Friendship Day was first proposed in 1930 by Joyce Hall, the founder of Hallmark Cards. The idea was further promoted by the greeting card American National Association, but was not taken in a healthy spirit as it reflected the commercial gimmick to promote the greeting cards in name of Friendship Day. The original date of celebration was 2 August, though it has since been moved to 7 August due to de-synchronisation in the United States.
The Idea of a Global Friendship Day was first proposed on 20 July 1958 by Dr.
Ramon Artemio Bracho during a dinner with friends in Puerto Pinasco, a town on the River Paraguay about 200 miles (320 km) north of Asuncion, Paraguay. During said meeting, the World Friendship Crusade was born. The World Friendship Crusade is a foundation that promotes friendship and fellowship among all human beings, regardless of race, colour or religion. Since then, 30 July has been fervently celebrated as Friendship Day in Paraguay every year and has also been adopted by several other countries.
To honour Friendship Day, in 1998, Nane Annan named Winnie the Pooh the world's Ambassador of Friendship at the United Nations. The event was co-sponsored by the U.N. Department of Public Information and Disney Enterprises, co-hosted by Kathy
Lee Gifford.
The World Friendship Crusade lobbied the United Nations for several years to recognize 30 July as World Friendship Day; Finally, in 2011, the General Assembly of the United Nations decided to designate 30 July as the International Day of Friendship and proceeded to invite all the Member States to observe the International Day of Friendship per the culture and customs of their local, national and regional communities, including through education and public awareness-raising activities.
On this day English option of Mahe Co-operative College of Teachers Education, Mahe celebrated the day with a talk on the day highlighting the significant features of the day and also about the importance of having friends in every ones life.
