User:Sexton1/National Hug Day

National Hug Day or National Hugging Day is an annual holiday created by Rev. Kevin Zaborney. It occurrs on January 21 and is officially recognized by the United States Patent and Trademark Office,  but is not a national holiday. The holiday was founded on January 21, 1986 in Caro, Michigan, and has since spread to multiple different countries. The purpose for the holiday is to help everyone show more emotion in public. There is only one way you are supposed to celebrate the holiday, offer a hug to anyone and everyone you want. While National Hug Day and the Free Hugs Campaign share many similarities, there is not actual association between the two. Whether you hug a family member or a stranger, the mental and physical health benefits are the same.

History
Kevin Zaborney is credited for creating the unique holiday in 1986. The date of January 21 was chosen because it marks a midpoint between Christmas and Valentines day, where people are figured to be at their emotional low. The holiday was created because Zaborney felt like Americans are embarrassed to show their feelings in public and hoped that a National Hug Day would change that. The Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami Medical School has found that French couples spend 3 times as much time touching when compared to Americans. Because of this apprehension to show feeling, Zaborney assumed his idea wouldn't go anywhere and that he would be mocked. National Hug Day is not a public holiday recognized by the United States Federal government, and since Zaborney holds the patent for the day, he is able to collect commercial royalties associated with National Hug Day.

Benefits of Hugging
Studies have shown that human contact has many health benefits. It's been found that human contact, such as a hug, is essential for healthy social, psychological and physical development. Hugging can also help build a good immune system, decrease the risk of heart disease, and decrease levels of the stress hormone cortisol in women. It's been shown that a couple who hugs for 20 seconds has higher levels of oxytocin, and that those who were in a loving relationship exhibited a highest increase. According to the American Psychosomatic Society, a hug or 10 minutes of holding hands with a romantic partner can help reduce stress, and its harmful physical effects. In a study, adults who had no contact with people had higher blood pressure and heart rate. Other studies have indicated that the touch of a friend might not be as helpful as the touch of a partner.

Association with the Free Hugs Campaign
In 2004 the Free Hugs Campaign was launched, which involved people giving hugs to random people on the street. The premise of giving a hug to someone to lift their spirits is the commonality that National Hug Day shares with the Free Hugs Campaign. However, National Hug Day has one specific day that encourages you to give out hugs, where the Free Hugs Campaign can be organized at any time during the year. The Free Hugs Campaign has received a lot of media attention over the years, and while it might send the same message as National Hug Day, there is no association between the two

Official Website
National hug day has its own website that claims to be the official website for the day. The website, created by Zaborney in 1896, recognizes the most huggable people each year. The website allows you to nominate anyone you want, so more often than not the most huggable people of the year are not notable. However, people such as Reese Witherspoon in 2006, Juan Mann (who created the Free Hug Campaign) in 2007, Barack Obama in 2009 and the Chilean rescued miners and rescuers in 2011 have been recognized as the most huggable people of the year. Joan Rivers was quoted saying "I'm tempted to start saying, 'Can we hug?' instead of 'Can we talk?'" after being nominated as a huggable person.

The website also links to another holiday that Zaborney holds the copyrights to, National Whiners Day. Both holidays are copyrighted under "National Hugging Day Collection"