The idea behind Earth Day is to set aside a special day every year to honor the Earth by raising awareness for its health and beauty! Although some people celebrate Earth Day on the equinox that happens in March, many people in the United States as well as people in some other countries celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd, which was the day chosen by Senator Gaylord Nelson when he helped to found and promote the holiday in the U.S. in 1970.
Senator Nelson founded the holiday because at the time there was less awareness about the environment than there is today and he wanted to get the attention of not only citizens across the country, but of political leaders and the world, too!
On the very first Earth Day, over 20 million Americans participated in activities to raise awareness for our planet! Today, hundreds of millions of people worldwide participate in activities to celebrate Earth Day by doing everything from teaching and learning about the environment to volunteering with clean-up projects!