statement  with the proclamation, released on March 29, 2024, said: 

Today, we send a message to all transgender Americans:  You are loved.  You are heard.  You are understood.  You belong.  You are America, and my entire Administration and I have your back. NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 2024, as Transgender Day of Visibility.  I call upon all Americans to join us in lifting up the lives and voices of transgender people throughout our Nation and to work toward eliminating violence and discrimination based on gender identity.

The statement did not claim to replace Easter Sunday with TDOV, nor serve as a proclamation combining the two occasions to take place on the same date in the future.

According to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), a media-monitoring organization, Rachel Crandall, a trans activist, established the first International Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31, 2010 to celebrate the lives of transgender people when most media stories focused on violence against them.

Biden's March 29 announcement was not unusual. His administration acknowledged the same day in prior years, as seen in a March 30, 2023, White House document.

As for the date of Easter, the BBC noted, the day is designated based on the ecclesiastical (meaning "of the Church") full moon — that is, it's not calculated in the way astronomers would do it. When picking the date, the church considers the spring equinox always to occur on March 21, according to the BBC.

According to the  United States Conference of Catholic Bishops , Easter Sunday will be on April 20 in 2025. 

We also reported on a false rumor that Biden banned "religious symbols" and "overtly religious themes" from an Easter egg art contest connected to the White House.

"A Proclamation on Transgender Day of Visibility." The White House, 30 March 2023, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/03/30/a-proclamation-on-transgender-day-of-visibility/. Accessed 1 Apr. 2024.

"A Proclamation on Transgender Day of Visibility, 2024." The White House, 29 March 2024, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/03/29/a-proclamation-on-transgender-day-of-visibility-2024/. Accessed 1 Apr. 2024.

"A Proclamation on Transgender Day Of Visibility, 2021."  The White House , 31 March 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/03/31/a-proclamation-on-transgender-day-of-visibility-2021/. Accessed 1 Apr. 2024.

Knudsen, Hannah. "'Gross and Evil': Biden White House Disrespects Easter." Breitbart, 30 March 2024, https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/03/30/gross-evil-biden-white-house-disrespects-easter/. Accessed 1 Apr. 2024.

"Liturgical Calendar for the Dioceses of the United States of America 2025." United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, https://www.usccb.org/resources/2025cal.pdf. Accessed 1 Apr. 2024.

"Statement from President Joe Biden on Easter." The White House, 31 March 2024, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/03/31/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-easter-2/. Accessed 1 Apr. 2024.

Waldenberg, Samantha. "Republicans Slam Biden for Proclaiming Transgender Day of Visibility on Easter, Though It's Yearly Observed on March 31 | CNN Politics." CNN, 30 March 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/30/politics/easter-trans-day-visibility-trump-biden-johnson/index.html. Accessed 1 Apr. 2024.

Wang, Amy B. "Trump Falsely Attacks Biden over Easter Coinciding with Transgender Day of Visibility." Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2024. www.washingtonpost.com, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/31/trump-biden-easter-transgender-day/. Accessed 1 Apr. 2024.

"Why Does the Date of Easter Move Around?" BBC Bitesize, https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zn2njhv. Accessed 1 Apr. 2024.  

By Nur Ibrahim

Nur Nasreen Ibrahim is a reporter with experience working in television, international news coverage, fact checking, and creative writing.

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Fact Check: Did Joe Biden Create Transgender Day of Visibility on Easter?

P resident Joe Biden earned the ire of conservatives and a famous transgender woman, Caitlyn Jenner, when he issued a proclamation recognizing the Transgender Day of Visibility (TDoV).

"Today, we send a message to all transgender Americans: You are loved. You are heard. You are understood. You belong. You are America, and my entire Administration and I have your back," the president said in a statement released on Friday.

The message angered a number of conservatives as TDoV fell on March 31, the same day as the heterodox Christian Easter. Orthodox Easter this year falls on May 5.

A number of conservatives said that Biden had hijacked a holy holiday to support transgender people.

Jenner, an Olympic decathlete champion and reality TV star, who publicly came out as a transgender woman in 2015, took to X, formerly Twitter, to slam Biden's message of support to transgender people , suggesting that he created TDoV to be held on the "most Holy of Holy days."

"I am absolutely disgusted that Joe Biden has declared the most Holy of Holy days - a self proclaimed devout Catholic - as Transgender Day of Visibility. The only thing you should be declaring on this day is 'HE is Risen'," she wrote.

TDoV was created in 2009 to "celebrate the lives and contributions of trans people, while also drawing attention to the poverty, discrimination, and violence the community faces," according to LGBTQ+ media advocacy group, GLAAD.

It was first celebrated on March 31, which has remained the date of commemoration for the past 15 years.

Michigan-based transgender activist, Rachel Crandall-Crocker, created TDoV and reflected on how it had become a global day of recognition since 2009.

"It really is amazing how far it has come," she told NPR on March 30 . "I wasn't expecting to start an international movement."

"I wanted a day that we could focus on the living. And where we could have rallies all as one community all the way around the world."

Crandall-Crocker also explained why she specifically chose March 31 as TDoV, which was to ensure there was enough distance between it and Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20 and LGBTQ+ Pride Month in June.

Non-Orthodox Christians use the Gregorian calendar to determine the dates for movable feasts, such as Easter. As a result, Easter usually falls between March 22 and April 25 every year and is celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon on or following the spring equinox. Orthodox Christians observe the Julian calendar.

Biden was the first U.S. President to proclaim March 31 as the official day of transgender visibility when he did so in 2021.

"Transgender Day of Visibility recognizes the generations of struggle, activism, and courage that have brought our country closer to full equality for transgender and gender non-binary people in the United States and around the world," he said in a public statement at the time.

Biden added: "In spite of our progress in advancing civil rights for LGBTQ+ Americans, too many transgender people—adults and youth alike—still face systemic barriers to freedom and equality."

This year, along with recognizing TDoV, the president also sent out a separate message to mark the Easter holiday.

"Jill [Biden, the First Lady] and I send our warmest wishes to Christians around the world celebrating Easter Sunday. Easter reminds us of the power of hope and the promise of Christ's Resurrection," he said in a statement.

"As we gather with loved ones, we remember Jesus' sacrifice. We pray for one another and cherish the blessing of the dawn of new possibilities. And with wars and conflict taking a toll on innocent lives around the world, we renew our commitment to work for peace, security, and dignity for all people.

"From our family to yours, happy Easter and may God bless you."

While Biden did officially acknowledge March 31 to be TDoV, he also did so in 2021 when Easter fell on April 4 that year.

The day was set by a Michigan-based advocate to raise awareness of the plight of transgender people and to celebrate their achievements.

The first TDoV was celebrated in 2009 when Easter occurred on April 12. Since then, the two dates coincided only twice: in 2013 and in 2024.

Biden did not invent TDoV, nor set the date to deliberately clash with Easter, which is on a different date every year.

FACT CHECK BY NEWSWEEK

Related Articles

• Dylan Mulvaney Recovers One Year After Bud Light Controversy
• Caitlyn Jenner Reacts to Joe Biden Recognizing Transgender Day on Easter
• Exclusive: Republican LGBT Group Reacts to Biden's Transgender Day Message

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Israel’s Deadly Airstrike on the World Central Kitchen

The story behind the pioneering aid group and how it mistakenly came under attack..

From “The New York Times,” I’m Michael Barbaro. This is “The Daily.”

The Israeli airstrike that killed seven aid workers delivering food in Gaza has touched off outrage and condemnations from across the world. Today, Kim Severson on the pioneering relief crew at the center of the story, and Adam Rasgon on what we’re learning about the deadly attack on the group’s workers. It’s Thursday, April 4.

Kim, can you tell us about the World Central Kitchen?

World Central Kitchen started as a little idea in Chef José Andrés’ head. He was in Haiti with some other folks, trying to do earthquake relief in 2010. And his idea at that point was to teach Haitians to cook and to use solar stoves and ways for people to feed themselves, because the infrastructure was gone.

And he was cooking with some Haitians in one of the camps, and they were showing him how to cook beans the Haitian way. You sort of smash them and make them a little creamy. And it occurred to him that there was something so comforting for those folks to eat food that was from their culture that tasted good to them. You know, if you’re having a really hard time, what makes you feel good is comfort food, right? And warm comfort food.

So that moment in the camp really was the seed of this idea. It planted this notion in José Andrés’ mind, and that notion eventually became World Central Kitchen.

And for those who don’t know, Kim, who exactly is Chef José Andrés?

José Andrés is a Spanish chef who cooked under some of the Spanish molecular gastronomy greats, came to America, really made his bones in Washington, DC, with some avant-garde food, but also started to expand and cook tapas, cook Mexican food. He’s got about 40 restaurants now.

Yeah. And he’s got a great Spanish restaurant in New York. He’s got restaurants in DC, restaurants in Miami.

Come with me to the kitchen. Don’t be shy.

He’s also become a big TV personality.

Chef, are you going to put the lobster in the pot with the potatoes?

We’re going to leave the potatoes in.

Leave the potatoes in!

He’s one of the most charismatic people I’ve ever been around in the food world.

He’s very much the touchstone of what people want their celebrity chefs to be.

So how does he go from being all those things you just described, to being on the ground, making local comfort food for Haitians? And how does this all go from an idea that that would be a good idea, to this much bigger, full-fledged humanitarian organization?

So he started to realize that giving people food in disaster zones was a thing that was really powerful. He helped feed people after Hurricane Sandy, and he realized that he could get local chefs who all wanted to help and somehow harness that power. But the idea really became set when he went to Houston in 2017 to help after Hurricane Harvey.

And that’s when he saw that getting local chefs to tap into their resources, borrowing kitchens, using ingredients that chefs might have had on hand or are spoiling in the fridge because the power is out and all these restaurants needed something to do with all this food before it rotted — harnessing all that and putting it together and giving people well-cooked, delicious — at least as delicious as it can be in a disaster zone — that’s when World Central Kitchen as we know it today sort of emerged as a fully formed concept.

The first pictures now coming in from Puerto Rico after taking a direct hit — Hurricane Maria slamming into the island. And as you heard, one official saying the island is destroyed.

Shortly after that, he flew to Puerto Rico, where Hurricane Maria had pretty much left the entire island without water and in darkness.

He flew in on one of the first commercial jets that went back in. He got a couple of his chef buddies whose kitchens were closed, and they just decided to start cooking. They were basically just serving pots of stew, chicken stew, in front of the restaurants.

The lines got longer. And of course, chefs are a really specific kind of creature. They really like to help their community. They’re really about feeding people.

So all the people who were chefs or cooks on the ground in Puerto Rico who could wanted to help. And you had all these chefs in the States who wanted to fly down and help if they could, too. So you had this constant flow of chefs coming in and out. That’s when I went down and followed him around for about a week.

And what did you see?

Well, one of the most striking things was his ability to get food to remote places in ways the Salvation Army couldn’t and other government agencies that were on the ground couldn’t. You know, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, doesn’t deliver food. It contracts with people to deliver food.

So you have all these steps of bureaucracy you have to go through to get those contracts. And then, FEMA says you have to have a bottle of water and this and that in those boxes. There’s a lot of structure to be able to meet the rules and regulations of FEMA.

So José doesn’t really care about rules and regulations very much. So he just got his troops together and figured out where people needed food. He had this big paper map he’d carry around and lay out. And he had a Sharpie, and he’d circle villages where he’d heard people needed food or where a bridge was out.

And then he would dispatch people to get the food there. Now, how are you going to do that? He was staying in a hotel where some National Guard and military police were staying to go patrol areas to make sure they were safe. He would tuck his big aluminum pans of food into the back of those guys’ cars, and say, Could you stop and drop these off at this church?

During that time in Puerto Rico, he funded a lot of it off of his own credit cards or with cash. And then he’s on the phone with people like the president of Goya or his golf buddies who are well-connected, saying, hey, we need some money. Can you send some money for this? Can you send some money for that?

So he just developed this network, almost overnight. I mean, he is very much a general in the field. He wears this Orvis fishing vest, has cigars in one pocket, money in the other. And he just sets out to feed people.

And there were deliveries that were as simple as he and a couple of folks taking plastic bags with food and wading through a flooded parking lot to an apartment building where an older person had been stuck for a few days and couldn’t get out, to driving up to a community that had been cut off. There was a church that was trying to distribute food.

We drive through this little mountain road and get to this church. We start unloading the food, and the congregation is inside the church. José comes in, and the pastor thanks him so much. And the 20 people or so who are there gather around José, and they begin praying.

And he puts his head down. He’s a Catholic. He’s a man who prays. He puts his head down. He’s in the middle of these folks, and he starts to pray with them. And then, pulls out his map, circles another spot, and the group is off to the next place.

And when Russia invades Ukraine, he immediately decided it was time for World Central Kitchen to step into a war zone. You know, so many people needed to eat. So many Ukrainians were crossing the border into Poland.

There are refugees in several countries surrounding Ukraine. So a lot of the work that they did was feeding the refugees. They set up big operations around train stations, places where refugees were coming, and then they were able to get into cities.

One of their operations did get hit with some armaments early on. Nobody was hurt badly. But I think that was the first time that they realized this was an actually more dangerous situation than perhaps going in after there’s been an earthquake.

But the other thing that really made a difference here is, José Andrés and World Central Kitchen would broadcast on social media, live from the kitchens. In the beginning, he’d be holding up his phone and saying, we put out 3 million meals for the people of Puerto Rico, chefs for Puerto Rico. It was very infectious.

And now, one of the standard operating procedures for people who are in the World Central Kitchens is to hold up the phone like that — you can see the kitchen, busy in the back — and talk about how many meals they’ve served. They have these kind of wild meal counts, which one presumes are pretty accurate. But they’re like, we served 320,000 meals this morning to the people of Lviv.

I mean, that scale seems important to note. This is not the kind of work that feeds a few people and a few towns. When you’re talking about 300,000 meals in a morning, you’re talking about something that begins, it would seem, to rival the scope and the reach of the groups that we tend to think of as the most important in the disaster-relief world.

Absolutely. And the meals — there are lots and lots and lots of meals. But also, World Central Kitchen hires local cooks. They’ll hire food truck operators, who obviously have no work, and pay them to go out and deliver the meals. They’ll pay local cooks to come in and cook. That’s what they do with a lot of their donations, which is very different than other aid organizations. And this then helps the local economy. He’s trying to buy as much local food as he can. That keeps the economy going in the time of a disaster. So that’s a piece of his operation that is a little different than traditional aid operations.

So walk us up to October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel. What does Chef José Andrés and the World Kitchen do?

Well, he had had such impact in Ukraine. And I think the organization itself thought that they had the infrastructure to now take food into another war zone. Gaza, of course, was nothing like Ukraine. But World Central Kitchen shows up. They’re nimble. They start to connect with local chefs.

Right now, they have about 60 kitchens in the areas around Gaza, and they’ve hired about 400 Palestinians to help do that. But getting the food into Gaza became the difficulty.

How do you actually get the food into the Gaza Strip? Large amounts of food that require trucks? You’ve got to realize, getting food into Gaza right now requires going through Israeli checkpoints.

And that slows the operation down. You might get eight trucks a day in, and that is such a small amount of food. And this has been incredibly difficult for any aid operations.

So World Central Kitchen, playing on the experience that they had in a war zone and working with government entities and trying to coordinate permissions — they took that experience from Ukraine and were trying to apply it in the Gaza Strip. Now, they had worked for a long time with Israeli officials. They wanted to make sure that they could get their food in.

And they decided that the best way to do it would be to take food off of ships, get it in a warehouse, and then get that food into Gaza. It took a long time to pull those permissions through, but they were able to get the permissions they needed and set this system up, so they could move the food fairly quickly into North Gaza.

And once they get those permissions, how big a player do they become in Gaza?

World Central Kitchen became a kind of a fulcrum point for getting food aid in to Gaza in a way that a larger and more established humanitarian aid operations couldn’t, in part because they were small and nimble in their way. So the amount of food they were moving maybe wasn’t as large as some of the more established humanitarian aid organizations, but they had so much goodwill. They had so much logistical knowledge.

They were working with local Palestinians who knew the food systems and who understood how to get things in and out. So they were able to find a way to use a humanitarian corridor to have permissions from the Israeli government, to be able to move this food back and forth. And that’s always been the secret to World Central Kitchen — is incredibly nimble. So —

Just like in Puerto Rico, they seemed to win over just about everybody and do the seemingly impossible.

Right. And World Central Kitchen says they delivered 43 million meals to Gazans since the start of the war. And I don’t think there was any other group that could have pulled this off.

Hey, this is Zomi and Chef Olivier. We’re at the Deir al-Balah kitchen. And we’ve got the mise en place. Tell us a little bit about it, Chef.

And then, this caravan, this fairly efficient caravan of armored vehicles, labeled with World Central Kitchen logo on the roof, on the sides — the idea was they head on — this humanitarian quarter, they head on this road. The seven people who went all in vests — three of whom are security people from Great Britain — you have another World Central Kitchen employee who has handled operations in Asia, in Central America. She’s quite a veteran of the World Central Kitchen operation.

And you have a young man who someone told me was like the Michael Jordan of humanitarian aid, who hooked up with World Central Kitchen in Poland. He was a hospitality student and had just become an indispensable make-it-happen guy. And you have a Palestinian guy who’s 25, a driver.

So this is the team. They have all the clearances. They have the well-marked vehicles. It seemed like a very simple, surgical kind of operation. And of course, now, as we know, it was anything but that.

After the break, my colleague Adam Rasgon on what happened to the World Central Kitchen workers in that caravan. We’ll be right back.

So Adam, what ends up happening to this convoy that our colleague Kim Severson just described from World Central Kitchen?

So what we know is that members of the World Central Kitchen had been at a warehouse in Deir al-Balah in the Central Gaza Strip. They had just unloaded about 100 tons of food aid that had been brought via a maritime route to the coast of the Gaza Strip. When they departed the warehouse, they were in three cars.

Two of the cars were armored cars, and one was a soft-skinned car, according to the organization. When the cars reached the coastal road, known as Al Rashid Street, they started to make their way south.

And what do we know about how much the World Central Kitchen would have told the Israeli military about their plans to be on this road?

Yeah. So the World Central Kitchen said that its movements were coordinated. And in military speak or in technical speak, people often refer to this as deconfliction. So basically, this process is something that not only the World Central Kitchen but the UN, telecommunications companies going out to repair damaged telecommunications infrastructure, others would use, where they basically provide the Israeli military with information about the people who are traveling — their ID numbers, their names, the license plate numbers of the cars they’ll be traveling in.

They’ll sort of explain where their destination is. And the general process is that the Israelis will then come back to them and say, you’re approved to travel from this time, and you can take this specific route.

And do we know if that happened? If the IDF said, you’re approved, use this route on this night?

So we heard from the World Central Kitchen that they did receive this approval. And the military hasn’t come out and said that it wasn’t approved. So I think it’s fair to assume that their movements were coordinated and de-conflicted.

OK. So what happens as this seemingly pre-approved and coordinated convoy trip is making this leg of the journey?

They started to make their way south towards Rafah. And the three cars suddenly came under fire. The Israeli army unleashes powerful and devastating strikes on the three cars in the convoy, most likely from a drone. The strikes rip through the cars, killing everyone inside.

Shortly thereafter, ambulances from the Palestine Red Crescent are dispatched to the location. They retrieve the dead bodies.

They bring those bodies to a hospital. And at the hospital, the bodies are laid out, and journalists start to report to the world that indeed, five members of the World Central Kitchen staff have been killed. And the Palestine Red Crescent teams were continuing to search for other bodies and eventually brought back two more bodies to the hospital for a total of seven people killed in these airstrikes.

And when the sun comes up, what does it end up looking like — the scene of these struck trucks from this convoy?

So early in the morning when the sun comes up, a number of Palestinian journalists headed out to the coastal road and started taking pictures and videos. And I received a series of videos from one of the reporters that I was in touch with, essentially showing three cars, all heavily damaged. One had a World Central Kitchen logo on top of it, with a gaping hole in the middle of the roof.

A second car was completely charred. You could barely recognize the structure of the car. The inside of it had been completely charred, and the front smashed.

And do we know if the strike on this convoy was the only strike happening in this area? In other words, is it possible that this convoy was caught in some kind of a crossfire or in the middle of a firefight, or does it appear that this was quite narrow, and was the Israeli army targeting these specific vehicles, whether or not they realized who was in it?

We don’t have any other indication that there was another strike on that road around that time.

What that suggests, of course, is that this convoy was targeted. Now, whether Israeli officials knew who was in it, whether they were aid workers, seems like a yet-unresolved question. But it does feel very clear that the trucks in this convoy were deliberately struck.

Yes. I do think the trucks in this convoy were deliberately struck.

What is the reaction to these airstrikes on this convoy and to the death of these aid workers?

Well, one of the first reactions is from the World Central kitchen’s founder, José Andrés.

Chef José Andrés, who founded World Central Kitchen, calling them angels.

He said he was heartbroken and grieving.

And adding the Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing.

And then, he accused Israel of using food as a weapon.

What I know is that we were targeted deliberately, nonstop, until everybody was dead in this convoy.

And he just seemed devastated and quite angry.

And so what is the reaction from not just World Central Kitchen, but from the rest of the world to this airstrike?

There’s, frankly, fury and outrage.

The White House says it is outraged by an Israeli airstrike that killed seven aid workers in Gaza, including one American.

President Biden, who has been becoming increasingly critical of Israel’s approach to this war — he came out and said that he was outraged and heartbroken.

Certainly sharper in tone than we have heard in the past. He says Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians. Incidents like yesterday’s simply should not happen. Israel also has not —

And we’re seeing similar outrage from foreign governments. The British Foreign Secretary David Cameron —

The dreadful events of the last two days are a moment when we should mourn the loss of these brave humanitarian workers.

— said that the airstrikes were completely unacceptable. And he called on Israel to explain how this happened and to make changes to ensure that aid workers could be safe.

So amid all this, what does Israel have to say about the attack — about how it happened, about why it happened?

The response from Israel this time was much different, compared to other controversial airstrikes on the Gaza Strip. Often, when we’re reporting on these issues, we’ll hear from the army that they’re investigating a given incident. It will take days, if not weeks, to receive updates on where that investigation stands.

There are instances where Israel does take responsibility for harming civilians, but it’s often rare. This time, the Prime Minister —

[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

— Benjamin Netanyahu comes out with a video message —

— saying that Israel had unintentionally harmed innocent civilians. And that was the first indication or public indication that Israel was going to take responsibility for what had happened.

The IDF works together closely with the World Central Kitchen and greatly appreciates the important work that they do.

We later heard from the military’s chief of staff. Herzi Halevi issued a video statement in English.

I want to be very clear the strike was not carried out with the intention of harming aid workers. It was a mistake that followed a misidentification.

And he said this mistake had come after a misidentification. He said it was in the middle of a war, in a very complex condition. But —

This incident was a grave mistake. We are sorry for the unintentional harm to the members of WCK.

He was clear that this shouldn’t have happened.

I want to talk about that statement, because it seems to suggest — that word, “misidentification”— that the Israeli army believed that somebody else was in this convoy, that it wasn’t a bunch of aid workers.

That’s possible, although it’s extremely vague and cryptic language that genuinely is difficult to understand. And it’s a question that us in the Jerusalem Bureau have been asking ourselves.

I’m curious if the Israeli government has said anything in all of its statements so far about whether it noticed these markings on these three cars in the convoy. Because that, I think, for so many people, stands out as making misidentification hard to understand. It seems like perhaps a random pickup truck could be misidentified as perhaps a vehicle being used by a Hamas militant. But a group of World Central Kitchen trucks with their name all over it, driving down a known aid corridor — that becomes harder to understand as misidentification.

Yeah, it’s an important question. And at this moment, we don’t know exactly what the Israeli reconnaissance drones could see, and whether or not they were able to see, in the darkness of the night, the markings of the World Central Kitchen on the cars. But what is clear is that when the cars were found in the morning, right there was the big emblazoned logo of the World Central Kitchen.

Mm-hmm. I’m curious how you think about the speed with which Israel came out and said it was in the wrong here. Because as you said, that’s not how Israel typically reacts to many of these situations. And that makes me think that it might have something to do with the nature of the aid group that was the target of these airstrikes — the World Central Kitchen — and its story.

I think it does have to do with this particular group. This is a group that’s led by a celebrity chef, very high-profile, who is gone around the world to conflict zones, disaster areas, to provide food aid. And I also think it has to do with the people who were killed, most of who were Western foreign aid workers. Frankly, I don’t think we would be having this conversation if a group of Palestinian aid workers had been killed.

Nor, perhaps, would we be having the reaction that we have had so far from the Israeli government.

I would agree with that.

Adam, at the end of the day, what is going to be the fallout from all of this for the people of Gaza? How do we think that this attack on World Central Kitchen is going to impact how food, medicine, aid is distributed there?

So the World Central Kitchen has said that it’s suspending its operations across Gaza. Because it essentially seems that they don’t feel they can safely operate there right now. And several ships that carried aid for the organization, which were sort of just on the coast — those ships ended up turning back to Cyprus, carrying more than 200 tons of aid.

So aid that was supposed to reach the people of Gaza is now leaving Gaza because of this attack.

Yes. And it’s also had a chilling effect. Another aid group, named INARA, has also suspended its operations in Gaza. And it seems that there is concern among humanitarians that other aid groups could follow.

So in a place where people are already suffering from severe hunger, poor sanitation, the spread of dangerous disease, this is only going to make the humanitarian situation, which is already dire, even worse.

Well, Adam, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Thanks so much for having me.

We’ll be right back.

Here’s what else you need to know today. The magnitude-7.4 earthquake that struck Taiwan on Wednesday has killed nine people, injured more than 1,000, and touched off several landslides. It was Taiwan’s strongest quake in the past 25 years. But in a blessing for the island’s biggest cities, its epicenter was off the island’s east coast, relatively far from population centers like Taipei.

And the first patient to receive a kidney transplant from a genetically modified pig has fared so well that he was discharged from a Massachusetts hospital on Wednesday just two weeks after surgery. Two previous transplants from genetically modified pigs both failed. Doctors say the success of the latest surgery represents a major moment in medicine that, if replicated, could usher in a new era of organ transplantation.

Today’s episode was produced by Lynsea Garrison, Olivia Natt, and Carlos Prieto, with help from Asthaa Chaturvedi. It was edited by Marc Georges, with help from Paige Cowett, contains original music by Marion Lozano and Dan Powell, and was engineered by Chris Wood. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Michael Barbaro. See you tomorrow.

• April 5, 2024   •   29:11 An Engineering Experiment to Cool the Earth
• April 4, 2024   •   32:37 Israel’s Deadly Airstrike on the World Central Kitchen
• April 3, 2024   •   27:42 The Accidental Tax Cutter in Chief
• April 2, 2024   •   29:32 Kids Are Missing School at an Alarming Rate
• April 1, 2024   •   36:14 Ronna McDaniel, TV News and the Trump Problem
• March 29, 2024   •   48:42 Hamas Took Her, and Still Has Her Husband
• March 28, 2024   •   33:40 The Newest Tech Start-Up Billionaire? Donald Trump.
• March 27, 2024   •   28:06 Democrats’ Plan to Save the Republican House Speaker
• March 26, 2024   •   29:13 The United States vs. the iPhone
• March 25, 2024   •   25:59 A Terrorist Attack in Russia
• March 24, 2024   •   21:39 The Sunday Read: ‘My Goldendoodle Spent a Week at Some Luxury Dog ‘Hotels.’ I Tagged Along.’
• March 22, 2024   •   35:30 Chuck Schumer on His Campaign to Oust Israel’s Leader

Hosted by Michael Barbaro

Featuring Kim Severson and Adam Rasgon

Produced by Lynsea Garrison ,  Olivia Natt ,  Carlos Prieto and Asthaa Chaturvedi

Edited by Marc Georges and Paige Cowett

Original music by Dan Powell and Marion Lozano

Engineered by Chris Wood

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music

The Israeli airstrike that killed seven workers delivering food in Gaza has touched off global outrage and condemnation.

Kim Severson, who covers food culture for The Times, discusses the World Central Kitchen, the aid group at the center of the story; and Adam Rasgon, who reports from Israel, explains what we know about the tragedy so far.

On today’s episode

Kim Severson , a food correspondent for The New York Times.

Adam Rasgon , an Israel correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading

The relief convoy was hit just after workers had delivered tons of food .

José Andrés, the Spanish chef who founded World Central Kitchen, and his corps of cooks have become leaders in disaster aid .

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Kim Severson is an Atlanta-based reporter who covers the nation’s food culture and contributes to NYT Cooking . More about Kim Severson

Adam Rasgon reports from Israel for The Times's Jerusalem bureau. More about Adam Rasgon

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Posts misrepresent White House Easter egg contest, Day of Transgender Visibility proclamation

FILE - Eggs designed by children of members of the military adorn the East Colonnade of the White House ahead of the White House Easter Egg Roll, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Washington. Social media users are misrepresenting the contest for which the eggs were designed, as well as a proclamation about Day of Transgender Visibility. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

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As millions celebrated Easter this weekend, the Biden administration was criticized by many on social media, including several Republican politicians, for supposedly disrespecting the Christian holiday.

The criticism centered on two separate claims. One, that President Joe Biden declared Easter Sunday to now be Transgender Day of Visibility and two, that he banned religious symbols from an Easter egg art contest at the White House.

But both allegations are missing important context and misrepresent what actually happened.

Here’s a closer look at the facts.

CLAIM: Biden declared that Easter Sunday is now a holiday celebrating transgender people.

THE FACTS: Transgender Day of Visibility has been celebrated on March 31 since 2009 , when the holiday was created. Every year since becoming president, Biden has issued a proclamation around the observance on that date. It was a coincidence in 2024 that the day corresponded with Easter Sunday, which falls on a different date each year.

Nonetheless, social media users are saying that Biden chose March 31 for Transgender Day of Visibility as an affront to Christians. Many Christians oppose greater recognition of trans people as part of their religious beliefs and took offense at the two days being paired, even though it was only a byproduct of the calendar.

“He could pick any day to declare a Transgender day,” reads one X post. “For Joe Biden to select Easter Sunday is a insult to Christians. This was intentional. It was done with the intent to flip the middle finger at Christians. His staff knew exactly what they were doing.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the claims “untrue” at a White House briefing on Monday, saying that the administration was “really so surprised by the misinformation that has been out there around this.”

“Every year for the past several years on March 31 Transgender Day of Visibility is marked. And as we know, for folks who understand the calendar and how it works, Easter falls on different Sundays every year,” she told reporters . And this year it happened to coincide with Transgender Visibility Day. And so that is the simple fact. That is what has happened. That is where we are.”

Following the proclamation, the Trump campaign criticized Biden , a devout Roman Catholic, of being insensitive to religion, and fellow Republicans piled on.

Jean-Pierre said at the briefing that it is “unsurprising” that “politicians are seeking to divide and weaken our country with cruel, hateful and dishonest rhetoric.” She added that Biden “will never abuse his personal faith for political purposes or for profit.”

Biden first issued a proclamation about Transgender Day of Visibility in 2021 , about two months after his inauguration. He continued this recognition in 2022 and 2023 . Proclamations are generally statements about public policy by the president.

Rachel Crandall-Crocker, the executive director and co-founder of the nonprofit Transgender Michigan, organized the first International Transgender Day of Visibility in 2009 to bring attention to a population that is often ignored, disparaged or victimized.

It was designed as a contrast to Transgender Day of Remembrance , which is held annually on Nov. 20 to honor the memory of transgender people who were killed in anti-transgender violence . Crandall-Crocker selected March 31 to give the holiday space from the day of remembrance and Pride Month in June, which celebrates all types of LGBTQ+ people. ___ CLAIM: Biden banned religious symbols from a White House Easter egg art contest.

THE FACTS: A flier soliciting children from National Guard families to submit an egg design for a White House exhibit organized in collaboration with the American Egg Board specified that submissions should not include “religious symbols” or “overtly religious themes.”

But such restrictions are nothing new.

“The American Egg Board has been a supporter of the White House Easter Egg Roll for over 45 years and the guideline language referenced in recent news reports has consistently applied to the board since its founding, across administrations,” Emily Metz, its president and CEO, said in a statement.

Elizabeth Alexander, a spokesperson for first lady Jill Biden, similarly wrote in an X post that “the American Egg Board’s flyer’s standard non-discrimination language requesting artwork has been used for the last 45 years, across all Dem & Republican Admins — for all WH Easter Egg Rolls—incl previous Administration’s.”

After the flier spread online, social media users falsely claimed that it was Biden who had decided to prohibit such imagery as part of the contest, which is part of many Easter traditions at the White House, including the annual Easter egg roll .

“Joe Biden just told all the Easter egg art decorators in the White House that NO RELIGIOUS IMAGERY is allowed,” reads one X post. “He’s just spit in the face of Christ on the cross who died for our sins to lift up the ULTIMATE sinners.”

The American Egg Board is a commodity checkoff program , meaning that it promotes and researches a particular agricultural commodity without referencing specific producers or brands.

All such programs must follow federal guidelines, including prohibitions on religious discrimination. This has been the case since the American Egg Board was established in 1976, according to Metz.

Children from National Guard families submitted egg designs showcasing their lives for the third annual “Colonnade of Eggs” exhibit at the White House, which honors the first lady’s support of military-connected families. Artists brought their designs to life on real eggs.

The American Egg Board has historically presented a commemorative egg to the first lady that reflects her passions, causes and contributions. Since 2022, the board has collaborated with the White House to curate larger exhibits displaying egg art throughout the spring.

Dating to 1878 , the first White House Easter egg roll was held by President Rutherford B. Hayes, who agreed to open the White House lawn to children after they were kicked off the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. ___ This is part of the AP’s effort to address widely shared false and misleading information that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP .

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National Minority Health Month 2024

Be the Source for Better Health: Improving Health Outcomes Through Our Cultures, Communities, and Connections

April is National Minority Health Month! This annual observance builds awareness about the health disparities that persist among racial and ethnic minority and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations and encourages everyone to take action to end these inequities.

This year's theme,  Be the Source for Better Health:   Improving Health Outcomes Through Our Cultures, Communities, and Connections , is about understanding how the unique environments, cultures, histories, and circumstances (known as social determinants of health, or SDOH) of racial and ethnic minority and AI/AN populations impact their overall health.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) is committed to working with public health and community-based partners to Be the Source for Better Health by providing quality, equitable, and respectful care and services that are responsive to diverse cultural health beliefs and practices, preferred languages, economic and environmental circumstances, and health literacy levels. When patients are provided with culturally and linguistically appropriate information, they are better able to create healthier outcomes for themselves, their families, and their communities.

Taking Action to Improve Health and Wellbeing by Addressing Social Determinants of Health

In November 2023, The White House and HHS released several resources to help support federal agencies, states, and local and Tribal governments to better coordinate health care, public health, and social services:

• U.S. Playbook to Address Social Determinants of Health
• HHS Call to Action to Address Health Related Social Needs

Get Involved in National Minority Health Month

Participate in conversations about health equity on social media by tagging @MinorityHealth on  X (Twitter) ,  Facebook , and  Instagram  and using the hashtags, #SourceForBetterHealth, #MinorityHealth, and #NMHM24.

Use this toolkit to spread the word about National Minority Health Month.

Learn more about the five domains of SDOH and how you can take steps to start improving the health of your community.

Join HHS, OMH, and other federal partners for these National Minority Health Month events.

Use the OMH Knowledge Center’s reading list to find additional research, resources, and information on SDOH.