World Kindness Day: Take time to think of others on global holiday
Atlanta - Be kind to other people every day, but especially on Nov. 13 — which is known across the globe as World Kindness Day.
It’s an international holiday founded in 1998 to promote kindness throughout the world, according to National Today — one of many organizations that keeps track of national and global observation days.
The World Kindness Movement (WKM) founded the holiday in 1998. The year prior, groups of institutions and associations that prioritized spreading kindness in the world met for a convention in Tokyo.
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A digital sign outside the Mayo Performing Arts Center which is closed due to the Coronavirus states, "Kindness, Love and Hope Spread Faster than Any Virus" as a way to continue to support the community. (Photo by Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images
These groups collaborated to form the WKM. The next year, they celebrated the inaugural World Kindness Day.
"World Kindness Day is here again, it is to highlight our good deeds in our communities, cities, and nations; it is for us to further focus on the positive power and common thread of kindness, which binds us together," the WKM said.
Since its inception, World Kindness Day has gained recognition in 28 countries. The WKM is still fighting to get the holiday recognized by the United Nations — which would elevate it to the status shared by days like World Health Day, International Day of Peace and Human Rights Day.
But as that battle rages on, WKM invites you to celebrate on your own by focusing on kindness in your daily life.
Donate blood to a local blood bank. Volunteer your time to help others. Give old clothes to a charity. Or just hold the door open for the person trailing behind you.
Kindness can be contagious and you could inspire the person you help to do the same down the road.
This story was reported from Atlanta.