WORLD SMILE DAY 2022: We all love to keep smiling. The ugliest stress in your life can be removed with a simple smile. It’s even better when you become a reason for someone else to smile. This is what World Smile Day is all about. The day is celebrated on the first Friday of October every year, and this year it falls on October 7.
Happy World Smile Day 2022 Quotes and Wishes:
- “Peace begins with a smile.” – Mother Teresa.
- “I have witnessed the softening of the hardest of hearts by a simple smile.” — Goldie Hawn
- “A smile is the chosen vehicle of all ambiguities” – Herman Melville
- “Wear a smile and have a friend; wear a scowl and have wrinkles” – George Eliot
- “Just for today, smile a little more”- James A. Murphy.
World Smile Day: History
Harvey Ball was an American artist who first proposed the celebration of the World Smile Day. In 1963, he invented the iconic smiley face picture. Harvey discovered over time that the original significance of his emblem had been lost owing to ‘over-commercialisation’.
As a result of his worry, he devised the concept of World Smile Day, a day dedicated to acts of kindness. Since 1999, the first Friday in October has been designated as World Smile Day. Following his death in 2001, the Harvey Ball World Smile Foundation was established to honour his name and memories.
World Smile Day: Significance and Theme
The day is dedicated to all smiles, with individuals encouraged to act kind and make others smile. The theme of the day is that a smile recognises no political, geographical, or cultural boundaries.
World Smile Day: Timeline
- 1963 – Harvey Ball invented the smiley face.
- The 1970s – The smiley face was used politically, as well as in films, cartoons, and comic books.
- The 1990s – The smiley face became popular with the emergence of the internet and is widely used nowadays.
- 1999 – World Smile Day was established.
World Smile Day: Celebrations
People across the world celebrate World Smile Day in unique and imaginative ways. The Worcester Historical Society in Massachusetts, United States, has been celebrating this day by throwing a ball since 2000. The ball hosts the Harvey Ball Smile Award and smiley-face themed events and displays.
Hot air balloon competitions are also held with the launch of Balloons carrying World Smile Day messaging. Other fun activities and competitions like Choral presentations, ‘Where’s the smiley?’ competition, Pie eating competition and circus performances among others are also organised in different countries. Many organisations also distribute free food to the needy on this day.
Different events are also organised at hospitals and care homes to bring smile on the faces of the patients and elderly people.
