What kind of holiday is this?

Everyone has heard that smiling is good. A smiling person looks younger and even lives longer. A sincere smile often helps to resolve difficult conflict situations. Therefore, it is not surprising that there is such a holiday in the world – World Smile Day. It appeared not so long ago – in 1999. So, on the first Friday of October, we will celebrate another World Smile Day. This holiday always falls on a Friday, because Friday in itself promotes smiles (there are two days off), and October is the beginning of seasonal depression for many (smile day is supposed to drive away this depression).

How did the idea of ​​celebrating Smile Day come about?

This holiday appeared thanks to Harvey Ball – the person who invented the well-known emoticon.

In 1963, Harvey received an order from an American insurance company to create an advertising symbol to raise the morale of employees. Just then, due to the merger with another company, the employees were not sure about their future, so they became angry, sad and confused, and this had a bad effect on the business.

Without thinking long, Ball drew a yellow smiley face and received $45 for it. The symbol created by Ball was liked by customers and it was produced in the form of a badge and issued to employees and customers of the insurance company. At the same time, the icons with a smiley were so successful that the company had to release 10,000 more copies.

Smile day in history

• 1967

  In 1967, the smiling symbol was used in an advertising campaign for the Federal Savings and Loan University in Seattle.
• 1970
  the beginning of the 1970s

  In the early 1970s, the image of the smiley face was popularized by brothers Bernard and Murray Spain from Philadelphia. They produced buttons, coffee cups, T-shirts, stickers and many other products that were decorated with a smiley.
• 1972

  In 1972, almost 50 million images of the happy face were sold in the United States.

  In the same 1972, Franklin Laufrani introduced the creation of Harvey Ball to Europeans. He first gave it the name “smiley”. “France Soir” newspaper in France launched the campaign “Find time to smile”. At the same time, a smiley logo was used, which highlighted good news, and people could choose positive articles to read.

• ?
  around the 80s

  After all, the sunny emoticon became popular all over the world. This happened after two brothers from Spain came up with a slogan for him – Have a Happy Day. The yellow face already with the slogan became a real hit and appeared on various souvenir products all over the world – from postcards to T-shirts. The USA even released a postage stamp with a smiley face.
• 1999

  In 1999, Harvey Ball created the “World Smile Fund”, all the profits of which since then go to charity. In the same year, the artist founded the World Smile Day. According to the idea of ​​the inventor of the emoticon, this day should be dedicated to good mood and good deeds.

  Since then, Harvey’s idea has gained more and more supporters. People all over the world happily celebrate Smile Day.

Frequent Questions and answers about Smile Day

How to celebrate Smile Day?

The homeland of the holiday is the USA, from there it spread to different countries of the world. In Ukraine, World Smile Day does not have any special national flavor. It is usually celebrated according to world traditions.

1. Flash mobs are often held on this day. Usually, people gather outdoors and line up in a smiley face shape.
2. Also, on the first Friday of October, you should take cheerful selfies with emoticons and share them on social networks. In this way, Internet users are trying to improve the mood of other people, that is, to do what Harvey Ball called for – “to help at least one smile.”
3. In addition, on the day of the holiday, various events are held in kindergartens, schools, and higher educational institutions. These are contests for the best drawing or seminars dedicated to a smile. For example, some educational institutions hang a “Board of Good Wishes” at the entrance, where students can leave any kind words on smiley slips to cheer up their friends.
4. In many countries, it is customary to give each other souvenirs with the image of a smiley – postcards, T-shirts, dishes or toys.

Of course, no one is limited in the flight of their imagination regarding the celebration of Smile Day. You can create any tradition yourself, as long as it is positive and corresponds to the general concept of the holiday.

Why do we love this day?

Emotions of happiness and joy are among the most important for a person. We are all born with the ability to smile. A smile gives indescribable warmth, a sense of security, saves from loneliness, even improves physical well-being. We are pleased to celebrate World Smile Day — because, first of all, it is a holiday of kindness and bright emotions.

1. On this day, it will not look strange if we give someone a nice compliment, buy coffee for a stranger, give up a seat in transport, smile not only at relatives and friends, but also at passers-by.
2. The holiday has a useful and entirely material aspect — on the first Friday of October, many people make donations to various charitable foundations and charitable organizations.
3. A holiday is a good reason to restore relations that have deteriorated recently. After all, in response to a sincere smile, a funny emoticon and good wishes, the ice in the relationship will definitely melt.
4. It’s always nice to do good deeds, and especially on World Smile Day. There is a feeling of unity with thousands of people all over the world, who on this day also give smiles and good emotions to each other, multiplying goodness and warming human souls.

When will we celebrate? World Smile Day?