Spirit Day Date in the current year: October 17, 2024

Spirit Day was initiated by Canadian teenager Brittany McMillian who worked for GLAAD. The first observance took place on October 20, 2010. It has been held every year since; the tradition of observing Spirit Day in the third Thursday in October was established in 2013. All people are encouraged to wear purple to show their support for LGBT youth (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender).

Purple was chosen to be the color of the campaign since it's one of the colors of the LGBT flag. Many websites also show their support of Spirit Day by adding a prominent purple shade to their design.

The campaign received great support from Hollywood celebrities. The very first 2010 campaign was supported by Ellen DeGeneres, Hilary Clinton and the cast of Glee. The list of supporting stars has expanded over the next years. People can show their support of LGBT youth by wearing a purple ribbon or purple clothes or adding a purple hue to their Facebook and Twitter photos.