To report an error when this list is currently on the Main Page, see Main Page errors. Please remember that this list defers to the supporting articles, so it is best to achieve consensus and make any necessary changes there first.
Before making a suggestion, please read the selected anniversaries guidelines. Please remember that this list usually defers to supporting pages when there is disagreement, so it is best to achieve consensus and make any necessary changes there first.
Q1: Why is [Insert event here], an event that is "more important and significant" than all the others that are currently listed, not posted?
A1: Relative article quality along with the mix of topics already listed are often deciding factors in what gets posted. Any given day of the year can have a great many important or significant historical events. The problem is that there is generally only room on the Main Page to list about 5 events at a time, so not everything can be posted.
As stated on Wikipedia:FAQ/Main Page, the items and events posted on the Main Page are chosen based more on how well they are written, not based on how much important or significant their subjects are. It is easier for admins to select a well-written, cited, verifiable article over a poor one versus trying to determine objectively how much a subject is important or significant.
Keep in mind that the quality requirements only apply to the selected bolded article, not the other links. Thus, an event may qualify for multiple dates in a year if there is an article written in a summary style and an article providing detailed content; if one of those pages have cleanup issues, the other page can be bolded as an alternate.
Another criterion is to maintain some variety of topics, and not exhibit, just for example, tech-centrism, or the belief that the world stops at the edge of the English-speaking world. Many days have a large pool of potential articles, so they will rotate in and out every year to give each one some Main Page exposure. In addition, an event is not posted if it is also the subject of this year's scheduled featured article or featured picture.
Q2: There are way too many 20th-century events listed. Why aren't there more events from the 19th century and before?
Q3: This page seems to be biased toward events based in [Insert country or region here]. What can be done about it?
A3: This again is attributed to the systemic bias of Wikipedia. Many users are generally more interested in working on good, well-written articles pertaining to their home country. Since this is the English Wikipedia, there will be more English-speaking users, and thus more articles pertaining to English-speaking countries. And if there are more users who are from the United States, there will probably be more well-written articles about events based in the United States. Again, if you would like to further help mitigate the systemic bias in Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:WikiProject Countering systemic bias.
Q4: Why is the birthday/death anniversary of [Insert name here] not listed?
A4: There are only four slots available for birth and death anniversaries. As with the events, article quality and diversity in time period, geography, and reason for notability are all contributing factors in whether an article gets selected for inclusion.
Q5: Are the holidays/observances listed in any particular order?
A5: Yes, there is a specified order: International observances first, then alphabetically by where observed.
Q6: Some of the holidays/observances that are listed have dates in parentheses beside them. What do they mean?
A6: There are two reasons that some holidays/observances have dates next to them:
Non-Gregorian-based holidays/observances are marked with the current year as a reminder to others that their dates do in fact vary from year to year.
National Days, Independence Days, and other holidays celebrating the nationhood of a country are generally marked by the year of the significant historic date being observed.
Today's featured article for October 23, 2024
Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 23, 2024
Could the New Year (N.S. 1127) of Nepalese people according to Nepal Sambat, a lunar calendar, be added to the anniversaries in this date?--Eukesh 15:03, 22 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Please mention this on the relevant pages. Today's date should be mentioned in the article with the bolded link. --PFHLai 18:03, 23 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I have trouble finding references to confirm the date of this New Year's Day as today. It seems Tihar may be more prominent. Can someone put in the dates, please ? -- PFHLai 19:44, 23 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
This was removed because it's the featured article today. We should avoid double-featuring the same page. --PFHLai 18:03, 23 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
From main page error report for 23 October 2009:
National Day in Hungary (23 October)
This National Day is a double commemoration, firstly of the 1956 uprising, and secondly, it is also the birthday of the Republic. Both the years of 1956 and 1989 should appear appropriately next to the name "National Day".88.87.241.43 (talk) 09:48, 23 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 really, really ought to be included here... not only one a national memorial day in Hungary, but a major turning point in the Cold War globally. Of far greater importance -- this is subjective, yes, but not without merit, I think -- than, for example, the ending date of a US bombing campaign in Vietnam, or a failed Japanese attack in WWII. Korossyl (talk) 16:30, 23 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]
There is no need for an edit request now as the page is unprotected until next year. Woody (talk) 12:26, 25 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]
The short answer to this request is that not every article will appear every year. Please see the FAQ above, question Q1. If you see Talk:Hungarian Revolution of 1956, you can see that the article had been included from 2009–11, so it just took a break this year. —howcheng {chat} 16:42, 25 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]
@Sparafucil: I'm not sure what change you need here. I will be offline for most of tomorrow, so please bring it up at WP:ERRORS for a faster response. Thanks. —howcheng {chat} 07:02, 23 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]