The first Friday of October every year is celebrated around the globe as World Smile Day. The unofficial holiday encourages people to do acts of kindness to spread good will and cheer.

First started in 1999 by the creator of the smiley face, Harvey Ball, the holiday celebrates the intent behind the now universally recognized icon – to bring a smile of the faces of people around the world. The purpose of the holiday was to move away from the commercialization of the smiley face and to use it as a symbol of kindness and affection.

The smiley face made its debut in 1963 as a way to increase the morale of the employees of a life insurance company. Today, it is one of the most popular nonverbal ways to convey joy, happiness and cheer. The smiley face began as a bright yellow circle with two dots to represent eyes and a black line that represents a smiling mouth.

Today, there are many different versions of the smiley face, representing many other human emotions such a sadness, surprise, worry and laughter. In modern texting smileys are used to express emotions in online conversations on a smartphone or on a computer. The practice has its origin in Japan, and the smileys and other icons are known as emoji.

How to Celebrate–
  Make people around you smile.
  Do a random act of kindness. Buy a stranger a coffee. Compliment someone. 
  Surprise someone in your family with a visit, cook a meal for them, or do something special for them.

Fun Fact: babies are born with the ability to smile. 

Source: timeanddate.com