Friendship Day, a day reserved annually to celebrate friendships, is seeing a split in observance. Earlier, Friendship Day was celebrated on the first Sunday of August. This year, the day falls on August 7. However, in 2011, the United Nations declared July 30 as International Friendship Day. India, however, has continued to observe Friendship Day on the first Sunday of August.

Every year in August, people all across the world celebrate Friendship Day, a day to honour friendship. As such, people usually enjoy spending the day with their friends, gifting each other cards and wristbands to mark their friendship bonds, going out for a friendly date, watching a movie, etc.

Friendship Day first came to being when Joyce Clyde Hall first proposed the day in 1958 in Paraguay. Over the years, Hallmark cards were what made Friendship Day popular. Of late, the celebration of Friendship Day has lost much of its attraction in the United States. Many consider Friendship Day celebrations a gimmick to sell greetings cards. A bulk of Asian countries, however, do continue to celebrate the day of friendship.

 In 1958, the World Friendship Crusade (an international civil organization) requested the United Nations to recognise July 30 as World Friendship Day. The day was declared the International Day of Friendship by the UN General Assembly in 2011, and all member nations were encouraged to observe it.

In 1998, in honour of Friendship Day, Nane Annan named ‘Winnie the Pooh’ — the friendly bear was seen with Christopher Robin — as the world’s ambassador of friendship at the United Nations.

As previously indicated, India still observes it on the first Sunday in August. Pop culture and Bollywood references have made the day extremely popular among the youth. 

Also Read: Friendship Day: Things not to say when you catch up with an old friend

Friendship day celebrations at the local, national, and international levels frequently vary, but this holiday is one of the most enjoyable days to bring many communities together. The United Nations claims that friendship deals with the underlying issues that have the ability to undermine societal harmony and peace between people and between nations.

The purpose of the day is to promote goodwill between nations, people, cultures, and individuals as a means of bridging cultural gaps and igniting peace initiatives. The day is celebrated to emphasise unity in diversity and improve intercultural understanding.