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 📅 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