World Hello Day
November 18, 2007
Hello.
November 21st is World Hello Day. World Hello Day is a day designated to recognize the promotion of peace through communication. The way to celebrate World Hello Day is to greet ten different people during the day. All you need to do is say hello.
World Hello Day started after the conflict between Egypt and Israel in 1973. From then on World Hello Day has been a day in which people try to show world leaders that differences should be settled with communication instead of conflict.
Brian and Michael McCormack started Hello Day International to help spread the message of World Hello Day. The two brothers have sent letters about World Hello Day to people that have worked towards peace and received positive responses. Over 77 people who were written to responded in return by letter. The correspondence has been scanned and published online from people such as Mother Teresa, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Whoopi Goldberg.
In a letter from Mother Teresa, she wrote,
“I am very happy to know that your organization is working for the promotion of world peace. May God bless your organization and may you promote True Peace - that comes from love and caring for and respecting the rights of every human being.”
Former U.S. president Gerald Ford wrote,
“Your idea is certainly an inspiration, and Mrs. Ford and I both hope that the day is a great success.”
Another former U.S. president that praised World Hello Day was Jimmy Carter. The Nobel Peace Prize winner had this to say about World Hello Day,
“This special observance can enable people from all over the globe to become friends despite that barriers of distance, language or culture, and can be essential foundation for a lasting peace throughout the world.”
Whoopi Goldberg wrote a return letter that started,
“For such a little word, hello can have a terrific impact. Hello doesn’t even have to be verbalized. It can be communicated with a smile or a wave — but the interpretation is the same.”
To recognize World Hello Day, it is as simple as saying hello. Hello to the power of communication and the promotion of peace.