Tomorrow is World Friendship Day, also known as International Day of Friendship, takes place annually on 30th July. It is a day in several, mostly Latin American and Asian, countries for celebrating friendships.
Friendship Day
The original idea for a day of friendship came from Hallmark cards in the 1930’s. Originally celebrated on 2nd August the day was largely viewed by the public as a money-making exercise. Sales of friendship day cards did not take off in Europe and by the mid-1940’s the day had faded into obscurity in the USA.
Honouring Friendship
The idea of a day to honour friendship was, however, adopted by a number of countries in Asia where it remained a popular custom to reserve a day for celebrating friendships and the exchange of gifts.
Camaraderie
The idea of a World Friendship Day was first proposed in 1958 by The World Friendship Crusade who lobbied for many years the United Nations to recognise 30 July as World Friendship Day. It’s about camaraderie.
On 20 May 2011, the General Assembly of the United Nations decided to designate 30 July as the International Day of Friendship, and to invite all Member States to observe the International Day of Friendship in accordance with the culture and customs of their local, national and regional communities, including through education and public awareness-raising activities.
Conclusion
The General Assembly of the United Nations were forward-thinking about what World Friendship meant. It cannot work effectively unless uniquely we all come to recognise the importance of being friends together.
People, governments and countries must all work together for the greater good, for friendships to prosper and for us all to strive towards peace. (Source: awarenessdays.com)
I somehow survived without many friends, except for strangers who mastered etiquette or truly loved me in the moment. I was always cautious, but perhaps I took self preservation too far.
Happy World Friendship Day!
Happy World Friendship Day Tim. Yes, you self-preserved because you had no choice. Your life dictated your self-preservation.
How easy it is to look back and re-write history. I don't think you need to do that. Accepting our reasoning on why we make our choices is important. I know that if you had a choice and you could have done things differently you would have.
I have no regrets. My choices were because of the life I was made to live. Living my truth is why I am able to do what I do.
We must all use 'World Friendship Day' as a means of moving forward and changing our attitudes.
Perhaps every day should be a 'World Friendship Day.'
Thanks. Yes, you're right. It must be, if we are to leave this world a better place. It costs nothing to be a friend.
There is a lot of work to be done to bring communities, society and people together.