On what date did China's State Council proclaim March 8 an official holiday?

China’s State Council proclaimed March 8 an official holiday on 23 December 1949.

The decision came only a few months after the People’s Republic of China was established on 1 October 1949. It gave International Women’s Day an official place in the new state’s calendar and linked the holiday to the government’s emphasis on women’s participation in public, economic, and political life.

The proclamation did not make March 8 a universal full day off for everyone. Women were granted a half-day holiday, a detail that is often omitted when the date is summarized. The policy reflected a broader pattern: socialist governments frequently promoted International Women’s Day as both a celebration of women’s contributions and an opportunity to advance official equality campaigns.

China’s recognition followed earlier activism. Chinese communists had observed the day from 1922, and Guangzhou hosted a march of about 25,000 women and male supporters in 1927. The 1949 proclamation therefore formalized an observance that already had a substantial political history in China.