It's Smile Day 2014 and everyone is being encouraged to light up the world by flashing a big smile!
Come one, come all! The World Smile Day is here. The happiest celebration that is held every first Friday of October is expected to be joined by everyone who wants to bring smiles to other people.
The World Smile Day - a feast that was coined and initiated by Harvey Ball - is turning 15 this year.
Ball, who is a commercial artist from Worcester, Massachusetts, came up with the first yellow Smiley Face in 1963 but it was only in the year 1999 when the said annual feast was first celebrated and established, Panorama.am has learned.
Ball was reportedly paid $45 for his design, which took him only 10 minutes to create.
Interestingly, Ball never applied for a trademark or copyright for the smiley face character.
The Smiley Face creator may have died in 2001, but his legacy of bringing happiness to the world lives on.
The "Harvey Ball World Smile Foundation" was created in honor of his name, memory and his effort to make the world beam.
The slogan of the said foundation is "improving this world, one smile at a time" and it has been the annual theme of the Smile Day celebrations since its conception, reported Examiner.
Ball's son, Charles, was once quoted saying, "father created World Smile Day to remind people to be positive and optimistic. He believed Smiley connected the world to practice kindness, and share a smile. It is an icon that translates through languages and cultures, and is world renowned. Smiley should be celebrated on this important 50th anniversary."
The popular yellow Smiley Face is said to be a stylized representation of a beaming human face.
The icon is not actually limited to the color yellow since many other colors have been used as well.
The Smiley Face is composed of a circle or sphere with two black dots representing the eyes and a half circle representing the mouth.
"Smiley" is commonly used as the generic term to refer to emoticons.
In celebration of Smile Day 2014, Worcester Historical Museum Executive Director Bill Wallace said, "To celebrate Smiley, we are inviting our guests to dress in '60s era clothing. Smiley is 50 this year, and Worcester and the world will honor this international icon. By hosting the Harvey Ball, we are fulfilling Harvey's dream to help the whole world share a smile."
Additionally, Corner Bakery Cafe has pledged that it will be giving away free Smiley Face mugs in line with the Smile Day 2014 celebrations. The said cafe will also provide discounted coffee refills for the entire year to the first 50 guests in line.
Everyone is also encouraged to spread the World Smile Day message of "doing an act of kindness" to others.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
