World Laughter Day 2024: History, Importance, Benefits, Quiz

“When you laugh, you change and when you change the whole world changes around you”  -Dr. Madan Kataria

World Laughter Day is an annual celebration that takes place all over the world, to raise awareness about the many healing benefits of laughter. The event is celebrated on the first Sunday of May each year, and in 2024, it will be on May 5th. It was first launched by Dr. Madan Kataria, founder of the Laughter Yoga movement, in 1998, and has since grown into a worldwide phenomenon. Find out a deep overview of World Laughter Day 2024 here!

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History of World Laughter Day 2024

World Laughter Day was first celebrated in 1998 by Dr Madan Kataria. He was inspired to start the Laughter Yoga movement by the facial feedback hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, a person’s facial expressions can have a direct effect on their emotions. World Laughter Day is celebrated to promote world peace and build a global consciousness of brotherhood and friendship through laughter. Dr Madan Kataria is founder of the worldwide Laughter Yoga movement.

The first “World Laughter Day” took place in Mumbai, India, on 11th of January 1998. 12,000 members from local and international Laughter Clubs joined together in a mega laughter session. “HAPPY-DEMIC” was the first World Laughter Day gathering outside India. It took place on 9th January 2000, in Copenhagen, Denmark and more than 10,000 people gathered in the Town Hall Square. The event went into the Guinness Book of World records. World Laughter Day is now celebrated on the first Sunday of May every year.

World Laughter Day 2024 Significance

Laughter has been shown to have numerous physical and mental health benefits, including reducing stress, boosting the immune system, and improving overall well-being. Laughter Clubs, which are free and open to all, are groups of people who regularly gather to practice simple laughter techniques that promote wellness and positivity. These clubs are typically led by a trained Laughter Yoga instructor, and sessions usually last between 30-45 minutes.

Laughter Clubs can be found all over the world, and they follow a simple yet effective formula. Participants start with warm-up exercises, like clapping and deep breathing, before moving on to laughter exercises, which involve various forms of laughter, such as silent laughter, belly laughter, and group laughter. The session ends with a cool-down period, which includes relaxation exercises and meditation.

Importance of World Laughter Day 2024

Dr Kataria’s intention behind starting this movement partly was because of the facial feedback hypothesis. Other objectives were to promote world peace and to build global consciousness of brotherhood and friendship through laughter. Also, this movement was started to create awareness amongst people that laughter is the key to relief from various psychiatric disorders. Practicing laughter yoga causes the body to release certain ‘feel-good hormones’ that produce feelings like happiness, tolerance, love etc. This helps the person practicing stay happy that in turn spreads this vibe to people around them. Thus creating positive energy. Thus every day must be a laughter day, for spreading smiles & happiness around the globe.

How Laughter Day 2024 is Celebrated?

Every year on World Laughter Day 2024 Hundreds of people gather worldwide to laugh together at Public parks, big squares or auditoriums in their city by laughter club members, their families and friends. They have a variety of entertainment programs like music dance and laughter contests etc. People with most infectious, natural and effortless laughter are the winners. During this day in India laughter club members often do peace march.  They carry banners and placards such as “World Peace through laughter, The Whole World Is An Extended Family, Join a Community Laughter Club – it’s free!” etc. During the march all chant “Ho Ho, Ha-Ha-Ha” and “very good, very good, yay!” clapping and dancing. After walking some distance, they stop to do a few Laughter Yoga exercises and then move on. At the end of the march, they laugh together for 10 minutes or so and then read Dr Kataria’s message for World Peace. You can also utilize the ideas listed below:

• Create a Joke Jar – This is a great act to encourage the whole family to get involved in. All you have to do is grab a jar and get people to pen down a joke on a piece of paper and place it inside the jar whenever they come up with Next time you hold a family dinner or when someone needs some encouragement, you can grab some jokes from the “Joke Jar”.
• Acquire the ability to laugh at yourself – Use this day as an opportunity to teach yourself how to laugh at yourself decently. Nearly all of us take ourselves too seriously! Teaching yourself to laugh at yourself modify yourself to be more vulnerable and more authentic – both are great attributes to have.

Benefits of World Laughter Day 2024

We all know that laughing feels good, but we don’t realize that it helps in improving our well being, also strengthens relationships. Below mentioned are few benefits of laughing.

• Laughter helps reduce stress hormone levels.
• Boost T-cells- T-cells are specialized immune system cells that get activated when you laugh thus improving your resistance to disease.
• Triggers the release of Endorphins: Endorphins are the body’s natural feel-good chemicals/natural painkillers.
• Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.
• Burns calories: Laughing for 10 to 15 minutes a day can burn about 40 calories—which could be enough to lose three or four pounds over the course of a year.
• Lightens mood: Looking at the funny side can put problems into perspective and enable you to move on from confrontations without holding onto bitterness or resentment.
• May even help you to live longer: A study in Norway found that people with a strong sense of humor outlived those who don’t laugh as much.
• Laughter helps produce a general sense of well being.

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Short-term Benefits of World Laughter Day

A good laugh has extraordinary short-term effects. When you start to laugh, it doesn’t just lighten your load mentally, it actually causes physical changes in your body. It can:

• Impact and exercise many organs: Laughter improves your intake of oxygen-rich air, increases the endorphins that are released by your brain and also stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles.
• Activate and then cool your stress response down: A good laugh can increase and  then decrease your heart rate and blood pressure and also fires up and then cools down your stress response. And the result, a satisfied, good, relaxed feeling.
• Relieve tension:Laughter can also aid muscle relaxation and stimulate circulation , both of which can help cut down some of the physical symptoms of stress.

Long-term Effects of Laughter Day 

Laughter isn’t just a speedy cheer up therapy, though. It’s also has good long term effects. It also:

• Stimulates your immune system:Negative thoughts manifest into chemical reactions that can impact your body by conveying more stress into your system and decreasing your immunity. Positive thoughts can actually release neuropeptides that help oppose stress and possibly more serious illnesses.
• Relieves pain: Laughter also can help ease pain by causing the body to make its own natural painkillers.
• Increases personal satisfaction: Laughter can make it easier to deal with challenging situations. It also assists you in connecting with other people.
• Improves your mood: Numerous number of people undergo depression and sometimes because of chronic diseases. Laughter can assist in decreasing your depression, anxiety and also makes you feel cheerful.

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Facts About Laughter

Given below are some fun facts about laughing.

• Laughter is a way of communication recognized by people of all races, places and cultures.
• The speaker is more likely to laugh more than the listener.
• In groups or gatherings, women laugh more than men. Women laugh at men more than men laugh at women.
• Rats and monkeys laugh.
• Laughter controls our brains.
• Your sense of humor might be genetic.
• Humans laughed before they spoke.

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World Laughter Day 2024: Dates

Given below are the dates when the  World Laughter Day is going to be celebrated for the next 4 years.

World Laughter Day 2024: Quiz

1. When is the World Laughter Day celebrated?
a. First Friday of march
b. First Sunday of may
c. First Monday of may
d. Last Sunday of may
Ans (b)

2. Why World Laughter Day is celebrated?
a. To laugh at other and yourself
b. To  plan something fun for your loved ones.
c. To raise awareness about laughter’s healing benefits
d. All of the above
Ans (d)

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3. Which hormone is released during laughing?
a. Endorphins
b. Dopamine
c. Serotonin
d. Oxytocin
Ans (a)

4. What is laughing called scientifically?
a. Gelotology
b. lacrimation
c. Both a and b
d. None of the above
Ans (a)

5. Who created World Laughter Day?
a. Charley Douglass
b. Charlie Chaplin
c. George Carlin
d. Dr. Madan Kataria
Ans (d)