World Emoji Day (July 17): Activities, Significance, Origin of Emoji Day

World Emoji Day, observed on July 17 annually, celebrates emojis and acknowledges their role in modern digital communication. Today, it is hard to imagine a world without emojis. Those little symbols of expression add a lot of fun to texting. World Emoji Day aims to help people understand the meaning and context of trending emojis.

Jeremy Burge, the founder of Emojipedia, a popular online directory of emojis, established World Emoji Day in 2014. In this article, we have shared more about this day, its history, origin, significance, and the ways it is observed in the world.

World Emoji Day 2023

World Emoji Day is a significant occasion highlighting the importance of emojis in modern communication, especially on digital platforms. This day is celebrated around the world by emoji enthusiasts and social media users. World Emoji Day was first celebrated on June 17, 2014. It is celebrated on June 17 because the calender emoji displays the same date.

This day brings focus to the fact that emojis have become an essential part of the language itself. Check out more details about World Emoji Day and its significance below.

What is an Emoji?

An emoji is a symbolic icon that represents an emotion, thought or thing. Emojis are widely used in everyday textual conversations today. World Emoji Day honors the role of emojis in our chats. In fact, we can also say that none of us can imagine a world without emojis.

History of Emoji

• Emoji is a Japanese term that roughly translates to “picture word”. Shigetaka Kurita created emojis in 1990 for the Japanese telecom company NTT Docomo.
• The usage of emojis first started in 2007 when the first Apple iPhone in Japan introduced an emoji keyboard.
• The popularity of emojis then spread to the US and the rest of the world. Today, July 17 is observed as World Emoji Day to celebrate emojis.

Objectives of Emoji Day

World Emoji Day is supposed to be a fun celebration of emojis, but there is more to this day. Emojis have evolved to become a part of language itself and are used widely by digital device users.

• The objective of World Emoji Day is to promote the understanding of emojis, which have become an inseparable part of digital communication.
• This day also encourages people to educate themselves and others about the history and importance of emojis in today’s digital world.

Significance of World Emoji Day

The significance of World Emoji Day lies in the acknowledgement that emojis have become a universal means of expression. The usage of pictures and figures in language can be traced back to ancient Egyptian times and even earlier. Some people even relate emojis to hieroglyphs.

World Emoji Day highlights the use of emojis as a global language transcending borders and language barriers. People from different cultures, backgrounds, and languages communicate emotions in digital conversations using emojis.

Emoji Day History

World Emoji Day was first celebrated on July 17, 2014, after Jeremy Burge, the founder of Emojipedia, proposed its celebration. Check out some interesting facts about the origin and history of Emoji Day here.

• Before this day was ever established, people used to post the calendar emoji on July 17. This drew attention to the fact that the calendar emoji represents the date July 17.
• Emojipedia made the first tweet about World Emoji Day on July 11, 2014.
• It led to people acknowledging emojis as important symbols that make everyday conversations more fun and interesting.

World Emoji Day Activities

World Emoji Day has become a global phenomenon, and every year on July 17, people celebrate this day in various ways. Some of the activities observed on this day include the following.

Emoji Day Social Media Campaigns

• Emojipedia hosts several interactive social media campaigns on World Emoji Day.
• The organization encourages social media users to share their favorite emojis and participate in emoji-themed challenges using relevant hashtags.
• Celebrate Emoji Day by participating in contests and quizzes that test people's knowledge of the meaning and usage of various emojis.

Host Emoji-Themed Parties

• What better way to celebrate World Emoji Day than by inviting your friends and family over for an emoji-themed party?
• Don’t shy away from dressing up like your favorite emoji and cooking emoji-shaped food items.
• You can also use emoji-themed decorations for your party on Emoji Day.

Get Creative

• Express your creative self by drawing or using emojis creatively.
• Surprise your loved ones with an emoji-themed cake to celebrate World Emoji Day.
• Invest in emoji merchandise such as emoji-themed clothing, accessories, and even food.
• Spread the world about Emoji Day to your friends and family and indulge them in the celebrations!

World Emoji Awards 2023

One of the highlights of World Emoji Day is the annual World Emoji Awards. The awards highlight notable developments in the world of emojis. World Emoji Awards honor individuals and organizations that have made contributed significantly to the emojis.

• Some of the awards presented on World Emoji Day include "Best New Emoji," "Most Popular Emoji," and "Best Emoji App or Keyboard."
• Like all other award shows, World Emoji Awards also involve a nomination and voting process which is open to the public.
• The winners are announced on Emoji Day, generating excitement among emoji enthusiasts around the world.

World Emoji Day is a fun and interactive way to acknowledge and appreciate the impact of emojis on modern language and communication. Emoji Day is a time to embrace the evolving scene of digital communication.

FAQs on World Emoji Day

Q1. What is World Emoji Day?

World Emoji Day is an annual day dedicated to celebrating the emoji - smileys and pictograms that make texting fun. July 17 is annually celebrated as World Emoji Day worldwide. Organizations often choose this day to announce new emoji-related releases.

Q2. Which day is celebrated as World Emoji Day?

July 17 is celebrated as World Emoji Day in honor of emojis, the little pictograms that add life to our conversations on text. The date July 17 was selected for Emoji Day celebrations because the calender emoji also depicts the same date.

Q3. Why is July 17 celebrated as World Emoji Day?

The date displayed on the calender emoji is July 17, so the same date was chosen for World Emoji Day. This day highlights the influence of emojis on language and its popularity among people from different cultures and backgrounds.

Q4. Who started World Emoji Day, and when?

Emojipedia founder Jeremy Burge started World Emoji Day in 2014. The date July 17 was selected for World Emoji Day because the same date has been reflected in the Apple Calendar and other sources since as early as 2002.

Q5. Why do we celebrate World Emoji Day?

World Emoji Day is celebrated to acknowledge the impact of emojis in enhancing textual conversations. Ever since they were created, emojis have added new life to texts and are used widely around the world. Emoji Day is simply about celebrating and appreciating emojis.

Q6. How is World Emoji Day celebrated?

World Emoji Day is celebrated on July 17 every year in the following ways.

• Hosting or participating in interactive social media campaigns.
• Hosting emoji-themed parties and eating emoji-themed food.
• Educating your loved ones about the proper usage of emojis.

Q7. Is today World Emoji Day?

World Emoji Day is on July 17, 2023 (Monday). Founded by Jeremy Burge, this day commemorates the history of emoticons and acknowledges the role they play in our everyday conversations. World Emoji Day is an unofficial holiday in many parts of the world.