Friendship Day: what it is about

New Delhi: Friendship Day celebrations are held on different dates in different countries of the world. The first World Friendship Day was proposed on 30 July 1958 in Paraguay. On 27 April, 2011, the General Assembly of the United Nations declared 30 July as official International Friendship Day. However, in India, Friendship Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of August.

Friendship Day was originally proposed by Joyce Hall, the founder of Hallmark cards in 1919, intended to be the first Sunday of August and a day when people celebrated their friendships by sending cards. The first Sunday in August was chosen as the centre of the largest lull between holiday celebrations but it faced consumer resistance, given that it was rather too obviously a commercial gimmick to promote greetings cards.

Friendship Day was proposed on 30 July 1958 in Paraguay. India celebrates it on the first Sunday of August.

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