26 March - Purple Day - "Epilepsy Awareness Day"
According to the World Health Organization, around 50 million people worldwide live with epilepsy today. There are many people with epilepsy in our country too. Society's mixed attitude towards them, and the resulting isolation of these people from society, makes the disease more severe and its treatment more difficult.
Every year on 26 March, "Purple Day" — Epilepsy Awareness Day, the day of people living with epilepsy — is marked around the world.
The idea of "Purple Day" came about in 2008 in Canada on the initiative of Cassidy Megan, a 10-year-old girl with epilepsy. The main aim of marking this day was to show that people with epilepsy are no different from other people and to let people with epilepsy know that they are not alone.
Purple was chosen because in some cultures it expresses loneliness. It was chosen in response to the feeling of being singled out and isolated from society that people with epilepsy experience.
According to historians, famous people such as Julius Caesar, Dante Alighieri, Napoleon Bonaparte, Alexander the Great and Alfred Nobel may also have had epilepsy.
Created to raise awareness of epilepsy, "Purple Day" plays an invaluable role today in making people all over the world aware of epilepsy and in helping them understand that people with epilepsy are one of us. Every year on 26 March people wear purple to show their support for people with epilepsy. We hope this will be the case not just on one date, but always.