<P> Initially created by the greeting card industry, evidence from social networking sites shows a revival of interest in the holiday that may have grown with the spread of the Internet, particularly in India, Bangladesh, and Malaysia . Digital communication modes such as the Internet and mobile phones may be helping to popularize the custom, since greeting friends en masse is now easier than before . </P> <P> Those who promote the holiday in South Asia attribute the tradition of dedicating a day in honor of friends to have originated in the U.S. in 1935, but it actually dates from 1919 . The exchange of Friendship Day gifts like flowers, cards and wrist bands is a popular tradition of this occasion . </P> <P> Friendship Day celebrations occur on different dates in different countries . The first World Friendship Day was proposed for 30 July in 1958, by the World Friendship Crusade . On 27 April 2011 the General Assembly of the United Nations declared 30 July as official International Friendship Day . However, some countries, including India, celebrate Friendship Day on the first Sunday of August . In Oberlin, Ohio, Friendship Day is celebrated on 8 April each year . </P> <P> Friendship Day was originated by Joyce Hall, the founder of Hallmark cards in 1930, intended to be 2 August and a day when people celebrated their friendships by holiday celebrations . Friendship Day was promoted by the greeting card National Association during the 1920s but met with consumer resistance - given that it was too obviously a commercial gimmick to promote greetings cards . By the 1940s the number of Friendship Day cards available in the US by had dwindled and the holiday largely died out there . There is no evidence to date for its uptake in Europe; however, it has been kept alive and revitalised in Asia, where several countries have adopted it . </P>

When is friendship day is celebrated in india