World Friendship Day 2020

World Friendship Day, also known as International Day of Friendship, takes place on Thursday 30th July!

The original idea for a day of friendship came from Hallmark cards in the 1930’s, but it was largely viewed as a money making exercise so sales of friendship day cards did not take off in Europe, and by the mid-1940’s the day had faded into obscurity in the USA. 

However, the idea of honouring a day of friendship became popular in a number of countries in Asia – it was a great way to reserve a day for celebrating friendships and to exchange gifts between friends. 

The first World Friendship Day took place on 30th July 1958 by the World Friendship Crusade and in 2011 the 30th July was declared as the International Day of Friendship by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

The growing popularity of social media has meant that there has been an increase in World Friendship Day and International Day of Friendship online, as well as creating activities in local communities aimed at bringing people of different backgrounds together.

The use of social media as a means to stay in touch with people has been prevalent now more than ever during the last few months- Celebrating this year’s World Friendship Day will certainly be a little more challenging. If you cannot celebrate your friendship with a hug (for whatever reason), why not do a virtual hug (you can set up a Zoom meeting or send your friends a video) send a hug emoji or a cute friendship gif. Something as simple as sending your friends a message is also a great way to show them that you’re thinking of them.

At Abicare, we always make sure that we treat our colleagues with the respect and friendship they deserve – being part of Abicare is like being part of an extended family!

We strive to make all our clients feel happy and supported – something just as simple as having a chat with them can really make their day and feel appreciated, and at the end of the day feeling appreciated is a huge part of what friendship is all about!