International Friendship Day From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

History

Friendship Day was originally promoted by Joyce Hall, the founder of Hallmark cards in 1919, and intended on first sunday of august 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 1920s but met with consumer resistance - given that it was rather too obviously a commercial gimmick to promote greetings cards. By the 1940s 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.^[5]

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 andDisney Enterprises, and was co-hosted by Kathy Lee Gifford.^[6][7]

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.^[1] With the advent of social networking sites, friendship day is also being celebrated online.^[2]The commercialization of the Friendship Day celebrations has led to some dismissing it as a "marketing gimmick".But Nowadays it is celebrated on First Sunday Of August, Dropping the 30th July Celebration.^[8]

[edit]World Friendship Crusade

The idea of a World Friendship Day was first proposed on 20 July 1958 by Dr. Artemio Bracho during a dinner with friends in Puerto Pinasco, a town on the River Paraguay about 200 miles north of Asuncion,Paraguay.^[9]

Out of this humble meeting of friends, the World Friendship Crusade was born. The World Friendship Crusade is a foundation that promotes friendship and fellowship among all human beings, regardless of race, colour or religion. Since then, 30 July has been faithfully celebrated as World Friendship Day in Paraguay every year and has also been adopted by several other countries.^[10]

The World Friendship Crusade has lobbied the United Nations for many years to recognized July 30 as World Friendship Day.

[edit]References

^[11]

1. ^ ^a b "A band for ties of friendship". New Delhi: The Times of India. 30 June 2009.
2. ^ ^a b Bose, Antara (1 August 2009). Calcutta: The Telegraph. title=Flavours of friendship. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
3. ^ Declaration of International Day of Friendship. Declaration of Day of Friendship Under Agenda no 15, Culture of Peace
4. ^ In India the Friendship Day will be celebrated on August 7, 2011. In India the Friendship Day will be celebrated on August 7, 2011
5. ^ "Friendship Day". Noida, India and Bangladesh: Society for the Confluence of Festivals in India and Bangladesh. 2009.
6. ^ United Nations (3 August 1998). "United Nations Observes "Friendship Day" at Headquarters, photo #302551". Press release.
7. ^ Topher (2001-2010). "Winnie-the-Pooh FAQ". Melbourne, Australia: Topher's Castle. "To commemorate the 1997 event at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, Mrs. Nane Annan, wife of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, presented Winnie-the-Pooh with the honorary title, "Ambassador of Friendship.""
8. ^ Raina, Shilpa (1 August 2009). Toronto: South Asian Observer. Day: Is it another marketing gimmick?. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
9. ^ [Hora "ONU aprobo 30 de junio como Dia de la Amistad"]. Retrieved 4-May-2011.
10. ^ Robert Munro. Ed.= (2010). Paraguay 200 Years of Independence in the Heart of South America. Oxford: Whap. p. 86. ISBN 978-0-9567405-1-9.
11. ^ "2011 Friendship Day". Mohith.net. Retrieved 2011-08-06.