International Friendship Day 2022: Date, origin, history and all you need to know

When things go wrong in life, a friend can boost our confidence and rescue us from the shackles of depression. So, friendship is crucial in one's life. This is the reason why we celebrate friendship day.

International Friendship Day date
Friendship Day is celebrated every year on July 30. The World Friendship Crusade, an international civil entity working to promote a culture of peace through friendship, had proposed International Friendship Day.


Origin
It was first celebrated in 1958, and the United Nations General Assembly officially declared the International Day of Friendship in 2011.

The first Sunday in August is also celebrated as Friendship Day in several other nations besides India. This year Friendship Day falls on August 7.

History
The idea for the first-ever friendship day came even before the World Friendship Crusade's proposal. It came from a person called Joyce Hall, founder of Hallmark Cards, Inc, on August 2, 1930. Before it, the Greeting Card National Association tried to promote the concept in 1920, using the friendship day celebration as a marketing strategy to boost sales of their greeting cards. However, the idea didn't work out.

Significance
The International Day of Friendship, according to the United Nations, can contribute to advancing world peace and social harmony. Poverty, violence and human rights violation are only a few of the difficulties, crises and dividing factors that threaten global peace, security, development and social harmony. Promoting and upholding a familiar spirit of human solidarity, which manifests in several ways but the most basic is friendship. Hence, friendship is necessary to address the core causes of those crises and challenges.

Different days, different countries
In nations like Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Mexico, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, Valentine's Day and Friendship Day are celebrated on February 14. In South Africa, Friendship Day is celebrated on April 16, while Ukrainians celebrate it on June 9. The day is also observed on multiple dates all across the world.