It was April 15, Juche 43(1954).
As a schoolboy Kim Jong Il proposed presenting a congratulatory banner he and his classmates had prepared for Kim Il Sung.
His classmates were so pleased to hear the proposal. But Kim Jong Il took another meticulous look at the banner.
He repeatedly checked the banner for any flaws in characters and embroidery, and told how to say greetings when they present the banner to the leader and how to behave before him.
“We have so many holidays,” he said. “I think April 15 is the most significant and auspicious event among them. Why? It’s because the fatherly leader was born on this day to win back the country’s independence and bring other holidays to us. Today’s happiness and all glory in the future for us are unthinkable without him. That’s why his birthday is the most cheerful and foremost holiday for us….”
Already in his teens, Kim Jong Il regarded April 15 as the greatest holiday of others and instructed his mates that people’s happiness and ever-lasting glory of the nation are all guaranteed by Kim Il Sung.
