On February 22nd each year all the members of the
World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, called
WAGGGS for short, have a celebration. This day is called Thinking Day, and it is when the members of the aforementioned organisation think about the world guiding family, which includes
Girl Guides,
Girl Scouts,
Brownies and
Rainbows, to name but a few.
This celebration is specifically on the 22nd of February as it coincides with the birthdays of the founder of the movement,
Lord Baden-Powell, and his wife,
Olave, Lady Baden-Powell. This day is also the anniversary of their marriage.
On this day, or usually the Saturday closest to the 22nd February, there are celebrations and activities in which the members participate. One type of celebration in the
UK which is organised is called a "
Dabble day". This is when each individual group in an area organises a craft activity, a food tasting or a game from a different country. These different activities are all set up in an area where the
local members can try them, and try to understand a different country's way of life.
Other activites which sometimes occur are parades, dressing up in other country's Girl Guide uniforms, parties, special ceremonies and the sending of greetings cards to girls who they have met who live in different countries. Also wreaths are laid on Lord Baden-Powell's memorial in
Westminster Abbey.
Another traditional Thinking Day activity is collecting money for the
Thinking Day Fund which is used to donate money to other countries which have Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, but difficulty in running activities due to political and monetary problems. It also goes to help train guiders in new areas, and to donate money to groups who have suffered because of natural disasters. In the past, a single penny is collected from each girl attending a Thinking Day event to go to this fund, but these days it is more likely to be a larger donation of around 10p.
Sources
"The Brownie Handbook" 1995 ISBN 0 85260 127 1
"The Guide Handbook" 1973