Friendship is a bond that brings people together, regardless of their differences. It is a relationship that involves mutual respect, trust, and affection. Friendships have been celebrated across cultures and continents for centuries, with different countries and regions having their own special days to honor and appreciate the friends in their lives. In India, Friendship Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of August, while International Friendship Day is observed on July 30th every year. In this article, we will explore the importance of friendship, its benefits, and why it is worth celebrating on Friendship Day.
Table of Contents
Why Friendship is Important:
1. Emotional Support
One of the most important reasons why friendship is important is because it provides emotional support. Life can be challenging, and it’s not always easy to navigate the ups and downs on our own. Friends are there to listen, to offer a shoulder to cry on and to provide encouragement and motivation when we need it most. Having a strong support system of friends can help us cope with stress, anxiety, and depression, and can even improve our overall mental health.
2. Sense Of Belonging
Humans are social creatures, and we thrive on connections with others. Friendship gives us a sense of belonging and helps us feel like we are part of something bigger than ourselves. When we have friends who accept us for who we are, we feel seen, heard, and understood, and that can be incredibly empowering. A strong network of friends can help us build our confidence, boost our self-esteem, and improve our sense of well-being.
3. Shared Experiences
Friendship is also important because it allows us to share experiences with others. Whether it’s traveling to a new place, trying a new hobby, or just hanging out and watching a movie, sharing experiences with friends can make them more meaningful and enjoyable. It also gives us a chance to learn from others and expand our perspectives, which can be beneficial in both our personal and professional lives.
4. Improved Health
Having strong friendships can also have a positive impact on our physical health. Studies have shown that people with strong social connections are less likely to experience chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease, and they may even live longer. This is because friendship can reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and improve our overall immune system function.
5. Personal Growth
Finally, friendship is important because it can help us grow as individuals. Friends can challenge us to be better, to try new things, and to push past our limits. They can also provide honest feedback and constructive criticism, which can be valuable in helping us improve ourselves. Through our friendships, we can learn more about who we are, what we value, and what we want from life.
Benefits of Celebrating Friendship Day:
1. Strengthen Relationships
Celebrating Friendship Day is a great way to strengthen the relationships we have with our friends. Whether it’s sending a thoughtful message or gift, organizing a get-together, or simply spending time together, celebrating Friendship Day can help us show our friends how much we appreciate them. It can also help us deepen our connections and create new memories together.
2. Spread Positivity
Friendship Day is also an opportunity to spread positivity and happiness. By celebrating our friendships, we can create a ripple effect of kindness and joy that can impact others around us. It can be a reminder to appreciate the people in our lives and to spread kindness wherever we go.
3. Create New Friendships
Finally, Friendship Day can be a chance to create new friendships. Whether it’s reaching out to someone new, joining a club or organization, or attending a social event, Friendship Day can provide opportunities to connect with others and expand our social circles. This can be particularly beneficial for people who are new to an area or who are looking to meet new people
How to Celebrate Friendship Day:
Now that we have explored the importance of friendship and the benefits of celebrating Friendship Day, let’s look at some ways to celebrate this special day.
- Send a Message or Gift:
One of the simplest ways to celebrate Friendship Day is by sending a thoughtful message or gift to your friends. This can be as simple as a text message, a phone call, or a card in the mail. You could also send a small gift, like a favorite snack or a book you think they would enjoy. The important thing is to show your friends that you are thinking of them and appreciate their presence in your life.
- Organize a Get-Together:
Another way to celebrate Friendship Day is by organizing a get-together with your friends. This could be a small gathering at your home, a picnic in the park, or a night out on the town. The key is to spend time together, catch up on each other’s lives, and create new memories. You could even plan a group activity, like a hike or a cooking class, to make the day even more special.
- Volunteer Together:
Another way to celebrate Friendship Day is by volunteering together. You could choose a cause that is meaningful to all of you, like animal welfare, environmentalism, or community service, and spend the day making a difference in your community. Volunteering together not only helps you give back to others, but it can also strengthen your bonds as friends and create a sense of purpose and fulfillment.
- Plan a Trip:
If you and your friends have been talking about taking a trip together, why not plan it for Friendship Day? This could be a weekend getaway to a nearby city, a camping trip in the mountains, or a beach vacation. The important thing is to spend time together in a new and exciting environment and to create new memories that you will cherish for years to come.
Conclusion:
Friendship is an essential part of human existence, and it is worth celebrating on Friendship Day. Whether it’s through sending a thoughtful message, organizing a get-together, volunteering together, or planning a trip, there are many ways to celebrate the friends in our lives. By celebrating our friendships, we not only strengthen our bonds with others but also reap the benefits of improved mental and physical health, personal growth, and a sense of belonging. So, let’s celebrate our friendships and spread positivity and kindness on Friendship Day and beyond.
We all know what I’m going to talk about. We’ve all been there and done that. Friendships are magical and are that one relationship that nobody wants to end and someone we get to choose.
Even if we do not talk today, we know how strong our bond is and how much support we’ll receive whenever we go back and ask for it.
We start making friends at school and some of us are still lucky to keep in touch. Thanks to Social Networks our friends have profiles to check in real-time what they are currently up to or where they live now.
Slambook Before Facebook
We had Slam Books instead of Facebook and as crappy as this may sound, we had no cell phones and tablets to keep in touch. The only tweets that existed in this friendship were the ones we shared directly when we met.
i thank god everyday for taylor swift and selena gomez’s friendship pic.twitter.com/vgUfme3oTw
— shelley (@selgofetish) November 6, 2020
Having been born in India and being a 90s kid, I grew up thinking Ek ladka aur ladki Kabhi dost nahi ho sakte Prem! and almost half of the country including me took it seriously. I used to find it weird to talk to girls and still do sometimes.
I could only open up in college where SRK introduced a new concept in India called Friendships Day. This was celebrated earlier but not at the current level. Friendship Day date comes every year on the first Sunday of August.
We could now use friendship bands to be friends with anyone and girls were open to it. It comes along with other days like rose day, teddy day, chocolate day, etc. A lot of people use friendship day as a second valentines Day in order to get things started.
We took it to the next level by using markers and writing our names on each other’s hands, faces, and shirts. We had no clue what privacy was and if our information was going to be stolen to show ads later to me.
All that mattered was a time for us to meet either at college or somewhere we could gather and take off to have some fun. We weren’t aware we were creating memories and obviously, nobody carried cameras until it was a special family occasion.
Some friendships are timeless. My all time best pairs 💙💕💛💛 #TayNew #AlArm pic.twitter.com/14bRVeZaUH
— Preen 🏳️🌈👻 (@PreenSunHin) November 6, 2020
With every phase of life, the friends kept changing and got tagged as school friends, college friends, and now the new phase work friends or acquaintances as we call them. With different companies, the friends were tagged with the company names or department names too.
I have a group of friends that do not belong to any of the tags and we stick around together since childhood. They are the best of all the lots and I got in accidentally. As funny as it may sound, we used to call ourselves scorpions and some of us still do.
We’ve played together, got drunk together, slept over, celebrated Christmas, new years, and done a lot more. And this went on great till we all got married. You know what I mean :D. Three of them accompanied me to the place of the best men for my wedding.
Small-time meetings, family get-togethers, and outings are what still keep us alive. And no matter how this goes, we all know we’ll have each other’s back because we’re that lucky.
They all still are a part of our lives and that makes them more special. I still happen to meet some of them without any plans and by accident and we share the same bond, which is the power of friendships. These are the people with no strings attached.
We know they won’t feel bad or they will still stand up for us when we need them the most. Even our cousins have been our friends for a major part of our lives. We’ve shared with them the family secrets that we do not share with anyone otherwise.
Friendship is also how I and my wife met and got along well as soulmates. She has been around for a long time now and is also the mother of my kid and my wife.
I’ve tagged her as my best friend because a good friend knows all your best stories but best friends have lived them with you. We became friends early on and figured there was more to it. This is also how a lot of friendships in the world are converted to marriages.
My wife is equally filmy as me so we matched well because then SRK taught us Pyaar Dosti hai and that the purpose of our life on this planet was to fall in love one day.
Somewhere we all love our friends and do not want it to end ever. Life is already short and like Ajay Devgn said agar dost banake kaam ho Sakta hai Patrick, toh Dushman kyu banana?
We currently get a lot of work done because of this bond called friendship and we know the friction won’t be the same otherwise. Somewhere sometime in the future, you might end up working with your school buddy co-incidentally and that is where this friendship will pay off.
thinking about their friendship pic.twitter.com/KNNSzAko09
— beetlejuice (@WE4SLEYFlLMS) November 5, 2020
I can go on and on about friendships and the people in it. But this is one feeling that doesn’t have to be expressed. Technology has only added to the concept to make it stronger.
Facebook and Whatsapp have ensured we come closer to each other and stay in touch. The only way we could create and share memories was to buy a camera and a roll along with it. Look how far we’ve come to creating memories and storing them in clouds and sharing them whenever we want to.
The album storage place in our homes is no more needed. We can even set notifications to remind us when to check out those pictures and share them. Google Photos for Android takes it to another level by reminding you of the pictures of your birthdays and anniversaries and even presenting you with a ready-made collage or an animated movie. Technology with emotions makes an excellent combination.
Friendship Day 2020 had the curse of coronavirus around and hence we weren’t able to celebrate it as much as we could. We all look forward to friendship day 2023 on 1st August.
Friendships are magical and there is so much to talk about friends and the bond it brings along here’s wishing you all a very happy friendship day. May the relationship between you all long forever.
