All About National High Five Day

Gimme some skin: Today, April 16, 2009, is National High Five Day. Yes, apparently there is such a holiday. National High Five Day falls on the third Thursday of April every year.

National High Five Day Origins

National High Five Day is a relatively new celebration, started at the University of Virginia in 2002. The explanation of the holiday, according to the official National High Five Day Web site:

“Imagine that while on your way to class, you pass a dignified looking middle-aged man in a suit. You, of course, are wearing the same underwear as yesterday, a pair of pants off your floor, and a T-shirt with something ironic printed on it. Instead of noticing this respectable pillar of society fifteen seconds or so before your interaction is fated to occur, and lowering your head to avoid his disapproving scowl, you take another course of action. You confidently walk forward, and at the moment of passing, you and the businessman simultaneously raise your hands and wordlessly high-five. The sound of the perfect high five resonates, causing those nearby to silently and enviously take notice. You both walk on, and likely relate the story to whomever you eat dinner with that night. There is no reason why this should not happen with alarming frequency.”

National High Five Day: What to Do?

So how to celebrate National High Five Day? The official site suggests you simply “extend your outstretched hand to the next stranger who walks by, and repeat until the High Five is reciprocated.” Seems easy enough.

Need more info? Check out the following National High Five Day documentary. And hey, if it isn’t your thing, there’s always National PB&J Day, National Napping Day, National Pancake Day, Pi Day, or — perhaps most practical of all — National Squirrel Appreciation Day.