World Meditation Day
A/RES/79/137
A/RES/79/137
This authority record treats the observance as a fixed annual date. The same month and day can be reused unless a stronger source changes the rule. Public-holiday or government status is never inferred from the observance name alone.
Overview
World Meditation Day is observed on 21 December. The United Nations General Assembly created the observance to raise awareness of meditation and its potential contribution to health and well-being.
The UN frames meditation broadly as a practice found across religious, yogic, spiritual and secular traditions. The Day therefore belongs to no single belief system and should not be used to present meditation as a substitute for professional medical or mental-health care.
Why it matters
Meditation practices commonly use focused attention, mindfulness or other contemplative techniques to cultivate awareness, calm or clarity. People approach them for many reasons, including reflection, spiritual practice, stress management and personal well-being.
The observance can also be used to discuss the role of quiet reflection in institutions and public life. The United Nations itself has a long-standing Meditation Room at Headquarters, but the 2024 international day is a separate General Assembly action with its own resolution history.
History
Andorra, India, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Nepal and Sri Lanka formed the core group that introduced the World Meditation Day initiative through draft resolution A/79/L.27, with many additional Member States joining as sponsors.
On 6 December 2024, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the draft without a vote as A/RES/79/137 and proclaimed 21 December as World Meditation Day.
The six core-group missions organized the first World Meditation Day commemoration on 21 December 2024. The reviewed UN record establishes the date of the observance but does not give a sufficiently explicit historical rationale for why 21 December was selected.
How the observance developed
This timeline is assembled only from verified provenance fields. Missing stages are omitted rather than inferred.
Core group of Andorra, India, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Nepal and Sri Lanka
The 6 December 2024 General Assembly meeting record states that Liechtenstein introduced A/79/L.27 on behalf of Andorra, India, Mexico, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Liechtenstein as the core group of the initiative.
United Nations General Assembly
A/RES/79/137
First documented observance
The official UN concept note issued by the six core-group missions describes the 21 December 2024 event as the first World Meditation Day.
What the evidence establishes
Verified institutional roles and milestones are shown first. Fields that the reviewed sources do not establish remain fail-closed and are available below without competing with the confirmed record.
4 fields not established in reviewed sources
Ways to observe
Organize a short voluntary meditation or quiet-reflection session that is welcoming to people with different religious and non-religious backgrounds.
Use credible health sources to distinguish evidence-supported well-being practices from claims that meditation can cure specific diseases or replace clinical care.
Explore how contemplative practices differ across cultures instead of treating all meditation traditions as interchangeable.
Create a quiet-space activity focused on attention, reflection or stress awareness without pressuring participants to disclose personal beliefs or health information.
Useful facts
World Meditation Day is observed on 21 December.
The General Assembly established it through A/RES/79/137 on 6 December 2024.
The initiative was introduced by a core group comprising Andorra, India, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
The first World Meditation Day was marked on 21 December 2024.
The reviewed UN sources do not establish a precise historical reason for choosing 21 December.
Topic and context
What this page does not assume
- Keep the source-defined country, community, organizer or institutional scope; do not silently broaden it.
- Do not treat the title alone as proof of government recognition or public-holiday status.
- Do not add a creator, founding story or origin claim unless the supporting evidence establishes it.
Evidence & sources
Repeated links from the authority record, institutional provenance and editorial guide research are consolidated here. Badges show how each source is used; a contextual source is never treated as proof of establishment on its own.
United Nations Digital Library — A/RES/79/137 (opens in a new tab)
United Nations Digital Library — draft A/79/L.27 and sponsors (opens in a new tab)
United Nations General Assembly 79th session, 48th plenary meeting (opens in a new tab)
United Nations — first World Meditation Day concept note (opens in a new tab)
United Nations — World Meditation Day (opens in a new tab)
United Nations — List of International Days and Weeks (opens in a new tab)
United Nations — Observances: who chooses them and how (opens in a new tab)
Understand it, compare it, then explore further
Start with the most common factual questions, then use reviewed distinctions and related authority records to understand where this observance fits.
Frequently asked questions
When is World Meditation Day?
21 December The stored recurrence guidance is: 21 December.
Does World Meditation Day fall on the same date every year?
The authority record classifies it as fixed annual, so its month and day are reusable unless stronger evidence changes the rule.
Is World Meditation Day an official public holiday?
The authority record verifies it within this scope: United Nations / international observance. That recognition does not by itself make it a statutory public holiday; the site only makes public-holiday claims when the supporting authority record explicitly does so.
Who established or recognizes World Meditation Day?
The reviewed provenance layer identifies United Nations General Assembly as the proclaiming or establishing body. The proposer or originator is recorded separately as Core group of Andorra, India, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Is World Meditation Day international or country-specific?
The record has international or global institutional scope: United Nations / international observance. That does not mean every country treats the date as a public holiday or observes it in the same way.
How is this page verified?
The factual layer is source-backed and keeps its date rule, scope, provenance and editorial guardrails attached to the authority record. This record was checked on 2026-09-05.
When is World Meditation Day?
It is observed every year on 21 December.
Who established World Meditation Day?
The United Nations General Assembly established it through resolution A/RES/79/137, adopted on 6 December 2024.
Was 21 December 2024 the first World Meditation Day?
Yes. UN material from the six core-group missions explicitly describes the 21 December 2024 commemoration as the first World Meditation Day.
Other observances on December 21
These records also resolve to December 21, 2026 under the current authority data.
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