Yesterday, August seventh, was Friendship Day and National Sisters’ Day, which makes August a double threat for all of your favorite friendship fashion. This holiday began in the United States during the post World War I era and was officially declared a National Holiday in 1935, during the Great Depression. Since then, several other countries around the world have adopted the day as their own, retooling the celebration as an International Holiday recognized through much of Europe and Asia. In 1997, the United Nations even chose a Friendship Day mascot, naming lovable character Winnie the Pooh to the position of International Friendship Ambassador.
Although other holidays have sprung up in the U.S. and around the world surrounding the concepts of friendship and camaraderie, (like Old Friends Day in the third week of May and New Friends Week in February) the International Friendship Day remains the most celebrated across the globe. In some countries there are even parades, local get-togethers, and special coupons or lunch menus at restaurants.
To celebrate all of your friends, old and new, this month, the most prominent fashion statement is jewelry or shared accessory items with friendship insignia. For a walk down memory lane, there are several types of retro friendship jewelry in the traditional style of a two piece heart (each friends holds a single piece and they fit together to form a lasting symbol of the bonds of friendship.) Or if you’re planning to show a little skin, temporary tattoos are a great way to flaunt friendship pride.
Or if a modern approach is preferred, jewelry baring the Chinese symbol for friendship is always in fashion, especially when mixed with other accessories branded with Chinese calligraphy or tattoo flash art elements.
In the wake of a recession and the aftermath of times of war, we find ourselves today in a similar position to the era in which Friendship day was first established, and the message itself rings just as true and retains the same importance in our modern world as it did back then, so many decades ago.
