What's Friendship Day? Ways To Celebrate

Well, Friendship Day is exactly what it sounds like: a national holiday which promotes friendship. 

The History

The concept of a national friendship day was created back in 1930 by Joyce Hall, the founder of Hallmark Cards, Inc. 

You're probably thinking, "Oh, so this is just another one of those holidays that was created for the sole purpose of selling more greeting cards," and you're not alone. In fact, the Greeting Card National Association had initially tried to promote the idea of Friendship Day back in the 1920s, but customers were not buying it, saying it was too obvious a gimmick and not an actual event worth celebrating.

When Is Friendship Day?

The history of the official date of International Day of Friendship is as controversial as its inception. Initially, Hall had intended for the holiday to be celebrated on August 2. Then, for a while, the date was changed to the first Sunday in August. However, the World Friendship Crusade tried for years to convince the United Nations to change the date to July 30. Finally, on July 27, 2011, the member states of the United Nations General Assembly acquiesced, making July 30 the official date of Friendship Day.

Despite this, however, the date has still changed from year to year in the U.S. For instance, in 2016 this day was celebrated on the first Sunday of August (August 7), whereas in 2017 Friendship Day was celebrated on August 6. 

Ready to be even more confused? The entire month of February in the U.S. has been declared Friendship Month. So, while we may celebrate friendship on one day in August, we can also choose to celebrate it for the entire month of February. 

Local, national, and international days of celebration often vary, but this holiday is one of the simplest and most entertaining examples of the differences upheld by different communities because of different cultures and norms. Countries such as the U.S. might even use different celebration days among states and regional communities.

Different countries and cultures celebrate friendship in different ways, and there are even different international days of friendship meant to promote this special bond as a result. For example, there is an International Day of Friendship, also known as World Friendship Day, which is celebrated on July 30th.

How People Celebrate This Day

Days before Friendship Day every year, companies roll out their advertising campaigns which are usually geared toward the younger demographic, as teenagers and youngsters are more likely to embrace the spirit of the holiday and increase public awareness via social media. These campaigns promote National Friendship Day, encouraging viewers to reach out to the special people in their lives, including both current and old friends.

Really, the events surrounding this calendar holiday are meant to recognize and celebrate the special friendship bond between people. There are many creative celebrations you can plan with your closest friends, such as watching fun friendship movies, doing activities together that spark laughter, sending your faraway friends special messages on social media, and designing projects or a project template to work on with your besties. 

Other countries, however, have different customs to celebrate the special bonds between friends. For example, this special holiday is often celebrated with a flower or friendship bracelet — something small — companies will still try to up sell their more expensive products, urging customers to spend a great deal of money on their friends as the only possible venue to express affection and love.

Restaurants may offer discounts on gift certificates, as might other local vendors. However, instead of these companies' gestures being appreciated, they often backfire, as some people feel they are blatantly commercializing a holiday when its culture and spirit that is otherwise more low-key, meant to be celebrated through things like a friendly gathering or community meeting. 

Interesting Facts About Friendship Day

The idea of friendship has been around for thousands of years. Sometimes, friendship can be even more fulfilling than a familial relationship. This is because friends aren't forced to be with you; friends stick with you because they want to, rather than out of a sense of obligation or accordance of religion or cultural norms. 

This is in part why many countries have some sort of day of friendship in which true friendship is celebrated. A close circle of friends is important, and virtually every culture recognizes how vital friendship is as a foundation for a healthy, vibrant, and fulfilling life.

Here are some neat facts about Friendship Day that encourage those who celebrate it to keep doing everything they can to honor their friends:

• Those who celebrate Friendship Day like to do so by exchanging small trinkets as gifts, like wristbands, flowers, or cards. Exchanging a meaningful thing with your friend is a sweet way to acknowledge them by promoting a quiet gesture, rather than a grandiose display like that which may be seen on Valentine's Day.
• The Beatles' song "With a Little Help from My Friends" was released in 1967 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of International Friendship Day.
• In 1998, Winnie the Pooh was declared the official ambassador of Friendship Day by Nane Annan, the wife of Kofi Annan, who was the UN Secretary General at the time.
• In 1999 in Memphis, Tennessee, the Kappa Delta Sorority put a new spin on Friendship Day by initiating National Women's Friendship Day, which is celebrated on the third Sunday in September to recognize specifically a woman's female friends.
• Studies have shown that friends are a great form of stress relief. When a person has healthy friendships, they are less likely to succumb to illness and disease or, conversely, are more likely to heal faster when they do get sick.
• World Friendship Crusade is an international organization dedicated to celebrating World Friendship Day every July 30th.

Happy Quotes About Friendship

Here are some great quotes about friendship that you might consider incorporating into your next post or even as an insert in a Friendship Day card:

• "Friends show their love in times of trouble, not in happiness." - Euripides
• "The strong bond of friendship is not always a balanced equation; friendship is not always about giving and taking in equal shares. Instead, friendship is grounded in a feeling that you know exactly who will be there for you when you need something, no matter what or when." - Simon Sinek

Sad And Angry Quotes About Friendship

If you are coping with the end of friendship on Friendship Day, then the very holiday itself can make you hurt. Of course, you can feel free to express your discontent on any type of social media, as well. 

Here are some quotes and a description about a friendship that once was sweet but has since gone sour:

• "Depth of friendship does not depend on the length of acquaintance." - Rabindranath Tagore
• "To be of good quality, you have to excuse yourself from the presence of shallow and callow minded individuals." - Michael Bassey Johnson
• "If you choose bad companions, no one will believe that you are anything but bad yourself." - Aesop, Aesop's Fables
• "A bad friend is worse than an enemy, an enemy you can see and avoid, but to detect an insincere friend is hard." - BangambikiHabyarimana, The Great Pearl of Wisdom

Quotes About Missing A Friend

Perhaps you have a really good friend, but you haven't seen them in a long time. Friendship Day may be a great way to show that friend just how much they mean to you. 

Consider putting one of the following quotes about missing your friend on their profile or in a nice card:

• "When I miss you, sometimes I listen to music or look at pictures of you, not to remind me of you but to make me feel as if I'm with you. It makes me forget the distance and capture you." - LeBron James
• "Missing someone gets easier every day because even though it's one day further from the last time you saw each other, it's one day closer to the next time you will." - Unknown
• "If I had a single flower for every time I think of you, I could walk forever in my garden." - Claudia Grandi
• "Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave, and impossible to forget." - Unknown
• "Goodbyes are not forever. Goodbyes are not the end. They simply mean 'I'll miss you until we meet again.'" - Unknown

Quotes About The Death Of A Friend

Friendship Day may be especially difficult for those who are dealing with the death of a close friend. Losing that close bond in your life is one of the hardest things to go through because it is often difficult to find the right words to express how you are feeling. In this regard, quotes can be immensely helpful. 

You can memorialize your close friend with a quote in a card to their family, or as a post on your online profile. 

Here are some quotes you may wish to use:

• "Can miles truly separate you from friends… If you want to be with someone you love, aren't you already there?" - Richard Bach
• "It takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, and a day to love them, but it takes an entire lifetime to forget them." - Unknown

Interesting in learning more about Friendship Day, including through education, categories of self-improvement, or professional mental health assessment? Contact us anytime, day or night, for more information.

Other Commonly Asked Questions:

What Friendship Day is today?

What is the real Friendship Day date?

Is today happy National friends day?

Why is Friendship Day on the first Sunday of August?

Is July 30th Friendship Day?

International Day of Friendship was founded in 1958 to celebrate the many forms of friendship seen throughout the world. However, the day the holiday was celebrated changed throughout the years, with the World Friendship Crusade finally succeeding in persuading the United Nations General Assembly to change it to July 30th in 2011. However, depending on the year, some countries still celebrate it in August.

Who started Friendship Day?

Friendship Day was started by Joyce Hall as a national way to promote, name, and celebrate the people closest to us in our lives.

Is June 8th Friendship Day?

June 8th is National Best Friend’s Day in the US and Canada, a day meant to promote and celebrate the best friends in our lives. National Best Friend’s Day is one of the many ways countries and cultures across the world celebrate the spirit of friendship.

Where is National BFF day?

Which day is celebrated on 4 August?

Is National Boyfriend Day Real?