World Juggling Day 2023: Date, History, Facts about The Circus

This year, World Juggling Day is observed on June 17, the Saturday closest to June. Juggling demands discipline, commitment, and extensive practise. This entertaining performance can be performed with a variety of objects, including balls, bowling pins, bottles, and knives; the possibilities are limitless. People of any age can learn to juggle, as the only prerequisite is enthusiasm. Juggling is an ancient form of amusement. Women juggling multiple objects are depicted in tomb paintings from ancient Egypt. As juggling was regarded a unique skill that only a select few could master, circuses included juggling segments in their performances. With the advent of television and the internet, however, the art form’s prominence has increased dramatically.

The background of World Juggling Day

In 1995, the International Juggling Association (I.J.A.) began commemorating World Juggling Day. The I.J.A. was officially founded in 1947 by a handful of jugglers. The non-profit organisation intended to recognise art worldwide and facilitate the development of friendships between groups of artists and, by extension, art enthusiasts. Initially, there were fewer than 100 I.J.A. members, but as the years progressed, the organization’s membership grew to the thousands that it is today. Since its founding in 1947, the organisation has held a week-long convention for jugglers and other circus artists around the globe.

World Juggling Day was originally celebrated as National Juggling Day. Seeing the universal appeal of the art, the I.J.A. renamed it World Juggling Day to make it more international. Due to a paucity of historical documentation, the origin of juggling is uncertain, but many scholars believe it dates back to 2000 B.C. Records depict juggling on tomb paintings in the Beni Hasan funerary complex, an ancient Egyptian tomb. During the reign of King Zhuang of Chu, between 613 and 591 B.C., a warrior by the name of Xiong Yiliao dwelt in China. Yiliao was a master of nngwán, the art of tossing multiple objects in the air without losing any of them. Before an army of 500 soldiers who had come to wage war against the Chu kingdom, he displayed nngwán. It is believed that after seeing the rare artwork, all five hundred soldiers fled in dread of magic and myth. Jugglers, poets, and other artists used juggling to entertain the crowd and make a livelihood in ancient Greece and Rome. Both male and female jugglers travelled far and wide to cultivate their skills and careers. In addition to vases, coins, paintings, and structures, there is evidence of this concept on vases.

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5 FACTS ABOUT THE CIRCUS THAT WILL STUN YOU

Backstage, circus performers avoid whistling and/or eating peanuts out of fear of ill luck.

The “Circo Atayde” is the world’s oldest continuously operating circus, having performed its first performance in 1888 at Mexico’s Plaza de Toros.

The word ‘circus’ derives from the Latin term for circle, which was used to describe Roman amphitheatres that hosted chariot races, gladiator fights, and other sports.

J. Purdy Brown, a circus entrepreneur, was the first to move a circus into a tent known as the ‘Big Top’ in order to improve the witnessing experience for the audience.

If you are acquainted with circus terminology, you know that a vendor selling items such as popcorn or toys is referred to as a “butcher.”

WORLD JUGGLING DAY DATES