World Laughter Day 2020: History and Importance of this special day

History of World Laughter Day

World Laughter Day is observed on the first Sunday of May of every year. The very first Laughter Day was celebrated in the year 1998 on 10th May, in Mumbai and the man behind this revolutionary idea was Dr. Madan Kataria, founder of the world Laughter Yoga Movement in 1995. Dr. Kataria, a family doctor in India, was inspired to start the Laughter Yoga movement in part by the facial feedback hypothesis, which postulates that a person's facial expressions can have an effect on their emotions. The very first Laughter Day celebrated outside India, was in 2000 and was called the ‘HAPPY-DEMIC’, where more than ten thousand people gathered outside Town Hall Square in Copenhagen, Denmark. This event was recorded in The Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest gathering of people collected at a place only to laugh and to bond together. 

Celebrations on World Laughter Day

People from different walks of life celebrate World Laughter Day with great enthusiasm crossing all social, professional and personal barriers. It is most often celebrated by gatherings of people in public places with the sole purpose of laughing. Its popularity has grown exponentially with that of the Laughter Yoga movement now counting thousands of Laughter Clubs in more than 105 countries. In India, people carry a peace march with placards on laughter day. Some indulge in producing sounds like "HO, HO, HA, HA", to spread the contagious effects of laughter. Several entertainment programmes like dance and laughter challenges are performed.