World fairy tale day is celebrated every March 20 as a form of celebration to appreciate the beauty of stories while promoting the importance of reading, storytelling, and appreciating literary works.

Since ancient times, stories have been a popular way of conveying morals and entertainment. Famous fairy tales such as "Cinderella", "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", and "Aladdin" have entertained and inspired generations for centuries.

Aside from being a form of entertainment, storytelling activities help prepare the younger generation to develop personality, thoughts, words, attitudes, and actions that are in accordance with values. Therefore, fairy tales are considered as an effective medium in shaping the character and personality of children.

FAIRY TALE HISTORY 

Fairy tales or folklore have existed since prehistoric times and are used for various purposes, such as entertaining, teaching, and explaining natural phenomena that are difficult to understand. In the past, people often used fairy tales as a means of expressing cultural and moral values ​​that were considered important for a society.

Since ancient times, fairy tales have been one of the ways used by humans to teach cultural and moral values ​​to the next generation since prehistoric times. Since ancient times, fairy tales have been a means of expressing important meanings about life and the universe that are difficult to explain.

Fairy tales have become a part of world history which can be found in many countries such as Ancient Egypt, China, India, Africa and Europe. Some of the popular fairy tales that originated in Europe include the Brothers Grimm fairy tales from Germany, Andersen's fairy tales from Denmark, and Perrault's fairy tales from France.

Initially, fairy tales were passed down orally between generations, but in the 16th and 17th centuries, fairy tales began to be printed and published throughout Europe. In the 19th century, authors such as the Brothers Grimm and Andersen collected and rewritten traditional tales for distribution to a wider audience.

Although modern fairy tales are constantly evolving with new stories being added to them, many of the values ​​and morals embodied in traditional fairy tales are still relevant today and continue to be told to children around the world.

THE EXISTENCE OF FAIRY TALE INI THE MODERN ERA 

According to UNESCO, Indonesia is still a country that is very concerned about reading interest, namely only 0.001% or the equivalent of 1 person who is an avid reader out of 1,000 people in Indonesia.

Storytelling is the process of telling or reading a story, usually orally, with the aim of entertaining or conveying a moral message. Storytelling itself has been a tradition that has been going on since ancient times and has become part of human culture in various countries and cultures. Storytelling is also a bedtime ritual read by parents.

However, today's rapid technological developments are considered the biggest threat to the development of fairy tales, especially in Indonesia. Most children in Indonesia now consider fairy tales containing local values ​​to be out of date and almost never heard by anyone, even before going to sleep.

Technological developments that are not compared to the development of children's fairy tales can affect the sustainability of folklore in this country. Increasingly sophisticated technology should be able to support the development of fairy tales through their visual works. This is the opposite of what it should be, videos on social media and YouTube are filled with entertainment content that is more loved by children.

In increasing the existence of fairy tales in this digital era, support from various parties is needed, namely the government, the fairy tale community, and parents.

Through the celebration of world fairy tales day on March 20 2023 with the theme "Together We Can" or "Together We Can" invites all Indonesian people to be more sensitive to the existence of fairy tales which are starting to be eroded by the times. Thus, future generations still know fairy tales.