National Hugging Day

National Hugging Day
Self-portrait with Her Daughter by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, 1789
Also called National Hug Day, International Hug Day
Observed by United States
Type Secular
Celebrations Offer hugs
Date January 21
Next time 21 January 2019 (2019-01-21)
Frequency annual

National Hugging Day is an annual event dedicated to hugging. It was created by Kevin Zaborney [1][2] and occurs annually on January 21 The day was first celebrated on January 21, 1986 in Clio, Michigan, USA.[3] The holiday is also observed in many other countries.[4][5] The idea of National Hug Day is to encourage everyone to hug family and friends more often.[1] Zaborney cautions to ask first if one is unsure of the response.

History

Kevin Zaborney is credited with coming up with the idea of National Hugging Day in 1986. It was included in Chase's Calendar of Events; Zaborney's friend at the time was the granddaughter of the proprietors of the publication. He chose January 21st as it fell between the Christmas and New Year's Holidays and Valentine's Day and birthdays when he found people are generally in low spirits.[1] Zaborney considered that "American society is embarrassed to show feelings in public" and hoped that a National Hugging Day would change that,[1] although he thought that his idea would fail.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Kevin Zaborney creates National Hug Day". People.com. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  2. 1 2 "National Hugging Day – One Pastor's Ingenious Idea". christianpost.com. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
  3. ↑ Zaborney, Kevin. "Official National Hug Day Website". nationalhuggingday.com. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
  4. ↑ Woods, Tyler. "Today Is National Hug Day Which Means Good Health". emaxhealth.com. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
  5. ↑ "What is National Hug Day?". ibtimes.com. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
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