Every March 5 is 学雷锋日 (Learn from Lei Feng Day), commemorating Mao's 1963 inscription '向雷锋同志学习'. The phrase '活雷锋' (a living Lei Feng) is still used half-seriously to describe anyone who helps strangers without expecting thanks.
history
Lei died at 21 when a telephone pole hit him during a vehicle-directing accident. His posthumously published diary - whose authenticity is debated - became one of the most widely studied texts in Chinese schools and the template for PRC propaganda role models.
