On October 31, 2016 we celebrate the 57th True Children’s Day, a day when we express our love and gratitude to our Heavenly Parent and True Parents.

True Father established Children’s Day at the former headquarters church at Cheongpa-dong in Seoul on 10.1.1960 of the lunar calendar (October 19 of the solar calendar). Children’s Day was the second major Holy Day established by True Parents, following Parents’ Day, which had been declared on 3.1.1960 of the lunar calendar. Children’s Day signified the restoration of God’s direct lineage and opened the way for humanity to be engrafted into that lineage as God’s sons and daughters.True Father said that Children’s Day is the most important of all Holy Days because without children, God could not be a parent.

At the 35^th Parents’ Day in 1994, True Parents directed that the word “True” be placed before the names of the four major Holy Days (God’s Day, Parents’ Day, Children’s Day and Day of All Things). Thenceforth, this Holy Day has been observed as True Children’s Day.

We wish your family and your local community a wonderful True Children’s Day. Read more about True Children’s Day here. Stay tuned for a collection of local stories of community Holy Day celebrations, coming to familyfed.org throughout the week.

You can make your Children’s Day Holy Day donation at your local church, or online by clicking the link below.

What did you do for True Children’s Day? Share your story to see it here on familyfed.org!

Also this week in history, October 30 to November 5:

• 6,500 couples receive the Holy Marriage Blessing (October 30, 1988)
• A WFWP conference is held in North Korea (October 30, 2007)
• True Father issues the Declaration of the Elimination of Historical Indemnity (November 1, 1996)
• A Multicultural Peace Festival is held in Korea (November 1, 2014)
• True Parents dedicate the CAUSA International headquarters (November 2, 1983)
• The first global assembly for university CARP students is held (November 2, 1984)
• True Mother’s 40-nation speaking tour begins (November 2, 1993)
• FFWPU Korea launches a nationwide Divine Principle revival campaign (November 2, 2012)
• True Mother’s mother ascends to the spirit world (November 3, 1989)
• Sung Hwa University is established (November 3, 1989)
• The News World predicts a Reagan landslide (November 4, 1980)
• True Father is admitted to the United Kingdom after 27 years (November 5, 2005)

 

OCTOBER 30, 1988

6,500 Couple’s Holy Marriage Blessing Unites Korean and Japanese in Marriage

On October 30, 1988, True Parents blessed in marriage 6, 516 couples in a Holy Marriage Blessing Ceremony conducted in the complex of Ilhwa Pharmaceutical’s McCol soft drink factory in Yong-in, Korea. This Marriage Blessing was significant in that it brought together some 2,500 Korean/Japanese couples. As True Father noted, “Korea and Japan have been enemies for a long time, and their animosity has never been healed. Through this matching … emotional strains and hurt will be removed … the fortunes of these two nations will begin to take root on earth.” True Parents conducted the Marriage Blessing on the foundation of the recently completed Seoul Olympics and declaration of “The Nation of the Unified World.” It was the ninth providential Marriage Blessing following True Parents’ Holy Wedding and the Marriage Blessings of 3, 36, 72, 124, 430, 777, 1,800 and 8,000 couples.

 

OCTOBER 30, 2007

WFWP Conference in North Korea

WFWP Korea had been working for some time to re-establish inter-Korean sisterhood, initiating, among other things, a “One Percent Love-offering” which encouraged people in South Korea to donate 1 percent of their income to the North. WFWP Leaders also met with their counterparts from the North on a number of occasions. Their interaction came to fruition in a WFWP convention on “Women’s Leadership in Building North-South Unification and World Peace” held at the Mount Kumgang Resort in the North. Ten female leaders from Pyongyang participated in the conference in addition to 700 international delegates. There were some sensitive issues, such as use of the term “leader,” as North Koreans used the word “leader” only for Kim Jong Il and preferred the designation “worker” or “laborer” for signage. They also resisted religious words such as “God” (changed to “Creator”) and religious ceremonies. Nevertheless, the head of the North Korean delegation referred respectfully to True Parents’ visit with Kim Il Sung sixteen years earlier, acknowledging that “They  … so love this nation and its people.”

 

NOVEMBER 1, 1996

Declaration of the Elimination of Historical Indemnity

True Father issued a number of declarations during the late 1990s, several centered on New Hope Farms in Jardim, Brazil. These declarations were foundational in the globalization of the Blessing and the proclamation of the Nation of Cosmic Harmony (Cheon Il Guk). On November 1, 1996, in Uruguay, True Father declared the Elimination of Historical Indemnity. In his speech he declared, “An era of great transition has begun” and stated, “The settlement of the Family Federation for World Peace and the elimination of historical indemnity could be proclaimed in the name of True Parents.” He especially uplifted the role of True Mother in this process, stating:

On the blessed family foundation, individuals and families representing Cain and Abel must unite centering absolutely on the True Parents, first becoming as one with True Mother. Centering on her, the democratic and communist worlds, Catholics and Protestants, and the spiritual and physical worlds can be united. On this global foundation, everything could then be indemnified centered on Mother. Thus, it became possible to proclaim the settlement of the Family Federation for World Peace and the elimination of historical indemnity.

 

NOVEMBER 1, 2014

Multicultural Peace Festival in Korea

Sun Moon University along with the Korean Multicultural Peace Federation and the Multicultural General Welfare Center hosted a Multicultural Peace Festival in Korea, held in Asan on November 1, 2014. About 10,000 people from Japan, the Philippines, Thailand and some 80 other nations gathered for the event. The festival spotlighted multicultural families and was intended to support the realization of a multicultural society for Korea. The event included a commemorative ceremony, multicultural performances, sports competitions, booths with international food, and a “Global Village One Family Parade” to Asan City Hall under banners of “Korea Welcoming Citizens of the World,” “Multicultural Couples Creating Happiness,” and “Korea as One Family.” The festival also served to launch the True Love Peace Service Federation, which was intended to “realize love and service beyond the barriers of nations, religions, races and cultures.” Some 160 multicultural and service organizations participated. The 2014 festival was based on True Parents’ teachings of “One Family under God.” Organizers stated their intention to hold the Multicultural Peace Festival every other year.

 

NOVEMBER 2, 1983

Dedication of CAUSA International Headquarters

True Father set up CAUSA, from the Latin word for “cause,” in 1980 following the fall of Nicaragua in 1979 to Marxist Sandinistas. The overwhelming success of CAUSA programs in Latin America in ideologically arming students, union leaders, teachers, government officials and police who previously had been exposed to Marxist theory led to CAUSA’s expansion to the United States. In 1983, construction of CAUSA International Headquarters began in the Tiffany Building on Fifth Avenue in New York City. In addition to a main hall equipped with highly advanced multimedia equipment and seating for 200, renovated space included 22 offices.  Among these were CAUSA libraries for research, the CAUSA Institute, and multimedia rooms for the preparation of lecture slides and diagrams. True Parents dedicated the facility, cutting a ceremonial ribbon and encouraging staff at a celebration banquet on November 2, 1983. The following year, CAUSA sponsored 34 major conferences and 290 local programs.

 

NOVEMBER 2, 1984

The First Global Assembly for CARP University Students

Around 3,000 CARP members took part in the First Global Assembly for CARP University Students, which was held in the Little Angels Performing Arts Center in Seoul under the theme “One World under God” from November 2 to 8, 1984. During the assembly, a symposium entitled “University Student Values Regarding World Peace,” a friendship ceremony between Korean and Japanese students and a sports festival to bring about harmony and unity among the global CARP membership were held. It was during this assembly that True Parents’ first son, Hyo Jin Moon, was appointed as the World CARP president. (Materials provided by the FFWPU History Compilation Committee)

 

NOVEMBER 2, 1993

True Mother’s Forty-Nation Speaking Tour Begins

On November 2, 1993, True Mother set off on her “True Parents and the Completed Testament Age” tour of forty nations. True Mother first spoke in Frankfurt, Germany. She called on women to take the lead in realizing God’s ideal. Her speaking tour ended in Taiwan on December 22, 1993. True Mother with True Father previously delivered the address in 33 U.S. cities, and True Mother gave it in the U.S. Capitol. She later delivered the address at the United Nations in New York on September 7, 1993, which served as a springboard to the world tour. From September 11 to 30, True Mother conducted twenty-five rallies in Japan, the highlight being her speech before 50,000 people at the Tokyo Dome. In October 1993, she delivered the Completed Testament Age message before audiences at forty Korean universities, often speaking at two campuses on the same day. Having spoken in the United States, Japan and Korea, True Mother traveled the globe for the next fifty-three days. The tour covered Europe, Eurasia, the Middle East, Africa, South America and Asia.

 

NOVEMBER 2, 2012

The Korean Church Launches a Nationwide Divine Principle Revival Campaign

Scores of churches across Korea launched a Nationwide Divine Principle Revival Campaign on November 2, 2012. FFWPU Korea published advertisements for the campaign in 11 national newspapers under the headline “The Time That You Open Your Mind, New Life Will Begin.” The revival was aimed at explaining who Rev. Moon was, what his mission was, and why Unificationists refer to him as “True Father,” the “Messiah,” and the “Second Coming.” Through the three-day lecture series which continued until November 4, it also was intended to answer fundamental questions about the life and destiny of humankind. After the passing of True Father, True Mother called for a revival through witnessing to the Divine Principle, True Father’s seminal teaching. The nationwide advertisements focused on the revival of Divine Principle education for non-Unificationists and Unificationists alike. Prior to that, churches in Korea had focused on educating Unificationists and Unificationist-born youth.

 

NOVEMBER 3, 1989

Ascension of Mother Soon Ae Hong

True Mother’s mother, Soon Ae Hong (born February 14, 1914), ascended to the spirit world on November 3, 1989, at the age of 75. She had been ill for some time and True Mother was at her bedside when she passed. Mrs. Hong, whom True Father gave the honorific title Dae Mo Nim or “Great Mother,” had the distinction of participating in several of the Korean spiritual groups that preceded the Unification Church, including the Holy Lord and Inside-Belly churches. However, her main contribution was raising True Mother. At her Seonghwa ceremony True Father prayed that she “may pave the road for all people to receive God’s blessings, from the lowest parts of hell and on every level.” True Mother said, “She will be able to travel between heaven and earth freely,” assisting “True Family and all of you in your work.” Their words were prophetic as attested by the dynamic ministry undertaken under Dae Mo Nim at Cheongpyeong Heaven and Earth Training Center.

 

NOVEMBER 3, 1989

Sung Hwa University Established

On November 3, 1989, it was announced that the South Korean Ministry of Education had given permission for Sung Hwa Theological Seminary to become a university. Located in the city of Cheonan, the seminary previously had been given permission to confer four-year degrees. With its elevation to university status, Sung Hwa entered an era of expansion which culminated in it becoming Sun Moon University in 1994 and moving onto a second campus in the city of Asan. True Father founded Sung Hwa Theological Seminary under the auspices of the Sung Hwa Educational Foundation, which managed a number of affiliated schools including Kyung Bok Elementary School, Sun Hwa Arts Middle and High Schools, Sun Jung Women’s Middle School and Sun Jung High School. True Father established the foundation to realize his vision for holistic education under the motto of “Love Heaven, Love Humankind, Love Your Country.”

 

NOVEMBER 4, 1980

The News World Predicts “Reagan Landslide”

After the Washington Monument rally of September 1976, True Father “set the deadline” of December 31 for producing the first issue of a new daily newspaper in New York City. On December 31, “the presses rolled early in the morning … and the first issue of The News World hit the streets of New York.” With a color photograph on the front page and a motto that described it as “New York’s oldest daily color newspaper,” The News World was a 24-page general-interest daily with a staff of 200. During the New York City blackout of July 1977, it was the only newspaper to publish, with reporters working by candlelight to write and edit stories. Later, during a three-month newspaper strike that shut down the city’s other major dailies, The News World continued to publish, with its circulation soaring to nearly 400,000 daily.

Undoubtedly the paper’s boldest move was to predict a “Reagan Landslide” in a bold headline on November 4, 1980, the day of the U.S. presidential election. The next day, having been vindicated in its prediction that Ronald Reagan would “win by more than 350 electoral votes and carry New York as well,” the paper published another banner headline, which read, “Thank God! We Were Right!” and featured a UPI photo of President-elect Reagan holding the previous day’s News World.

 

NOVEMBER 5, 2005

True Father Admitted to the United Kingdom after 27 Years

On November 5, 2005, at about 11 a.m. an airplane carrying True Parents landed at a small airport, Biggin Hill, in the foxhunting countryside near the London suburb of Chislehurst. This was True Father’s first visit to the United Kingdom since the summer of 1978, when he came with Unification Theological Seminary students to pioneer home church. Since 1995, the British government had banned True Father from entering Britain. Germany subsequently banned True Father as “a threat to public order” and was followed by fourteen additional European Union nations who employed common immigration practices under the Schengen Agreement’s immigration system. Schengen Agreement provisions were designed to prevent terrorists and drug dealers from abusing liberal European travel codes. Unificationists eventually would be successful in demonstrating that the ban on True Father was illegitimate and having it removed. Prior to that, in October 1995, British Home Secretary Charles Clark lifted the British ban and True Father delivered a public address, “True Family and I,” in London as part of the Universal Peace Federation’s Inaugural World Tour. On disembarking the plane, True Father was reported to have said, “Hmm … harder to get into Britain than to enter the spiritual world.”

 

This Week in History briefly lists significant events in the history of the Unification Church, the lives of the Founders, and world events that are momentous to Unificationists. Most items are marked according to the solar calendar. Items marked “H.C.” correspond to the Cheon-gi or Heavenly Calendar, which is based on the lunar calendar. This installment covers the week of October 30 to November 5.