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When is World Kindness Day celebrated?
The date of the holiday is 13 November, in 2022 World Kindness Day will be celebrated on all continents. Why this date was chosen is discussed below.
history of the holiday
It all started in 1997, when a volunteer World Kindness Movement was created in Japan, which has no political or religious affiliation, as the activists themselves emphasize. Initially, it included only representatives of the countries of the Pacific region, but later the association significantly expanded its geography. One year later, 13 November, the first conference of the movement started in Tokyo. The day of its opening was chosen as the date of a new holiday – World Kindness Day.
What is the meaning of this day and the whole movement? As stated in the official declaration of the association of volunteers, “we will strive … to create a kinder and more compassionate world.” Doing good is not at all difficult, and the result will reward you a hundredfold, according to members of the World Kindness Movement. In general, good will save the world and unite peoples, because it is inherent in human nature by default and therefore available to everyone.
Holiday traditions
The holiday has its own symbol – an open heart. And on the Day of Kindness, it is customary to give flowers to people you meet – both acquaintances and those whom you see for the first time. Bouquets are different in each country, for example, in Singapore they give daisies and gerberas.
Today World Kindness Day is celebrated on all continents, in 28 countries. It is celebrated in Australia, Brazil, Canada, the USA, France, India, Italy, Japan, Nepal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Singapore, South Korea, the UAE, the UK, and every year the list of countries that have joined is replenished. Every two years, the Kindness Movement elects its International Council.
In Our Country, World Kindness Day was held in 2009. They celebrated it with a flash mob on Manezhnaya Square. Its participants, holding hands, formed a “ring of solidarity” around the World Clock Globe.
Kindness is the key to health
As psychologists assure, the manifestation of participation in one’s neighbor is not only about altruism. According to research, people who do good deeds get sick less, live longer, and at the same time feel their lives are more harmonious than those who often get angry.
In addition, kind people are easier to cope with stress and negative emotions, they are less likely to suffer from low self-esteem and connect with other people more easily (and you don’t have to be a psychologist to agree with this).
How to become kinder: five effective tips
- Learn to manage your anger. Remember: only you determine which emotion to “turn on” at the moment. Analysis helps to deal with anger. Ask yourself: what exactly am I feeling right now and why am I feeling this way. When you try to describe your state in a structured way, you involuntarily calm down, and the anger subsides.
- Develop empathy in yourself: try to understand how the other person feels in a given situation, what emotions he may be experiencing at the moment, try to put yourself in his place.
- Every evening, summarize the day positively: remember three people who helped you in some way, as well as three events that were pleasant for you and brought joy. Believe me, there is something like this in every day, over time you will learn to notice the good immediately and not dwell on the bad.
- Say compliments! A colleague came in a beautiful dress – tell her about it, it’s not at all difficult. Subordinates today, well done – praise, and the work will go more actively. The main thing is that your compliments are sincere – you should not tell people about the merits that you don’t really believe in, you need to praise what you really like. And do not forget about the kind words addressed to you, this is no less important. Remind yourself of your own strengths every day.
- Try to surround yourself with kind people. Of course, we all experience negativity from others at times. It will be useful to learn certain psychotechnics that will help you not to be charged with negative emotions from evil people. And those for whom a negative perception of everything and everyone is a habitual way of life, it is better to exclude them from their inner circle of communication if possible.