{{Short description|Unofficial observance; May 10}} '''World Laughter Day''' was established in 1998 and the first celebration was on 10 May 1998, in Mumbai, India, arranged by Dr. Madan Kataria, founder of the worldwide Laughter Yoga movement.<ref name="HuffPost">{{cite web|last1=Nerenberg|first1=Albert|title=World Laughter Day: How a Laughing Fit Sparked an International Movement|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/albert-nerenberg/world-laughter-day_b_3179514.html|website=Huffingtonpost.com|date=May 2013|accessdate=July 24, 2015}}</ref>
The day is now celebrated on the first Sunday of May worldwide.<ref name=HuffPost /><ref name="The National">{{cite web|last1=Ritman|first1=Alex|title=It's World Laughter Day|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/wellbeing/it-s-world-laughter-day-1.401023/|website=The National|access-date=July 24, 2015|date=May 6, 2012}}</ref>
==History==
World Laughter Day was created in 1998 by Dr. Madan Kataria, founder of the worldwide Laughter Yoga movement.<ref name=HuffPost /> 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.<ref name=HuffPost /><ref>{{cite web|last1=Grinnell|first1=Renee|title=Facial Feedback Hypothesis|url=http://psychcentral.com/encyclopedia/2009/facial-feedback-hypothesis/|website=psychcentral.com|accessdate=July 24, 2015|archive-date=January 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111151442/http://psychcentral.com/encyclopedia/2009/facial-feedback-hypothesis/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The celebration of World Laughter Day is a positive manifestation for world peace and is intended to build up a global consciousness of brotherhood and friendship through laughter.<ref name="The National"/> It is most often celebrated by gatherings of people in public places with the sole purpose of laughing.<ref name=HuffPost /> Its popularity has grown exponentially {{When|date=November 2014}} with that of the Laughter Yoga movement now counting thousands of Laughter Clubs in more than 115 countries. And now it is celebrated worldwide.
==References== <references/>
==External links== *[https://www.worldlaughterday.com/ Official World Laughter Day Website] *[https://laughteryoga.org/world-laughter-day/ LaughterYoga.org page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250101055519/https://www.laughteryoga.org/world-laughter-day/ |date=2025-01-01 }}
Category:May observances Category:Unofficial observances Category:1998 establishments in Maharashtra Category:Recurring events established in 1998 Category:Laughter