International Hug Day: Would you hug a stranger?
updated the 14 July 2015 à 18:32Some days all you need is to do is spend a second or two wrapped in someone else’s arms and find happiness in a hug. We have good news — today is the one day you are entitled to that heart-warming hug!
How it came about
Kevin Zaborney of Michigan, USA, created the National Hug Day in 1986 so that everyone can freely embrace their loved ones — or strangers — in a friendly hug. He chose January 21st, considering it’s a month after the merry Christmas holidays and a month shy of the world’s day of love, Valentine’s Day; essentially the time where everyone needs their spirits to be uplifted. And what better way than to express that in a gesture as simple and sincere as a hug?
The power of a hug
Researches show that there is a scientific explanation behind that warm and fuzzy feeling you get when hugging someone. Amongst other studies, the 2012 version published by Comprehensive Psychology shows that just 10 seconds of hugging every day can alleviate stress, reduce blood pressure and any risks to heart problems and depression.
This is because when hugging, your body releases oxytocin, a hormone which helps fight the feeling of loneliness and anger. Another happy chemical, serotonin, also increases when you hug somebody. Additionally, hugging endorses the feeling of being loved and hence boosting our self-esteem. In other words, a hug is comparable to meditation: it teaches us to physically and emotionally relax — carpe diem as they say.
20,000 hugs per day
While some of us can pass a day without hugging someone, or have the idea cross our minds at all, the affable Hindu priestess Mata Amritanandamayi sits up to 20 hours a day to hug over 20,000 visitors. Throughout her life, Amma — or also known as the Hugging Saint — has embraced over 34 million people in need of healing. Some even camp long hours to find comfort in her hug.
Meanwhile, the Japanese went out of their way to open Soineya Cuddle Café (literally ‘sleep together shop’) in the capital, for people who are looking for the comfort of a hug. The place allows customers to sleep next to strangers and cuddle with no strings attached. Workaholics especially, have seen the worth in paying money in return for a hug.
While waiting for a store with a similar concept to open in Singapore, let’s get ourselves one of those Dream Man Arm Pillow or Body Wrap Pillow on this International Hug Day. Or even better — hug somebody!
Fabienne Broucaret and Natasha Gan
