What is World Laughter Day
It was Dr. Madan Kataria who was the main person behind announcing to the world, the celebration of world laughter day. He is a promoter of laughter yoga and practices and preaches it.
So, gradually this practice turned into something better for people to look away from their stressful lives and give a thought to happiness.
The main idea behind laughter day is to let go off the tension, worries, stress, ego bundles and live a life that is free of these inner worries.
The first Sunday of May, every year is declared the world laughter day and is celebrated worldwide. People across the globe, from various laughter clubs join large groups of people, come together for a change, for trying something new and laugh out loud for no reason. It helps them de-stress and reduce their tensions at least for some time.
World Laughter Day 2018
Sunday, the 6th of May 2018 will be celebrated as World Laughter day. The day is celebrated to uphold Dr. Kataria’s views of the world. It is truly believed that there is actually nothing permanent in this world.
All good things have to come to an end and that’s how the world operates. So, in this world that is filled with uncertainty, why do we carry baggage of hatredness, jealousy, negative emotions for one another?
The day will be celebrated to mark new beginnings in individuals. The day will be celebrated to bring about a new change, a new transformation.
Laughter clubs all over the globe will come together and live the day with positive images, encourage people to worry less, to laugh more, to pass off anger with a bout of happiness, remedies to reduce stress by increasing the ‘happy hormones’ in our body.
The day will also see many people passing on the message through rallies and demonstrations. It is a special day that creates light moments for people, brings in light hearted celebrations, fills the air with good cheer and laughter and fades out ugliness and darkness.
There will be additions of laughter clubs with every passing year. The success of the day will be marked by the increasing number of participants in laughter clubs and the need to find more groups to cheer and laugh out loud.
World Laughter Day Celebration
It was indeed a historic moment on the first Sunday of May 1998 when Dr. Kataria officially started the celebration of world laughter day for the very first time.
What started off as a laughing bout eventually became a world recognized movement. Soon, everyone was talking about joining laughter clubs and spreading the message of wellness through laughter.
The celebrations begin with talks of importance of laughter in our lives. The day stresses the importance of joy and laughter in every individual’s life. Talks, debates, discussions and most importantly, laughter sessions are part of the day’s celebrations.
The talks and debates revolve around the central theme of the day-spreading happiness in all directions. The importance of happiness is stressed upon matter of fact.
Many laughter clubs organize comedy shows so that people come from various walks of life and exhibit their talents in front of people. Many stage shows share wonderful jokes from everyday life that make people laugh to the core and enjoy every moment of life.
People also form their own groups in parks and public places, sit in groups and big circles and share jokes one by one. The day is well spent by spreading messages of joy and well-being.
Some people share real life experiences that have a comic timing and a comic bent in them. People do not hesitate to share such experiences in front of a like-minded crowd. In fact they love the experiences shared and enjoy every bit of it.
The idea is to create a light hearted feel of past experiences and incidents. For example, if a person thinks he acted stupidly in a situation and shares it in front of a gathering, he is making others laugh at the incident, not at him.
The idea is to make people enjoy the experience the person had in the incident. It is not to ridicule oneself or portray oneself as stupid. So, in this manner the celebrations aim at bringing joy and warmth among each other.
World laughter day is also celebrated at many parts of the world by screening special shows of comic movies and movies that have good share of comedy in them. Messages of goodwill and love for each other are shared.
Not every day do people come together to catch up with old friends and acquaintances and have light moments with each other. These special moments created are definitely to be cherished for a very long time.
Funny videos are part of world laughter day celebrations. The day is incomplete without carrying out activities related to things that are ‘funny’, ‘filled with joy’, ‘happiness’ and ‘contentment’.
There are many more ways in which the day is celebrated. Enthusiasm to spend a day without worrying about daily chores that are stressful and monotonous and bringing in a much needed change to life is the central theme of the celebrations on world laughter day.
Importance & Significance of World Laughter Day
Life is definitely uncertain. We do not know what awaits us tomorrow. Being happy on a single day on account of world laughter day does not delete a person’s worries and does not reduce a person’s responsibilities.
It is just an occasion to think otherwise, to tell our minds that in spite of all the worries in the world, we can still be happy.
We can be content with whatever God has provided us. We can still experience joy in life amidst all the pain that we go through in life.
The importance and significance of world laughter day is marked with these important aspects
A person who is not too happy with himself, sounding disturbed or depressed should be motivated. Laughter clubs make this possible.
When everyone around is laughing, the depressed person tends to forget his worries for some time and may sound cheerful and become bright gradually.
Laughter scientifically provides a very good exercise for our facial muscles. It is also known to be the best stress buster and relives mental tension effectively.
We carry baggage of ego with many people in our lives. It could be with our neighbors for no big reason. On an occasion like world laughter day, we may be provoked and influenced to change our attitude towards the person.
We may forget our past experiences with them and turn our minds towards being fair to them. So, the day helps us bridge gaps with many people and become cordial and maintain good terms with them.
The best messages that we receive on world laughter day are about having a positive approach towards life. All things in life are short and temporary. We may be young and energetic today, but with the passage of time, the radiance of youth is definitely going to fade away.
We become old as time passes. So, the idea is to live life to the fullest and enjoy every moment of life. These messages of optimism are spread and filled in people’s hearts by celebrating occasions such as ‘world laughter day’.
World Laughter Day Quotes
Some inspiring quotes on world laughter day are:
- “ Life should be like flowing water, it should emit happiness and joy in all directions”.
- “ A joker may have a life full of distress, yet he is so captivated in making people happy”.
- “World laughter day is a day to begin new beginnings with peace and contentment”.
- “Laughter sheds your worries, improves your happiness quotient”.
- “ World laughter day is not about laughing with each other, it is about laughing at one’s own shortcomings and enjoying it too”.
World laughter day Slogans
- “ Beat stress and tension on this world laughter day”.
- “ Laughter and Joy do not cost you anything, buy them for free within yourself”.
- “Spread happiness on world laughter day, it does not cost you a penny to do it”.
- “ Keep smiling, face life with positivity, happiness is just round the corner”.
- “World laughter day- laugh, make merry, cheer up and spread joy”.
Benefits of laughing
It releases endorphins: The body’s natural pain killing hormone, Endorphins help in curing any type of chronic pain and makes us feel good all over. DO you have a headache?
Great time to read some funny pages from your daily newspaper and feel your pain fading away as you dip down in the sea of laughter.
It makes us feel better if we are angry: Laughing decreases the stress hormones and increases the level of well-being hormones such as endorphins and dopamine.
Ever watched the Indian movie Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.? The lead Doctor in that movie used to laugh whenever he felt angry! SO, what are you waiting for? Take some inspiration from that guy and get working!
It burns calories: You need not hit the gym! Just laugh and you’ll burn a lot of calories.It helps you have an abs workout as whenever you laugh, your muscles present in the stomach expand and contract, just the way you do exercises to tone up your abs.
Want a toned tummy? Laugh your heart out! Fact: Laughing 10-20 minutes can burn up to 40 calories. That’s pretty much!
Protects the heart: To stay protected from various cardiovascular ailments, you got to laugh a lot. As laughing dilates the blood vessels and increases the blood flow in them, thereby reducing the risk of heart related disorders. It was first discovered by the researchers of University of Maryland Medical Center.
It was theorized by Dr. Michael Miller (From University of Maryland) and Dr. William Fry (University of Stanford), that beta-endorphin like compounds released by the hypothalamus activates the the endothelial surface to release Nitric Oxide or NO, which causes dilation of blood vessels. So, grab some funny TV series, sit on your couch and enjoy your laughter medicine!
It helps us live longer: Scientists have found that people who laugh more live longer. When you have a overall sense of well- being and a positive outlook towards life, you tend to live more than those people who have a negative outlook towards life and laugh less. Thus, Smile, Laugh and make your way to longer living!
Boosts the immune system: Laughing increases the amount of immune cells(T- Cells)and friendly antibodies in our body, over all boosting the immune system and its function.
Next time when you suffer from your seasonal cold or fever, just chuckle a bit or watch your favourite TV series, you’ll start feeling better in no time!
Helps us to relax: What can be better than laughing and feel relaxed for next 50-60 minutes? Yes you read it correct. Laughing for 10 minutes can make you feel relaxed for next 50- 60 minutes. It makes us forget our most of the problems, even if it is for a while.
So, how can I laugh and stay healthy?
Yes, that is a pretty obvious question for people who love to lead a strict life. They don’t like too much of jokes or laughter.
But hey, you live once! Laughing doesn’t hurt anything, rather it only makes you feel good. So, for the strict people out there who don’t know how to laugh well, here are some tips:
Hang out with people having an excellent sense of humor. They spread a lot of positivity, trust me!
Watch funny rib cracking TV Series, such as F.R.I.E.N.D.S., The Big Bang theory, How I met your mother.
Read the comic column of your local newspaper of any magazine. They too have many interesting stuffs out there!
So, Keep laughing, Keep spreading joy!
Conclusion
We all have a rechargeable battery inside us. We recharge it daily with lot of emotions that are part of our everyday life.
We may choose to fill it with anxiety, negative feelings, hurtful words, etc. Or, we may choose to make hearts around us happy with our soothing words, handle life in a gentle way and choose happiness over boredom.
Come, let us all be part of an important occasion like ‘world laughter day’, not just to laugh for a single day, but to transform our thinking and lead better and meaningful lives.
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