International Friendship day

International Friendship Day celebrations take place on the first Sunday of August every year. The tradition of dedicating a day in honor of friends began in US in 1935. Gradually the festival gained popularity and today Friendship Day is celebrated in a large number of countries.On this day people spend time with their friends and express love for them. The exchange of Friendship Day Gifts like flowers, cards and wrist bands is a popular tradition of this occasion.The United States Congress, in 1935, proclaimed the first Sunday of August as National Friendship Day.Since then, celebration of National Friendship Day became an annual event.Following the popularity and success of Friendship Day in US, several other countries adopted the tradition of dedicating a day to friends. Today, Friendship Day is enthusiastically celebrated by several countries across the world. In 1997, the United Nations named Winnie the Pooh as the world's Ambassador of Friendship. Many friends wish each other with exchange of gifts and cards on this day. "Friendship bands" are very popular in India and Nepal.With the advent of social networking sites, friendship day is also being celebrated online.The commercialization of the Friendship Day celebrations has led to some dismissing it as a "marketing gimmick".Philippine-American Friendship Day was designated by President Diosdado P. Macapagal to commemorate the liberation of the country by Filipino and American forces from Japanese occupation at the end of World War II.The Philippines was a United States territory from 1898 to 1941, when it was occupied by Japanese forces and again by Americans for a brief period after the war. The US recognized Philippine independence on July 4, 1946.Initially, the Independence Day of the Philippines (Araw ng Kalayaan) was observed on July 4. President Diosdado P. Macapagal moved it to June 12, the date in 1898 when President Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the country’s independence from ...