World Smile Day: The Date, The History And How To Mark It

World Smile Day

World Smile Day is the first Friday in October. It exists because the man who drew the smiley face was unhappy about what happened to it.

Here is the history, which is genuinely good, and a list of ways to mark the day that do not involve buying anything yellow.

Send a smile in an envelope

Blank inside, designed in house, posted first class.

Happy Halloween Pumpkin Smile Greetings Card Happy Halloween Pumpkin Smile Greetings Card £3.91

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The history

  • In 1963 the American commercial artist Harvey Ball designed the smiley face for a Massachusetts insurance company trying to lift staff morale.
  • The job took him about ten minutes and he was paid roughly forty five dollars.
  • He never trademarked it, so he earned nothing further as it spread across the world.
  • By the 1990s the symbol had been commercialised so thoroughly that Ball felt its original meaning was lost.
  • In 1999 he created World Smile Day, on the first Friday of October, to return the smiley to its point: one act of kindness, one smile.
  • Ball died in 2001. The Harvey Ball World Smile Foundation continues to run the day.

Simple ways to mark it

  • Do one kind thing for one person, which is the entire official instruction.
  • Post a card to someone who never gets post.
  • Tell a colleague specifically what they did well this week.
  • Ring the relative who always answers on the first ring.
  • Smile at the people you walk past on your way to work. Cheap and surprisingly effective.
  • Pay for the coffee behind you and leave before it is noticed.

In a school or workplace

  • Run a compliments board where people post notes about each other.
  • Ask each person to send one thank you message to someone outside the team.
  • Have children draw smiley cards for someone in the community.
  • Collect for a local cause rather than making it a dress-up day.
  • Keep it low-key. Enforced fun is the enemy of the thing.

What to write in a World Smile Day card

  • Just checking in to make you smile. That is the whole message.
  • One card, no occasion, because you deserve some post.
  • Thanks for being the person who makes everyone else's day easier.
  • Sending a smile in an envelope.
  • No reason at all. Just you.

Browse gifts to make someone smile

How to write it so it lands

  • The official instruction is one kind act for one person. Resist scaling it up.
  • A posted card is the version of a smile that lasts past Friday.

Where to shop next

Frequently asked questions

When is World Smile Day?

The first Friday in October each year.

Who invented the smiley face?

Harvey Ball, an American commercial artist, in 1963 for an insurance company. He was paid about forty five dollars and never trademarked it.

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