International Women's Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. International Women's Day first emerged from the activities of labour movements at the turn of the twentieth century in North America and across Europe. The earliest Women's Day observance, called "National Women's Day," was held on February 28, 1909, in New York. The Socialist Party of America designated this day in honor of the 1908 garment workers' strike in New York, where women protested against working conditions. On March 8, 1917, in the capital of the Russian Empire, Petrograd, women textile workers began a demonstration, covering the whole city. Women in Saint Petersburg went on strike that day for "Bread and Peace" – demanding the end of World War I, an end to Russian food shortages, and the end of czarism. Seven days later, the Emperor of Russia, Nicholas II, gave up and women were granted the right to vote. Following the October Revolution, the Bolshevik Alexandra Kollontai and Vladimir Lenin made it an official holiday in the Soviet Union. But only on May 8, 1965, International Women's Day was declared a non-working day in the USSR. Nowadays, it is customary for men to give the women in their lives – friends, mothers, wives, girlfriends, daughters, colleagues – flowers and small gifts. In some countries (such as Bulgaria and Romania) it is also considered to be Mothers’ Day. Children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers. In Russia, the day has lost all political context through time, becoming simply a day to honor women and feminine beauty.