Trafford Council is inviting residents to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day by decorating one of the thousand yellow paper butterflies which are being released into the borough this week.
Pick up a butterfly from any Trafford library, create your own, or use the template available at www.trafford.gov.uk/HMD. Then simply add your message, or decorate it if you prefer, and drop it off at any Trafford library or at Sale Waterside reception by Tuesday 23 January 2018. The finished butterflies will be used to create a special display at Waterside Arts Centre for view between Friday 26 January and Sunday 4 February.
This year’s theme for Holocaust Memorial Day is ‘The Power of Words’. Jewish Czechoslovakian poet Pavel Friedman’s thought provoking poem, ‘The Butterfly’ written whilst he was detained in Theresienstadt concentration camp powerfully captures a ‘dazzling yellow’ butterfly. Follow this link to Pavel’s poem along with an audio recording by actor Samuel Barnett.
Holocaust Memorial Day is held annually on 27 January, and is a time for reflecting on specific events in the past and thinking about how we as communities and individuals stand up to discrimination, racism and hatred.
Around the world the butterfly is seen as a symbol of endurance, change, hope and life. “The Butterfly Theory”, whilst scientific in origin, has widely come to mean that small changes can have much larger effects.
Cllr Laura Evans, Executive Member for Communities and Partnerships, said: “Holocaust Memorial Day is an important focal point in the year and Trafford is proud to play a part in honouring it. We hope as many people as possible take the opportunity to get involved and decorate a butterfly, so we can create a poignant display. It is vital that we continue to honour the memory of those who lost their lives through the Holocaust and other genocides, and learn from the stories of those who survived.”
Please make your butterfly out of card or paper and yellow should be the main colour. Butterflies should be no larger than 10 cm x 7cm or 1/8th of the size of an A4 sheet of paper.
You could also create your own yellow butterfly artwork for your school or office. If you do make your own display, please share a photograph with us on Twitter - @TraffordCouncil - using the hashtag #hmd_uk.
Posted on Tuesday 16th January 2018