Happy Birthday, True Parents!

Every year, Unificationists around the world celebrate the birth of our True Parents, which happened to fall on the same lunar date, January 6, in different years. This year, True Parents celebrate their lunar birthday on February 24, 2015. Read more about the history of this special day as we wish True Parents a very happy birthday! 

True Father

True Father was born on January 6, 1920, according to the lunar calendar (February 25 solar). He was born in Sangsa-ri , Deogeon-myeon, Jeongju-gun,  North Pyeongan Province, Korea (now in North Korea), the fifth of eight children who lived past childhood in the family of Moon Kyeongyoo, and Kim Kyeong-gye, who gave him the name Yong Myung. Their house was one of a line of 15 which made up a tiny village, or ri. Ten of the households were of the Moon clan.

Some testified to prophetic signs prior to True Father’s birth. A gold-colored crane, for example, was said to have perched in a tree across from the Moon home. Others referred to dreams or misfortunes. True Father emphasized the significance of his birthplace, stating that he was “the product of Pyeongan Province.” He noted, “People from Pyeongan Province are like ferocious jungle tigers” who “travel freely beyond boundaries” and at the same time “possess good diplomatic skills.” He said, “People from Pyeongan Province are not given recognition in official positions—because once given a position, they will take over everything.” More significantly, Pyeongan Province was a hotbed of Christianity and patriotism. In 1919, the year before True Father’s birth, the Christian population of Korea was 300,000, of whom 110,000 resided in North Pyeongan Province.

True Mother

True Parents celebrate their mutual birthday on January 6, according to the lunar calendar. True Mother was born January 6, 1943 (February 10 by the solar calendar) in the town of Anju, in Anju County, South Pyeongan Province. As with True Father, there were prophetic testimonies surrounding her birth. Her father, Seung Woon Han, received a revelation that “if his child was a boy, he would be the king of the universe; if the child was a girl, she would be the queen of the universe.” Her mother, Soon Ae Hong, testified that Satan threatened her after True Mother’s birth, saying, “If you let your daughter live, the world will be in a serious condition, so you should kill her.” Having fought off the threat, Soon Ae Hong shortly afterward testified that she was told from the spirit world, “The child is the daughter of God, and you are to raise her as her nurse or babysitter.” True Mother was an only child and came from a lineage in which there had been only daughters for several generations. Although located in South and North Pyeongan Provinces, respectively, True Mother’s birthplace in Anju was quite close to True Father’s birthplace in Jeongju and one of her ancestors had constructed a bridge across the Dalae River in Jeongju that True Father crossed daily on his way to school.

True Parents

Every year, Unificationists celebrate True Parents’ Day, which is a Holy Day coming up on April 19, 2015. Throughout history, no one on earth has celebrated this day, which stands out from many other celebrations in the world because this one, in particular, is a day for God as our ultimate parent to experience joy with His and Her children. This day represents the day of God’s joy when, after creating all things, we were given the blessing to love the world with God’s parental love as True Parents.

This celebration is also a reminder to put true love into practice as True Parents have all of their lives. Many of us struggle to keep to a few New Year’s resolutions, but imagine trying to tackle not only your own problems, but the world’s. When we reflect on how many fundamental problems we face around the world today, can you imagine how immense the challenges are to be sensitive to God’s heart about all things? Can you imagine feeling responsible to help bring about a world of peace in as many areas of the world as possible? It is no wonder then, that True Parents have inspired millions around the world, even going beyond the boundaries of any one religion to inspire a world of peace. Take a look at the timeline of True Father’s life course, and True Mother’s life course, and consider what kind of love and determination it would take to fill their shoes just for a day.