International Day of Happiness – A Reminder of Mankind’s Eternal Pursuit

On the 20th of March this year the world will once again celebrate the International Day of Happiness, a great event which seeks to unite the world and tackle problems which so many of us face. This is an event which so many businesses get behind from social media companies, retailers, sports clubs and international money transfer apps to name just a few. These companies look to celebrate the day by pledging improvements for employees as well as using events to spread awareness around the world.

Let’s take a look at what the origins of this day are, what it seeks to achieve and whether or not this positive idea actually brings about change.

Origins of This Day

Established by the United Nations General Assembly back in 2012, this is a day which aims to remind people around the world of the importance of happiness. Additionally there are goals laid out by the UN, which seek to tackle issues which globally have the power to cause great unhappiness.

Objectives of The Occasion

Three years after its origins, the UN went a step further to make this day more important, and laid out 17 Sustainable Develop Goals which sought to improve people’s lives. The crux of these goals are to eradicate poverty, greatly reduce inequality and to make a combined effort to protect the health of the planet.

These are the goals, aims and objectives which the UN is looking to encourage on this important day of joy, happiness and fulfillment:

• Do things that makes you happy
• Tell Everyone
• Participate in and celebrate the World Happiness Contest
• Give and spread happiness to others
• To celebrate
• Share the things that make you happy on social media
• Promote the resolution
• We will advance the United Nations global goals for sustainable development
• Enjoy nature
• Adopt hedonism

And the missions which it has set out:

• Happiness as a fundamental human right and goal for all
• Happiness as a universal aspiration in the lives of all
• Happiness as a way of living, being, and serving communities and society
• Happiness as a north star for individuals, communities, governments, and society.
• Happiness path toward achieving the sustainable development goals
• Happiness as a “new paradigm’ for human development
• Worldwide celebration of the international day of happiness that is democratic, diverse, organic, and inclusive

Celebrating International Day of Happiness

In its first 2 to 3 years this day was widely received in the western world predominantly, where we saw many examples of schools and businesses look to encourage improved happiness and wellbeing. Since the UN introduced clear goals and objectives which the day sets out to achieve however, there has been a far broader uptake of interest in special day in the calendar.

This quote from USA Today is a great window into just how widely this day is celebrated and what it actually means for those involved:

“International Day of Happiness has struck a chord. There were celebrations all over the world: meditation in Bhutan, happy flash mobs in London, laughter yoga in Hong Kong and screenings of the film Happy in coffee shops all over the world. The day had a trending hashtag on twitter and its own website dayofhappiness.net” 

Celebrating Your Own Way

This day can be celebrated in any way which you choose, some look to fundraise for those in need, others aim to reach out to those who are lonely or isolated, many take time out to think of what happiness truly means and so many more share their joy wide and far and encourage others to do the same.

Given the restrictions which so many of us have faced in recent years, there is no doubt that this International Day of Happiness is the perfect opportunity to show our resilience and faith in the human spirit, as we aim to make the world a happier place.

Author Bio:

Tricia Lee is a contributing writer at Sparkwebs, a Digital Marketing

Agency. When she’s not writing, she loves to travel, dance, and read

non-fiction.