This morning I saw children in our village walking to school dressed up like clowns. Every child had a big red nose and many kids were wearing clown wigs and costumes as well. I thought, “What fun, our local grade school is having a special circus day!” A bit later I walked into our local grocery store and to my surprise was greeted with grown-ups wearing wigs and costumes and, of course, big red noses.
What gives? I asked. Today is the 25th Red Nose Day! Here is what I learned: Red Nose Day UK is an event run by the charity Comic Relief. The aim is ‘to bring about a positive and lasting change in the lives of poor and disadvantaged people’. This is done by raising money to send to people in more than 27 countries registered with the charity. These countries include various African nations, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Pakistan, Japan and the UK. Red Nose Day is often treated as a semi-holiday and many schools have red-themed non-uniform days (i.e. the pupils have to wear something red as part of their non-uniform attire). The day culminates with a marathon TV show that lasts into the early hours of the morning where celebrities and presenters take part in many activities, and a number of shows put on one-off episodes for the campaign. Check out the You Tube clips of past years Red Nose shows. Great laughs!
Why the red nose? It was introduced in 1988, two years after the charity was set up, and has continued ever since. The idea was to raise awareness of the charity by having people walk round with big red noses on their faces. It clearly worked. In 25 years, Red Nose Day has raised well over 100 million dollars to battle poverty and famine throughout the world.
It is remarkable to see a whole nation laugh, poke fun of themselves, wear big red noses, and raise money for a great cause. "Do something funny for money" is the order of the day. I love the generous spirit of the Brits!
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