International Friendship Day is celebrated every year on July 30. Every year, countries such as India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, and the United States observe Friendship Day on the first Sunday of August.
Friendship is another word for love, and even if your family won’t listen to your 3 am tantrums, your best friend surely will. It is our friends who sit with us in the dark when we cannot see the bright side of things, who see the pain in our eyes while everyone else believes our smiles.
In friendship, you are supported, teased, loved, and hated at the same time. Well, a group of friends isn’t less than a family, as we always share a strong bond with our “chuddy-buddies”.
International Friendship Day 2023: Theme
The theme for International Friendship Day 2023 has not been announced yet. Last year the theme for International Friendship Day is “Sharing the human spirit through friendship”.
International Friendship Day: History
The International Friendship Day was first proposed in Paraguay in 1958, but other countries celebrated it on different days and in different months. The World Friendship Crusade proposed celebrating World Friendship Day on 30th July 1958. Hallmark Cards celebrated International Friendship Day in 1930 at Joyce Hall, but people quickly realized that it was just a marketing ploy.
International Friendship Day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2011 to foster friendship among people of different countries regardless of race, colour, gender, or religion.
Read More: 30 July in Indian and World History
A proposal made by UNESCO led to the creation of International Friendship Day. Several problems can be solved by finding the root causes of conflicts and preventing them by adopting values, attitudes, and behaviors that reject violence. It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1997.
International Friendship Day: Significance
International Day of Friendship with the objective of inspiring peace efforts and building bridges between communities through the friendship between peoples, countries, cultures, and individuals. “The resolution places emphasis on involving young people, as future leaders, in community activities that include different cultures and promote international understanding and respect for diversity.” Friendship Day celebrates the special bond between friends.