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Each year on the first Friday in October, World Smile Day devotes a day to smiles and spreading random acts of kindness.
If someone smiles at you, you’re bound to smile back. A smile often expresses a feeling, encouragement to someone, or serves as a greeting. If you don’t smile enough, #WorldSmileDay is the perfect day to start.
There are many benefits of smiling:
- Improves mood
- Lowers blood pressure
- Relieves stress
- Betters relationships
- Boosts the immune system
- Relieves pain
- Increases life expectancy
Who wouldn’t want all those benefits? All it takes is smiling. And the more often, the better!
HOW TO OBSERVE #WorldSmileDay
On World Smile Day, people worldwide are encouraged to do an act of kindness and make one person smile. Each year the Harvey Ball World Smile Foundation holds special events on World Smile Day. The day is wildly popular in Worcester, MA, the birthplace of the yellow smiley face.
Through the years, the foundation hosted numerous unique events including, the world’s largest human Smiley face, balloon releases, choral performances, sidewalk chalk activities, college concerts, circus performers, and pie-eating contests.
If you don’t live in Worcester, you can organize your own World Smile Day event. You can celebrate the day in other ways, too.
- Do a random act of kindness for someone.
- Use a smiley face emoji on every text you send.
- Spread cheer by handing out smiley face stickers.
- Give a smile to everyone you come across.
- Tell someone a funny joke.
- Play happy songs like “Happy” by Pharrell Williams or “Don’t Worry Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin.
Take a selfie of your own smile and share it on social media with #WorldSmileDay. And whatever you do, have a nice day!
WORLD SMILE DAY HISTORY
In 1963, Harvey Ball created the familiar yellow smiley face. A commercial artist from Massachusetts, Harvey Ball, created the smiley face design for a State Mutual Life Insurance company campaign. Ball aimed to spread goodwill and cheer throughout the world with his smiley face. Through the years, Ball became concerned his image was becoming too commercialized. In doing so, the original intent of the smiley face was getting lost. However, Ball never copyrighted the design.
To bring back the original meaning of his smiley face, Ball declared the first Friday of October annually would be dedicated to smiles. He called it World Smile Day. Ball died in 2001, and shortly afterward, the Harvey Ball World Smile Foundation was founded. Since then, the foundation has served as the official sponsor of the happy observance.
