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About National Best Friends Day

An unofficial day, spread by greetings cards and social media, for thanking the friends who matter most.

When is it?

National Best Friends Day is on 8 June every year. The next one is on Tuesday 8 June 2027. After that: Tuesday 8 June 2027, Thursday 8 June 2028 and Friday 8 June 2029.

It is not a public holiday, and it is not the same as the United Nations International Day of Friendship, which is on 30 July.

Where did it come from?

Nobody owns National Best Friends Day, and its origins are unclear. The day began in the United States, but sources disagree on how it started. Here is what they say.

  • Many websites and news stories say the US Congress created the day in 1935. National Today, the Evening Standard and the US TV station WSPA 7News all repeat this.
  • The Day Of calls that story “widely repeated and poorly sourced” and says there is no clear record of such a decision. Until a record turns up, we treat the 1935 story as unproven.
  • The Evening Standard says the card company Hallmark encouraged people to send cards for the day. Separately, Wikipedia says Hallmark’s founder, Joyce Hall, proposed a Friendship Day in 1930.
  • National Today credits a 2007 Chicago Sun-Times column by Mary Wisniewski with bringing the day back into view.

What the sources do agree on is how the day spread: through greetings cards and, more recently, social media. Each year people share photos and messages with #NationalBestFriendsDay. In 2023 the Evening Standard reported that the day was trending on Twitter.

How do people mark it?

Most people keep it simple: a message, an old photo, a meet-up or a small gift. Some celebrate one best friend, and some celebrate a whole group. Both are welcome here.

Ideas for the day

Who runs this site?

National Best Friends Day has no official organiser, and we do not claim to have started it. This site is the home of the day, run by Digital Alchemy FZ-LLC, a company based in Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates. Digital Alchemy runs sites for several well-loved awareness days, including National Kissing Day.

We publish ideas, run friendship games and work with brands that want to take part. If you have a question or a story about the day, please get in touch.

Sources

Research behind the Friendship Quiz