Happy National High Five Day Comes Early: Spread the Love Today!
Has a friend or loved one ever left you hanging on a high five? You know the feeling – elbow cocked, palm raised, waiting for that satisfying smack of skin on skin. But instead, just awkward silence as your enthusiastic high five goes unreciprocated.
We’ve all been on both sides of this scenario. But never fear – Happy National High Five Day is coming around again soon to make sure no hopeful hand is left dangling in the air! What better reason to spread the high five love a little early this year?
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When Is National High Five Day? Mark Your Calendars!
While the official National High Five Day takes place on the third Thursday of every April, there’s no rule saying we can’t start celebrating Happy National High Five Day early! First conceived in 2002, this holiday encourages people across the country to give out high fives to friends and strangers alike.
The date marks an opportunity to spread positive vibes and bring a little more joy and human connection into the world through the simple act of a raised palm. And with all the health benefits of a solid high five, why wait?
So even though we’ll still need to mark our calendars for April, let’s make sure we’re putting our best hand forward!
History and Meaning: The Surprising Origins of the High Five
How did the gesture we know as the high five come to be? Despite its apparent simplicity, there are competing theories about the origins of slapping palms.
Sports Beginnings
The most common account credits two Los Angeles Dodgers baseball players – Dusty Baker and Glenn Burke – with the first high five on October 2, 1977. After Burke hit a home run, he raised his hand to Baker for a celebratory slap while crossing home plate.
The team quickly adopted the feel-good gesture, using it to congratulate each other after homers and victories. Sportswriters took note, and coverage of the spirited new custom soon spread nationwide.
Or a Women’s Volleyball Invention?
However, some claim even earlier origins within women’s volleyball in the 1960s. Accounts suggest “fives” were a common celebratory gesture, evolving into enthusiastic above-the-head hand slaps between teammates.
As fun as the story is, though, evidence remains limited. So for now, the Dodgers’ origin tale still reigns supreme in explaining the high five’s meteoric rise in American sports and society.
Read on: National High Five Day History: How 3 Students Launched the High Five Craze
High Five Your Way to a Happy National High Five Day: Fun Ideas for Spreading the Love
Now that you know the rich history behind the friendly high five, how will you celebrate Happy National High Five Day? This positive, energetic gesture lends itself perfectly to brightening someone’s day or bringing folks together. And while waiting for the official April holiday, here are some ways to share the high five fun:
Liven Up Your Routine
- Greet your morning baristas, coworkers, or fellow commuters with cheerful high fives. Seeing that palm raised could prompt others to pay the positivity forward!
- Challenge yourself to give high fives to 5, 10, or 20 strangers in a day. Watch how quickly those smiles spread!
- Get your family involved with a household mini high-five tournament or contest for the most creative and complex high fives.
Host a High Five Party!
Go all out by throwing a party dedicated to high five fun and games. Decorate with plenty of raised hand cut outs. Consider some high five activities like:
- Themed games like high five limbo, musical high fives, or a high five variation on musical chairs.
- Distance challenges like the highest and longest jumping high fives.
- Relay races where teammates have to high five before passing a baton.
- Crowd participation games like trying to pass a wave of high fives through the room.
Food and Beverages for the party:
- Finger foods and snacks that can be easily eaten standing up/with one hand like protein-packed Love Good Fats bars. With their convenient individual packaging and shelf stability, they make ideal snacks for a lively high five celebration. Be sure to grab these Love Good Fats coupons to get the best deals on keeping the party going.
- A cake or treats decorated with high five designs
- Drinks like sodas, lemonade, or fun mocktails
Let your imagination run wild! Any game goes as long as those hands can enthusiastically connect for Happy National High Five Day.
Mastering the Perfect High Five
If you’re looking to impress and connect on National High Five Day, don’t forget that technique matters, too! Follow these simple tips to deliver a truly memorable – and very loud! – high five:
- Stand firmly with your feet about shoulder-width apart and your knees bent slightly. This wider base helps you bring more power to the high five.
- Focus your eyes on your partner’s elbow to help nail the accuracy on your approach. Keep that wrist nice and straight as it slices through the air.
- Extend your dominant hand straight out in front of you with your wrist slightly tilted back. Straighten those fingers and keep them tight together for maximum surface area contact!
- Pretend you’re throwing a baseball and really wind up and put your body into that swing forward as you connect in a satisfying smack!
- Smile and make eye contact as your palms meet joyously. High fives communicate celebration, encouragement and congratulations – so say it with your eyes, too!
If just reading all that made you crave an impressive exploding high five, remember there’s no virtual substitute for the real skin-tingling thing! Use these tips above to practice your technique and find willing high five partners as you anticipate celebrating Happy National High Five Day.
Why Do High Fives Matter? The Contagious Positivity Effect
But beyond mere celebration for sports teams or flashy gestures, what’s behind the unique appeal and staying power behind high fives? The answer likely rests in the undeniable shot of feel-good endorphins that comes from a solid hand slap with another human being.
The Psychological Boost
Studies suggest that beyond simply communicating positive emotions, the act of high fiving may actually generate and reinforce them between two people. Physical contact triggers complex neurobiological reactions that can brighten moods.
So by lifting your hand to enthusiastically meet another’s, you’re not just symbolizing celebration, you’re potentially directly stimulating psychological states of motivation, confidence and strength. Now that’s a compelling incentive to spread the high five love!
Strengthening Social Bonds
This mini neurochemical burst also likely explains why high fives have sticking power for building social cohesion and relationships. Synchronized gestures like high fives reinforce our bonds as social beings. They remind us through endorphins of our human need for connection.
What better reason to share a little high five spirit for Happy National High Five Day with friends, family and friendly strangers alike? After all, we can all use some extra social bonding.
Alternative Touch-Free Options: Virtual High Fives to Fist Bumps
Of course, actual physical high fives aren’t always possible or appropriate, especially communicating over distances or with strangers. But even if you can’t smack palm to palm in person, you’ve still got options for sharing the emotional contagion in honor of Happy National High Five Day! Consider alternatives like:
- Jumping up for long distance (but imaginary handshake) high fives
- Blowing your high five partner a kiss
- An air high five with sound effects
- A smile, wave, thumbs up, or other positive gesture
- A virtual high five through video call platforms
- A friendly fist bump with the same intention
While you may miss out on the full skin-to-skin brain chemical benefits, these creative stand-ins can still communicate the same sense of celebration, encouragement and connection!
Gear Up: Happy National High Five Day!
We may still be months away from the official National High Five Day this April. But after learning about the history, meaning and benefits behind high fives, don’t you feel ready to get out there and start spreading the positivity right now?
Share Your Story! Share them in the comments to inspire others! A high five from a sports hero. An awkward leave-hanging situation.
Let this early celebration of Happy National High Five Day be your inspiration to truly make high fives a more regular part of your interactions with others.
Brain chemistry and human psychology give us compelling reasons to throw up an encouraging palm more often! However we eventually come together to mark the official holiday in April, remember that the high five is so much more than just a fleeting gesture.
When delivered with authenticity, it can communicate deep solidarity, empathy, celebration and the recognition of our shared humanity.
So let’s come together, palms raised, to high five to more connection, more understanding and more good vibes in the spirit of Happy National High Five Day in the future!
