International Day of Friendship

International Friendship Day

Traditionally, the International Friendship Day celebrations take place on the first Sunday of August, among several Friendship Day celebrations on other dates, held by a range of countries. On 27 April 2011, the United Nations declared 30 July as International Day of Friendship.

Initially created by the greeting cards industry, evidence from social networking sites shows a revival of interest in the holiday that may have grown with the spread of the Internet, particularly in India, Bangladesh, and Malaysia. There is also some evidence that the day is celebrated in some South American countries. Digital communication modes such as the Internet and mobile phones may be helping to popularize the custom, since greeting friends en masse is now easier than before.

Those who promote the holiday in South Asia attribute the tradition of dedicating a day in honor of friends to have originated in the U.S. in 1935, but it actually dates from 1919. The exchange of Friendship Day Gifts like flowers, cards and wrist bands is a popular tradition of this occasion.

History

Friendship Day was originally promoted by Joyce Hall, the founder of Hallmark cards in 1919, and intended to be a day where people celebrated their friendships by sending cards. The first Sunday in August was chosen as the centre of the largest lull in holiday celebrations. Friendship Day was promoted by the greetings card National Association during the 1920's but met with consumer resistance - given that it was rather too obviously a commercial gimmick to promote greetings cards. By the 1940's the number of Friendship Day cards available in the US had dwindled and the holiday largely died out there. There is no evidence to date for its uptake in Europe, however it has been kept alive and revitalised in Asia where several countries adopted the tradition of dedicating a day to friends. Today, Friendship Day is enthusiastically celebrated in a number of countries across the world.

In honor of Friendship Day in 1998, Nane Annan, wife of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, named Winnie the Pooh as the world's Ambassador of Friendship at the United Nations. The event was co-sponsored by the U.N. Department of Public Information and Disney Enterprises, and was co-hosted by Kathy Lee Gifford.

Many friends acknowledge each other with exchange of gifts and cards on this day. Friendship bands are very popular in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and parts of South America. With the advent of social networking sites, friendship day is also being celebrated online. The commercialization of the Friendship Day celebrations has led to some dismissing it as a "marketing gimmick".

UN International Day of Friendship

During the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembley of the United Nations, 30 July was unanimous designated as International Day of Friendship, fellowing a petition of several countries in the context of the UN Culture of Peace Agenda. As the UN Resolution exposes, the target of this day is to promote the international understanding, the respect for diversity and a culture of peace, between peoples, countries, cultures and individuals.

Initially, the date was proposed by the "International Crusade for Friendship", a movement created in Paraguay in 1958.

According to the Friendship Day declaration, the UN Member States and the civil society are invited to "observe this day in an appropriate manner, in accordance with the culture and other appropriate circumstances or customs of their local, national and regional communities, including through education and public awareness-raising activities".

Other traditions

References

Schmidt, E.L. (1991). The Commercialisation of the Calendar: American Holidays and the Culture of Consumption, 1870-1930. The Journal of American History, Vol 78, No. 3. pp.887-916. [ UN Resolution A/65/L.72]

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