Friendship Day 2020: Here’s The History And Significance Of This Day

The arrival of August brings a much-awaited festival that is celebrated across the world on different dates. Yes, we are talking about Friendship Day. In India, the first Sunday of August is observed as the National Friendship Day. This year the date falls on 2 August 2020. The day symbolises the friendly and platonic bond shared by people. In order to know more about this day, read this article.

Also read: Friendship Day 2020: Quotes And Messages To Share With Your Friends On This Day

History

The first-ever Friendship Day was proposed by Paraguay in 1958 and it was observed as International Friendship Day. However, people claim that this observance originated in 1930 from Hallmark Cards by Joyce Hall. It was promoted by the greeting card manufacturing companies and was intended to be observed on 2 August every year. Finally, the United Nations declared 30 July as the International Friendship Day. Since then people celebrate Friendship Day to acknowledge the bond shared with their friends.
However, different countries decided their own dates for observing this day. In India, it is celebrated on the first Sunday of August.

Significance Of Friendship Day

● On Friendship Day 1998, Nane Annan, the wife of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan named Winnie the Pooh, a fictional teddy bear as the world's brand ambassador of Friendship.

● People on this day, tie friendship bands on their friends' wrists. They also send gifts to each other.

● They also share greeting cards with each other.

● Every year some companies release jingles and songs to celebrate this festival in a memorable way.

● This year due to the coronavirus pandemic, people may not be able to celebrate the day as they used to.

Also read: Friendship Day 2020: Different Types Of Friends We All Have In Our Lives

● People can still celebrate the day virtually on various social media platforms.