World Emoji Day
World Emoji Day is an annual unofficial holiday celebrating the universal language of digital communication – emojis. It’s a day dedicated to celebrating these small digital icons that have revolutionized how we express emotions and ideas in our digital conversations.
Quick Facts
When is it: July 17
Tagged as: Global Digital Celebration
What’s the hashtag: #WorldEmojiDay
When was it founded: 2014
Who founded it: Jeremy Burge (Founder of Emojipedia)
History of World Emoji Day
The date July 17 was chosen because it’s the date displayed on the đź“… Calendar emoji. This date originally appeared as an easter egg in Apple’s iCal application, launched in 2002. The first celebration took place in 2014 when Jeremy Burge established it as a global celebration of emoji culture.
Timeline
- 1999: First set of 176 emojis created by Shigetaka Kurita
- 2011: Emoji keyboard added to iOS
- 2014: First World Emoji Day celebrated
- 2015: Face with Tears of Joy becomes Oxford Word of the Year
- 2017: Empire State Building lit in “emoji yellow”
- 2021: Microsoft overhauls Windows emoji set
Dates by Next Year
| Year | Month and Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | July 17 | Wednesday |
| 2025 | July 17 | Thursday |
| 2026 | July 17 | Friday |
| 2027 | July 17 | Saturday |
| 2028 | July 17 | Monday |
| 2029 | July 17 | Tuesday |
How It’s Observed
People celebrate by holding emoji-themed parties, participating in emoji-only conversations, creating emoji art, and sharing their favorite emojis on social media. Companies often use this day to announce new emoji releases or launch emoji-related promotions.
Fun Facts About Emojis
- Over 5 billion emojis are sent daily on Facebook Messenger alone
- The “Face with Tears of Joy” is consistently the most used emoji
- Only 7% of people use the peach emoji to actually represent the fruit
- There are now over 2,666 official emojis
- Emojipedia serves over 45 million emoji lookups each month
Quiz
- When was the first emoji created?
- Who created World Emoji Day?
- Why is it celebrated on July 17?
(Answers: 1999, Jeremy Burge, Because it’s the date shown on the calendar emoji)
FAQs
- Can anyone celebrate World Emoji Day? Yes, it’s a global celebration open to everyone
- How can I participate? Use emoji-only communication, create emoji art, or share favorite emojis
- Are new emojis released on this day? Often, companies announce new emoji designs on this date
Related
- International Internet Day
- Social Media Day
- Digital Communication Day
- Unicode Day
- Global Communication Day
