1 August 2010: Friendship Day-the celebration of a beautiful relationship

From Sources: Eugene Moodubelle
Bellevision Media Network

 

Sunday, 1 August 2010: Friendship is one of the most beautiful relationships that has evolved since the beginning of the human race. Other than immediate blood relations, friends are the most valued persons in ones life. Friendship usuallydevelops with  the same age agroups with more or less identical nature and interests. Friends usually spend whatever time they find in pursuing their common interests, confiding in each other about their joys and sorrows and coming to the help of those who are in need emotionally or otherwise. It is but natural that one particular day in a year has been set aside to celebrate this beautiful relationship.

The first Sunday in the month of August has been designated as the Friendship Day. This year, Sunday being on 1 August, 2010, the first day of the month, Friendship Day is being celebrated throughout the world on 1 August.  

The tradition of celebrating Friendship Day began in 1935 when the US Congress decided to dedicate a day in the honour of friends. It is not known exactly what were the reasons that went into the making of this day. However in retrospect, it may be said that the  the world scenario of those times had something to do with this idea of friendship Day. With the devastating effects of the First World War still showing and increasing hostilities, mistrust and hatred between countries providing the perfect conditions for another imminent war, there was a greater need for friendship and understanding not only among nations but also among individuals.

Hence, the US Congress decided to designate the first Sunday of the month of August as Friendship Day and with a formal proclamation in 1935, officially declared the occasion a holiday dedicated in the honour of friends and friendship. Since then, celebration of National Friendship Day became an annual event. The lofty idea of honoring the beautiful relationship of friendship caught on with the people, particularly the youngsters all over the country, and in no time Friendship Day became a highly popular festival. 

This beautiful idea of celebrating Friendship Day was joyfully accepted by several other countries across the world. Today, many countries including India, celebrate the first Sunday of August as Friendship Day every year. Celebrating Friendship Day in a traditional manner, people meet their friends and exchange cards and flowers to honour their friends. Lot many social and cultural organizations too celebrate the occasion and mark Friendship Day by hosting programmes and get together.

 

It is interesting to note how some associations observe Friendship Day with different customs, by giving the festival different names and holding it in times unlike that of the actual festival. For example, National Friendship Day is held on the first Sunday in August; Women’s Friendship Day is on the third Sunday in August; the third week of May is the Old Friends, New Friends Week and the whole of February is designated as the International Friendship Month.

These days, Friendship Day is celebrated with a lot of fanfare and great expenses. Just as in US and several other countries, the festival has been greatly commercialized. 

Days before the festival, card and gift companies launch an extensive campaign to lure people especially the young ones into buying cards and gift items for their friends. The popular customs of Friendship Day include handing over roses, especially the pink and yellow ones, tying of ribbons of various colours and even writing messages on white dresses and even on hands and arms. This has been a common practice among college students in urban areas such as Mumbai. The day is observed with great exhilaration and merriment, with friends throwing and attending parties.

Since its inception in 1935, Friendship Day and Friendship Day celebrations have come a long way. However, though the ways of celebration of the day have changed, the basic idea behind the occasion remains the same. Friendship Day remains the time when you acknowledge your friends’ contribution in your life, express love  and affection for them, cherish their presence in your life and pay them a tribute. 

Bellevision wishes a Happy Friendship Day to all our esteemed readers and well-wishers who are our valued friends.