January 1 is World Day of Peace.

It is a feast day of the Roman Catholic Church dedicated to universal peace, held on 1 January, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Pope Paul VI established it in 1967.

In 1969, the UN General Assembly declared World Day of Peace as an official holiday, during which the faithful ask God to stop all wars and spread peace on Earth, according to Calend.ru.

World Day of Peace often has been an occasion on which the Popes made magisterial declarations of social doctrine. Pope Paul VI and Pope St. John Paul II, for example, made important declarations on the Day in each year of their pontificates regarding the United Nations, human rights, women's rights, labor unions, economic development, the right to life, international diplomacy, peace in the Holy Land, globalization, and terrorism.