National High Five Day:

Celebrated annually on the third Thursday in April, the National High Five Day honors a universal celebratory gesture – the High Five! Accomplishments small or big can be unbiasedly celebrated with a High Five! So don’t hesitate to give out some high fives today!

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Why High Five Day?

The tradition of High Five began rather accidentally during the 1977 baseball game! As Los Angeles Dodgers Dusty Baker hit the home run, he greeted his teammate Glenn Burke with a raised hand over their heads, resulting in the first-ever High Five!

This victory gesture was then witnessed in the 1978-79 basketball season at Louisville Cardinals basketball court. The players no longer used their regular low-fives.

It is believed that since then the High Five is seen as a regular congratulatory gesture not only in the field of sports but also in everyday life across the world! It stands tall among all the other sports gestures such as the fist bump, chest bump, fanny slap, end zone dance, fist pump, etc.

It is also believed that one Mr. Mont Sleets made High Five popular as he grew up seeing his dad’s army buddies greeting each other with High Fives and their division names!

This day reminds us that even the small accomplishments deserve celebration and if you look at life that way you would have many reasons for High Fives!

The original reason to have the High Five Day was to raise awareness for cancer. It was a gesture to celebrate every day of a cancer victim’s life. Studies show that most cancer cases are diagnosed very late leaving very little time for treatment. The chemotherapy and cancer medications are sometimes difficult for the patients to handle. So, High Fives is a great way to congratulate them for moving forward successfully in their cancer treatments!

Thus this day is also a reminder to take care of your and your family’s health by taking them for regular health checkups.

If you are an introvert and you don’t know how to congratulate people for their successes? just use the High Five!

The day celebrates the simple gesture of appreciating each other for every achievement! You can use the gesture at home with your spouse, kids, elders, neighbors, colleagues, friends, and even with a stranger! The culture of the High Five is not only rampant in the US but across the world. So it’s another great way to sync with international cultures when you visit other countries!

The day is also used by many nonprofit groups to raise funds for special purposes! There is a High Five Challenge too, that raises money for children suffering from chronic illnesses. The funds are used to offer them athletics and art programs!

So whether you want to celebrate the little success in your own life or that of others, give out some enthusiastic High Fives today! Giving high fives is fun and encouraging!

How Can We Observe National High Five Day:

• High Five for all reasons!

Celebrate the day by giving High Fives for any reason you find today! Give yourself a high five when you get out of bed, when you take the dog out for a walk, and when put up with people all day long. Helped your spouse in the kitchen? Or kids with their homework and projects? Or finally, managed to start exercising? You surely deserve a high five!

Has someone in your friends or family found a new job, promotion, got engaged, pregnant, won a lottery, don’t hesitate to give them high fives today!

• High Five like the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1977

If you are a sports enthusiast, plan to meet up with your friends to play your favorite sport! Use High Five for every point you or your team scores!

• Teach a kid!

Pass the High Five tradition to a kid in your family or neighborhood! If you have kids at home show them your appreciation with a High Five for all that they accomplish today and every day!

• Teach it to your pet!

Pets are great at learning some human moves too! Train your dogs or cats to do a High Five and you will get one from them whenever you need it!

• Take the High Five Challenge

Enroll in the High Five Challenge and raise some funds for kids suffering from chronic illness. If you love organizing events, you could consider volunteering today!

• Make a stranger smile!

Spread the joy of High Fives by raising your hands to strangers and putting a smile on their faces! This works great for a homeless person too! Who knows, maybe one enthusiastic High Five was what he needed to turn his life around!

• Raise funds with High Fives!

Get creative with High Fives to raise funds for cancer victims, cancer research, etc. You could come up with fun games, or a marathon where volunteers can give a high five as participants finish a certain distance!

• Use High Fives as an ice breaker!

Break the ice among new people, colleagues by having some fun games that involve the high five!

• Make High Five Day viral on social media!

High Fives are simple gestures that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and even pets! So share the history of High Five, raise funds for cancer patients, and encourage people to try it out just because it’s fun! Use #NationalHighFiveDay and #HighFiveDay to share all your posts today!

Interesting Facts About National High Five Day:

Here are some interesting facts surrounding National High Five Day:

• One Mr. Craig Lewis gave up his job and traveled to 36 countries to give them High Fives!
• If your hands are raised about your head to hit another’s palm then only it’s a high five
• The high five is the cousin of the low five, only much faster!

History of National High Five Day:

Students Wynn Walent, Sam Miotke, and Conor Lastowka of the University of Virginia founded the National High Five Day in 2002. While we continue stretching our research muscles to find the reason behind the day, don’t forget to give some High Fives today! This day is celebrated as a fun holiday across the US and the world! No presidential claims are declaring this day as a national holiday.