World Laughter Day
Next: May 2, 2027
Laugh first, find the reason later.
The story
Where it comes from
World Laughter Day was created in 1998 by Dr Madan Kataria, a doctor in Mumbai, and is held on the first Sunday of May. On 13 March 1995 he had started the first laughter club in a Mumbai park, with just five people. He found that laughter does not need jokes, because the body gains from laughing for no reason much as it does from laughing at something funny, and he paired it with deep yogic breathing. The practice became Laughter Yoga, and the clubs spread around the world.
How it's celebrated
Laughter club members, their families and friends gather in parks, squares and halls to laugh together for no reason at all; in India, members often walk through the streets with banners. Anyone can join in. Find a club session nearby, or call a friend and see who cracks first. It is hard to stay grumpy when a whole room is laughing.
Did you know
- The first World Laughter Day gathering, in Mumbai, brought together about twelve thousand laughter club members.
- In 2001 the film-maker Mira Nair made a short documentary about the movement, The Laughing Club of India.
- The day is now marked in more than 100 countries.
Coming up next
- World Press Freedom Day · May 3, 2027
- International Firefighters' Day · May 4, 2027
- Children's Day (Korea and Japan) · May 5, 2027
- International Day of the Midwife · May 5, 2027
- The Penny Black, the First Postage Stamp · May 6, 2027
- World Accordion Day · May 6, 2027