May 29 Holidays

International Day of UN Peacekeepers was established by the UN General Assembly in 2002 to mark May 29, 1948, when the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization began operations — honoring the more than 4,300 UN peacekeepers who have died while serving since then. Mount Everest Day marks May 29, 1953, when Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Earth’s highest peak. National Alligator Day celebrates the American alligator, which was removed from the endangered species list in 1987 after its population rebounded from near-extinction following federal protection in 1967. World Digestive Health Day was established by the World Gastroenterology Organisation to raise awareness for digestive diseases, which affect an estimated 40 percent of the global population. Blue helmets, a summit, a reptile comeback, and a troubled gut.