Friendship Day Date in the current year: August 4, 2024

The first person to propose celebration of Friendship Day was Joyce Hall, the founder of Hallmark Cards, in 1919. He suggested that people celebrate their friendships on August 2 by sending each other greeting cards. Such a date was chosen because it fell amidst a large gap between holiday celebrations.

Greeting card National Association actively promoted Friendship Day during the 1920s, but consumers were reluctant to celebrate it as it was too obviously a commercial trick to send more greeting cards. By 1940s, the holiday had effectively died out in the US.

However, the development of social media has revived the interest in Friendship Day. The holiday is particularly popular in some Asian countries (Malaysia, Bangladesh, and India) and parts of South America. On the occasion, friends exchange greeting cards, gifts and friendship bands.

While some countries celebrate Friendship Day in the beginning of August, there also is International Day of Friendship established by the United Nations in 2011. Member states observe it on July 30 each year.